Tag Archives: Brock Peters

Episode 275. Margaret Tynes (Listeners’ Favorites)

July 27, 2024African American Singers, Black History Month, Crossover, Forgotten Divas, French Opera, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Great Baritones, Great Tenors, In Memoriam, Listeners' Favorites, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Richard Strauss, Singers of Color, Spirituals, Twentieth Century Music, Twentieth Century OperaA Drum Is a Woman, Aida, Anita Turner-Butler, Antonio Ghislanzoni, Billy Strayhorn, Brock Peters, Creole Folk Songs, DuBose Heyward, Duke Ellington, Francesco Maria Piave, George Gershwin, George Shirley, Georges Bizet, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Giuseppe Verdi, Hedwig Lachmann, Ira Gershwin, János Gyulai Gaal, LeVern Hutcherson, Lili Chookasian, Macbeth, Margaret Tynes, Mariette Bey, Massimo Bruni, Oscar Wilde, Pál Varga, Paul Belanger, Porgy and Bess, Richard Strauss, Salome, Spirituals, Stabat Mater (Pergolesi), Thomas Schippers, Warren Edward Vincent, William Shakespearecountermelody

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On March 7, 2024, the legendary African American soprano Margaret Tynes died at the age of 104. During the second season of Countermelody, I featured the singer, who at the time was a mere 101 years old, on one of my Black History Month episodes. She was a unique artist, fearlessly forging her own musical, dramatic, and vocal path, aided and abetted by a strong voice with a powerful top register. Though she made a number of significant appearances in her homeland earlier in her career (including a televised appearance in Duke Ellington’s jazz suite, A Drum Is a Woman), her later successes were focused primarily in Europe, where she was particularly celebrated for her extraordinary Salome, with which she created a sensation in Spoleto in 1961, and her Lady Macbeth. Excerpts from all of these and more are featured on this episode, which also includes spirituals and Creole folk songs, as well as arias and duets from Aida, Carmen, and Porgy and Bess. Guest artists include LeVern Hutcherson, most remembered today for his appearances on stage and screen in Porgy, and George Shirley, the first African American tenor to sing at the Metropolitan Opera.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Episode 132. Brock Peters (Black History Month 2022)

February 23, 2022African American Singers, Black History Month, Great Baritones, Needle Drop, Opera in Translation, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Singers of ColorAlan Jay Lerner, Avery Robinson, Black Boy (Wright), Bloomer Girl, Brock Peters, Burton Land, Carmen Jones, Dave McRae, Du Bose Heyward, Duke Ellington, Earl Robinson, folk music, George Gershwin, Harold Arlen, Harry Belafonte, Hughes, Ira Gershwin, Jack Lewis, John Jacob Niles, John LaTouche, Kurt Weill, Kwamina (Adler), Langston, Leonard De Paur, Lord Burgie, Lost in the Stars, Luther Henderson, Marilyn Horne, Martha Flowers, Maxwell Anderson, Miles Davis, Paul Palmieri, Porgy and Bess, Randy Weston, Ray Barretto, Richard Adler, Richard Wright, Sacred Concert No. 1 (Ellington), Spirituals, Star Wars, The Four Lads, work Songs, Yip Harburgcountermelody

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How often it happens that, even when an artist produces an august and varied body of work, that they are remembered only for a tiny fragment of their output? Such is the case with Brock Peters (1927 – 2005). Universally recognized and justly celebrated for his portrayal of Tom Robinson in the 1962 film version of To Kill a Mockingbird, Peters, born George Fisher, was also a superb singer who made his mark in a number of film musicals, as well as appearances in Broadway musicals and a series of folk albums recorded in the late 1950s and early 1960s. While the focus in this episode is on his musical accomplishments as a solo artist, I also discuss his early appearances in ensembles headed by Harry Belafonte, Leonard de Paur, and others; his jazz collaborations with Miles Davis, Randy Weston, and Duke Ellington; his other film roles; his exceptional work in voiceover and narration; and his late career singing appearances. That Brock Peters was a great actor is a given; that he was a great singer as well may be a delicious surprise to many. Guest vocal appearances by Adele Addison, Martha Flowers, Margaret Tynes, Marilyn Horne, and The Four Lads.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Episode 110. Black Crooners

October 10, 2021African American Singers, Art Song, BHM2023WK3, Black History Month, Great Baritones, Happy Birthday, Lieder, Music for a World in Crisis Series, Needle Drop, Pop Icons, Protest Songs, Queer Pride, Schubert, Singers of Color, Twentieth Century Music, Voiceless WondersArthur Prysock, Barry Gordy Jr., Barry White, Bert Williams, Billy Eckstine, Billy Porter, Bobby Short, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Brock Peters, Brook Benton, Bruce Hubbard, Cole Porter, Cyndi Lauper, Francisco Araiza, Franz Schubert, George Gershwin, George Goodman, Harry Belafonte, Hutch (Leslie Hutchinson), Ira Gershwin, Irwin Gage, Jackie Wilson, Johnny Hartman, Johnny Mathis, Johnny Mercer, Jon Hendricks, Joseph Kosma, Josh White, Lamont Dozier, Leonard Bernstein, Leslie Scott, Linda Ronstadt, Lou Rawls, Mabel Mercer, Marvin Gaye, Mills Brothers, Miriam Makeba, Nat King Cole, Nelson Riddle, Owen Williams, Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Sammy Davis Jr.countermelody

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Season Three of Countermelody begins with a potpourri episode of some of my favorite crooners of color. I begin with an example of Bert Williams, the first African-American superstar, and offer a few other examples of important precursors, but I focus on the heyday of the crooner, from the 1940s through the early 1960s, including such honey-voiced singers as Billy Eckstine, Johnny Mathis, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles, Sammy Davis, Jr., Johnny Hartman, Lou Rawls, Brook Benton, and Arthur Prysock. Since I apply the term “crooner” fairly loosely, I am also able to present singers from outside the traditional repertoire of the standard crooner, including Josh White, Leslie “Hutch” Hutchinson, Harry Belafonte, Barry White, Bobby Short, and Lamont Dozier. The episode concludes with a tribute to Broadway baritones of color and with a stunning live performance of Jackie Wilson singing “Danny Boy” in honor of my birthday. Vocal guest stars include Miriam Makeba, Linda Ronstadt, and Mabel Mercer.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody’s core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody’s Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available exclusively to Patreon supporters are currently available and further bonus content including interviews and livestreams is planned for the upcoming season.

Episode 77. Margaret Tynes (Black History Month 2021 V)

February 24, 2021African American Singers, BHM2023WK1, Black History Month, Broadway, Full-Figured Baroque, Giuseppe Verdi, Needle Drop, Richard StraussA Drum Is a Woman (Ellington & Strayhorn), Aida (Verdi), Anita Turner-Butler, Billy Strayhorn, Brock Peters, Creole Folk Songs, DuBose Heyward, Duke Ellington, George Gershwin, George Shirley, Georges Bizet, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Giuseppe Verdi, Ira Gershwin, LeVern Hutcherson, Lili Chookasian, Macbeth (Verdi), Margaret Tynes, Massimo Bruni, Pál Varga, Paul Belanger, Porgy and Bess (Gershwin), Richard Strauss, Salome (Richard Strauss), Spirituals, Stabat Mater (Pergolesi), Thomas Schippers, Warren Edward Vincentcountermelody

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For a special bonus episode this week (without the usual paywall!), I bring you the extraordinary soprano Margaret Tynes, who in September celebrated her 101st birthday! Tynes is a unique artist, fearlessly forging her own musical, dramatic, and vocal path, aided and abetted by a strong voice with a powerful top register. Though she made a number of significant appearances in her homeland earlier in her career (including an appearance in Duke Ellington’s jazz suite, A Drum Is a Woman), her later successes were focused primarily in Europe, where she was particularly celebrated for her extraordinary Salome, with which she created a sensation in Spoleto in 1961, and her Lady Macbeth. All these and more are featured on this episode, which also includes spirituals and Creole folk songs, as well as excerpts from Aida, Carmen, and Porgy and Bess. Guest artists include LeVern Hutcherson, most remembered today for his appearances on stage and screen in Porgy, and George Shirley, the first African American tenor to sing at the Metropolitan Opera.

Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel’s lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” Occasional guests from the “business” (singers, conductors, composers, coaches, and teachers) lend their distinctive insights. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. At Countermelody’s core is the interaction between singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. Please visit the Countermelody website (www.countermelodypodcast.com) for additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. And please head to my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/countermelody to pledge your monthly support at whatever level you can afford. Bonus episodes available only to Patreon supporters are currently available.