Musicians Celebrate the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

til a date to be announced in September or October.
On August 25, a concert inspired by music of the U.S. civil rights era rocked the Washington Convention Center. Celebrating the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, the musical evening included emotionally charged performances by singer Patti LaBelle, The O’Jays’ Eddie Levert and The Impressions.

Classic songs that inspired the U.S. civil rights movement — mixed with newer songs that carry similar messages of hope, strength and unity — rocked the Washington Convention Center at an August 25 concert called “The Message in the Music.”

The concert, organized as part of the weeklong festivities celebrating the new Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, featured such music icons as singer Patti LaBelle, Eddie Levert of the rhythm and blues group The O’Jays, and The Impressions, a rhythm and blues group/soul trio whose songs are widely described as the soundtrack of the civil rights movement. Other artists also performed.

A seven-man a cappella group called Naturally 7 played “Ready or Not,” an original song that evoked the soulful 1960s sound of the Motown record label. The group brought the audience to its feet by underscoring the song’s lyrics with syncopated vocal percussion.

Naturally 7 was followed onstage by The Impressions, whose appearance brought forth a sustained roar of approval from the crowd.
Combining smooth harmonies and choreographed dance moves, The Impressions (Fred Cash, Sam Gooden and Reggie Torian) performed two of their signature hits, “Movin’ On Up” and the gospel-influenced “People Get Ready,” perhaps the best-known anthem of the civil rights era.
Next, soul singer India Arie took the stage. “I dedicate this performance right now to my grandmother,” she said. Arie told the crowd that her grandmother, a drug-abuse counselor in Lansing, Michigan, died in 2009. “She saved so many lives,” Arie said. “The day Obama was inaugurated, we spoke on the phone; this was right before she passed [died]. She told me she marched in Washington and heard the ‘I Have a Dream’ speech” delivered by King on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in 1963.

Arie played a flute in the introduction to her first song, which she said was about the beauty of nature. Singing in Hebrew, she was accompanied by Israeli keyboardist and vocalist Idan Raichel. In her next song, “Gift of Acceptance,” Arie urged tolerance and harmony among people of different religions, ethnicities and races. Both songs, she said, are from her forthcoming album, Open Door.

The group Ray Chew Live, named for its bandleader, Ray Chew, offered a jazz-inflected, mostly instrumental version of the Marvin Gaye hit “What’s Goin’ On,” a Motown staple that alludes to the social changes of the 1960s and ’70s. O’Jays vocalist Levert, showcasing his powerful voice and dynamic stage presence, performed “Give the People What They Want” before launching into The O’Jays’ most famous song, “Love Train.”
An ecstatic crowd joined in as Levert sang the familiar refrain:

“People all over the world (everybody)/Join hands (join)/Start a love train, love train.” At the song’s conclusion, Levert addressed the cheering audience. “Dr. King would say this song is what we all need to do,” he said.