SUNDAY MUSIC VIDEO MATINEE “Tuskegee Prayer Band” by Robin Mackey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S919ZRJSKtk Robin was inspired to write this celebratory song after her close friend, Jessie M. Raymond, told Robin stories about growing up in Tuskegee AL and being part of a prayer band with her mother (shown at the end of the video). Prayer bands were a group of people that would walk from house to house on Friday nights to sing, pray for, and check in on the housebound in the community. They’d also visit people in prisons. It was a sacred service and a form of spiritual and social outreach. Prayer bands prevailed until the 1950s, but a tiny handful remain today. This song/video raises awareness of the African American tradition of prayer bands and sacred music which predates gospel, blues, and jazz (read more on Robin’s video notes).
The music track was superbly produced by keyboardist Eomann Flynn (of The Commitments and sideman for many notables). The studio band was comprised of Bay Area A-listers from the musician pool of Fantastic Negrito and Narada Michael Walden. I made the video with Cottonbro Studio. Enjoy—feedback welcome https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S919ZRJSKtk
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