Wales moved west with his Milwaukee-born blues-rock band A.B. Skhy, who frequently appeared on bills at the Fillmore in San Francisco. Legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix purportedly joined the band during one of their shows at The Whisky A Go-Go in Los Angeles. Wales appeared on A.B. Skhy’s 1969 self-titled debut album, but had left the group prior to the recording of their second and final album, 1970’s Ramblin’ On. Around the time of his exit, Wales would meet and start performing with Garcia. In Blair Jackson’s book Garcia: An American Life, Garcia described playing with Wales, stating:
To ole Virginny shore, To ole Virginny shore. Den I’d lead a different life, I’d save my money and buy a farm, And take Dinah for my wife; But now old age, he holds me tight, And I cannot love any more, Oh, carry me back to ole Virginny, To ole Virginny shore. Lay de old tambo by my side, Let de possum and coon to my funeral go, For dey are my only pride; Den in soft repose, I’ll take my sleep, An’ I’ll dream for ever more, Dat you’re carrying me back to ole Virginny,
The song was one of a number of popular minstrel songs that sentimentalized life in the Old South and perpetuated a myth of Black nostalgia for life in slavery on plantations. The song’s lyrics are sung from the perspective of a freedperson longing to return to the days of slavery: “Carry me back to Old Virginny, There’s where the cotton and the corn and taters grow, There’s where the birds warble sweet in the springtime , There’s where I labor’d so hard for old massa…” In 1970, L. Douglas Wilder began his term as the first African American elected to the Senate of Virginia since Reconstruction by criticizing “Carry Me Back to Old Virginia” in a speech in which Wilder, a grandson of enslaved people, described how he and his wife felt upon hearing his colleagues sing the song at an official event. He wrote in his memoir,
The Untold Truth Of Cicely Tyson Kris Connor/Getty Images Cicely Tyson came to fame in the 70s for the films Roots and The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman. She is labeled an icon for having a career that spanned six decades and a reputation for being refined, elegant, fashionable, and bringing a depth to her characters never seen before. What is striking about her life is that she seemed to always be on a path bigger than her career. She didn t set out to be an actor, but when she became one, she chose parts based on their merit and was never afraid to turn down a role she did not think portrayed women with dignity.
Cicely Tyson She received an Oscar nomination for Sounder, mesmerized TV audiences in The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman and won a Tony for The Trip to Bountiful. Cicely Tyson, the admired Oscar-nominated actress who made television history while forging a sterling career out of portraying women of strength and substance, died Thursday. She was 96. Her death was announced by her longtime manager, Larry Thompson. Tyson died two days after her memoir Saluted with an honorary Academy Award at the Governors Awards in November 2018, Tyson became the first African American to win a lead actress Emmy Award when she was recognized for her astonishing performance as a woman who ages from 23 to 110 from the 1850s to the civil-rights era in the 1974 CBS telefilm
Sounder, The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, Roots, and How to Get Away With Murder. Cicely Tyson, the actor and Civil Rights icon who began performing Off-Broadway in the 1950s, enjoyed a distinguished career in TV and film, and returned in triumph to win a Tony Award at age 88 for The Trip to Bountiful, died January 28 at 96. Her death was confirmed by her manager, Larry Thompson. Ms. Tyson, who earned nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for her performance in the 1972 film Sounder, also captured an Emmy Award and wide acclaim for The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman, showcasing her remarkable ability to project the indomitable inner strength of beset characters. She was a co-founder of the Dance Theater of Harlem and was inducted into the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame in 1977.