Today would have been the 97th Birthday of jazz artist Sun Ra, who first appeared on Earth in Birmingham,AL on this day in 1914 with the name of Herman Poole Blount. After an experience where he claimed a passage to the planet Saturn, he later legally changed his name to Le Sony'r Ra, and lived in the persona of an intergalactic traveller.
Sun Ra was a pioneering musician even within the highly creative medium of jazz. His song titles and lyrics often feature clever word play and focus on the themes of space travel, the empowerment of African Americans, and Egyptology. His band, the Arkestra,continues to play today, and contains the forward and reverse of his adopted surname (RA), as well as supporting the idea that his intergalactic travels were like those on a great Ark such as Noah's, or that the entire Earth exists as just such an Ark.
2 comments:
I have a mushroom box from the 50's with the brand name "Sun-Ra Frozen Foods"...any chance there's a connection? I can send you a scan.
fjkelso at aol dot com
That's interesting! I don't think there is a connection, but I'd like to see a photo.
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