In 1956, my father (Joe Von Battle) recorded

a explosive, if obscure, 45 rpm Blues/Gospel record called The Alabama Bus, a rhythmic chronicle of the Alabama Bus Boycott – which might be known as “spoken word” if recorded today.

It was sung by Brother Will Hairston, a factory worker and preacher, who was called “The Hurricane of the Motor City”, due to his thunderous impact on a church services when preaching and singing. My father recorded Hairston’s iconic record in his Hastings street studio in the late 1950′s. This record is reportedly the first documented mention of Martin Luther King Jr. in any blues or gospel recording.

I recently found this record and it had been 40 years, I’m sure, since last hearing my father play it over and over again in his record shop in the mid-sixties, and I remembered the chorus, hook and back beat as if I’d heard it the day before.

I’ve written a piece... (continuer)