February 1: Ring with the harmonies of liberty… “Lift Every Voice and Sing” based on a poem by James Weldon Johnson in 1900 with music added by his brother, John Rosamond Johnson. Sung here by Kim Weston. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST (P.S. I posted another version of the song on March 11, 2018, thanks to Lois Himes.)
February 2: Sing and give it to me… Give me my propers when you come home…“RESPECT” written by Otis Redding and sung by Aretha Franklin. Live Performance. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 3: The movement is a rhythm to us… “GLORY” by Common and John Legend from the movie Selma. I am inspired by brave people who stand up for what is right; my friend, Doug Weisburger (Dougie to me), whose birthday is today, is one of those people. xo LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 4: Jump and shout for joy… “Hoochie Coochie Man” written by Willie Dixon and performed here by Muddy Waters. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 5: Our voices will ring forever as one… “Fantasy” by Earth, Wind & Fire. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 6: And that’s not all… “Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit That Ball?” by Woodrow “Buddy” Johnson and Count Basie. Happy Birthday to Sue “Toltzie” Callum and thanks to Caroline for helping me find the song! LYRICS & SONG HISTORY SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 7: What’s better than a singing football player? Four singing football players! “Since You’ve Been Gone” by the Fearsome Foursome. (This brings me to my favorite Rosey Grier song: “It’s Alright To Cry” from “Free To Be You And Me” in honor of the Camp Pembroke girls – and especially Amy Shocker, whose birthday is today.) Want more? Here‘s a performance by Rosey Grier with his teammates on the Hollywood Palace with Milton Berle. Thanks, again, to my Backup Team for inspiring today’s Sing Daily halftime show. xoxoxo (Happy birthday, also, to Jennifer Borregine!) BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST Please LIKE the SING DAILY PLAYLIST on SPOTIFY
February 8: I love you like…“XO” by Beyoncé. Happy Birthday to Haley Zeldes! LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 9: Different strokes for different folks… “Everyday People” by Sly and The Family Stone. Happy Birthday to Marshall Borden, Dan Chenok, Wally Lehman, Kelly Sahner, Marlayne Schaeffer, and Jonathan Steinberg. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 10: Spinning through the town… “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” written by Shannon Rubicam and George Merrill and sung by Whitney Houston. Happy Birthday and thanks for the song suggestion to Judy Zimmerman Doherty. OFFICIAL VIDEO LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 11: Dare your heart to beat… “They’re Red Hot” by Robert Johnson. Happy Birthday (and thanks for the song suggestion) to my wonderful brother Alex Sherman! Also, happy birthday to Anne Hadden, Herm Freeman and Nancy Clarke. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
February 12: Where this road will lead, no one can tell… “Searching” by China Black. Happy Birthday to Jen Brandwein, Jennifer Gottlieb Faber and Samantha Lyon and Happy New Year to all who celebrate! Xīnnián kuàilè 新年快乐 LYRICS SONG HISTORY SPOTIFY More Fun Info
February 13: My sisters and my brothers, see ’em like no other… “Colors” written by Eric Burton and performed by the Black Pumas. SONG HISTORY OFFICIAL VIDEO LYRICS & CHORDS SPOTIFY
February 14: Thanks to Dan Woog for the story behind the performance of today’s Song of the Day: “Stand By Me” written by American singer-songwriter Ben E. King, Jerry Leiber, and Mike Stoller and sung here by kids from all five Westport Elementary Schools as a Valentine from the Westport Elementary Chorus Teachers to the Town of Westport! OFFICIAL VIDEO SONGFACTS LYRICS & CHORDS SONG HISTORY
February 15: When you believe in things that you don’t understand… “Superstition” by Stevie Wonder. Happy Birthday (and thanks for the song suggestion) to Vijay Rao. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY
February 16: I see you my friend… “Crazy” written by Seal and Guy Sigsworth and performed by Seal. OFFICIAL VIDEO LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 17: It’s RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS DAY 2021: “Be Nice” by the Black Eyed Peas and Snoop Doog. Happy Birthday to Sam Sisto and thanks to the Porosoffs for the song suggestion. OFFICIAL VIDEO LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 18: Dreams don’t always come true… “Midnight Train To Georgia” written by Jim Weatherly (who passed away earlier this month) and performed by Gladys Knight & The Pips. LYRICS & SONGFACTS CHORDS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 19: Life is like a song… “At Last” written by Mack Gordon and Harry Warren for the musical film Sun Valley Serenade (1941) and performed here by Etta James. Thanks to Sharyn Taymor for the song suggestion! LYRICS & SONGFACTS UKE CHORDS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 20: Kiss me before I’m going… “Hello My Baby” written by Joseph Shabalala and performed by his group Ladysmith Black Mambazo with Oliver Mtuduki. No lyric video today, but here are the LYRICS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 21: Don’t be shy, be proud! “IDK But I’m LOL” by Sweet Honey In The Rock. LYRICS SONG HISTORY SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 22: We make a mean team… “My Adidas” by Run-DMC (written by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels & Rick Rubin). Happy Birthday to Artie Spangel, Tyler Burke & Ned Hardy! LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 23: Together we’ll be home… “Cry No More” by Rhiannon Giddens. Happy Birthday to Madeline Seidman. xo LYRICS SONG HISTORY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 24: Excuse me while I kiss the sky… “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix. LIVE VIDEO LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 25: People all over the world… “Love Train” written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and performed by The O’Jays. Happy Birthday to Lindsey Ogilvy! xoxo LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 26: Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-hi… “Minnie The Moocher” by Cab Calloway, Irving Mills and Clarence Gaskill and performed here by Cab Calloway and his band. My grandfather Sydney Alexander Sherman was born on this day in 1908, two months after Cab Calloway was born. I like to imagine my grandfather in his early 20s listening to this back in 1931. No lyric video today, but, if – after echoing Cab – you want more, here’s a KARAOKE VIDEO so that you can sing along. LYRICS & SONGFACTS SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 27: Join the heavenly band… “My Lord, What A Morning” by Marian Anderson, whose birthday is today. Thanks to Elaine Camerota for the song suggestion. SPOTIFY BLACK HISTORY MONTH PLAYLIST
February 28: Today’s Sing Daily post is actually several songs from a recent Black History Month Virtual Concert shared with me by my friend and mentor, Anne Ward Hadden, who taught general music and chorus at Long Lots Elementary School for many years. Anne wrote:
This new video from the Chicago Children’s Choir is quite moving (and has the lyrics, too!). I thought maybe you would like to feature the song “We Shall Overcome” (which begins at 48:54 on the video) again as BHM comes to a close this weekend?
The full video is educational as well as entertaining (and part of it is a request for donations by the CCC). If you want to skip directly to the songs & poems:
- 9:35 “Turn Me Around”
- 16:27 “Black Heroes” poem by Chloe Johnson, CCC alumna
- 21:17 “Lift Every Voice and Sing”
- 27:40 “Juba”
- 30:23 “Wade In The Water”
- 33:20 “Wade In The Water” from Rainbow Beach
- 35:10 “Freedom Calls My Name” from Rainbow Beach
- 39:06 “If Not Now, Then When” poem by Kai Love
- 42:02 “Freedom”
- 45:31 “Right On Be Free”
- 48:54 “We Shall Overcome”