The show must go on! The Zaire ‘74 Music Festival is underway. The sounds of the diaspora grace the stage, united by the drum. Bill Withers stuns listeners with his raw talent. BB King wails on his guitar in one of his all-time best performances. Celia Cruz croons to the crowd, who finds an unexpected familiarity in her Afro-Latina rhythms. Miriam Makeba hypnotizes her audience and ties the whole ensemble together with her unifying spirit. And finally, James Brown emerges to close out the show. His performance makes history as he steps into the crowd and shares the mic with his fans under the rising sun; together they shout “I’m Black and I’m Proud”. This is the Soul of ‘74.

LITERARY REFERENCES

“The Rumble in the Jungle” by Lewis Erenberg

“Hit Me, Fred” by Fred Wesley (autobiography) 

“LATIN N.Y.” magazine, editor-in-chief, Diane Weathers

“Lawdy Miss Clawdy: The True King of the ‘50s” by Lloyd Price and William Waller (autobiography)

OTHER REFERENCE MATERIALS

“When We Were Kings” (Documentary by Leon Gast and David Soneberg)

“Soul Power” (Documentary by Jeffery Kusama-Hinte and David Sonenberg)