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http://digital.mobilepubliclibrary.org/files/original/26a21ecd2849dd9a90785b7345602d2d.mp4
8d41f979b58c76654527cc06aa029146
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Mobile Tricentennial Video Oral History Project Interview Clips
Subject
The topic of the resource
Mobile, African American History
Description
An account of the resource
Oral history interviews of elders in Mobile's African American community. These items are clippings, and the full interviews are available for viewing at the Local History & Genealogy division of the Mobile Public Library. A full listing of available interviews may be viewed <a href="http://digital.mobilepubliclibrary.org/items/show/2732">here</a>.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
National African American Archives & Museum,
Museum of Mobile
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Mobile Tricentennial Video Oral History Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Mobile Public Library, Local History & Genealogy
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1999-2002
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Kern Jackson
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
mp4
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Oral history interviews
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Mobile-VOHP-Clips
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Kern Jackson
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Olney Lucious
Location
The location of the interview
855 Allison Street
Mobile, AL 36617
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
Jackson: What was your first gig or your first job here in Mobile playing?
Lucious: My first night job, first job, like playing music?
Jackson: Yes, sir.
Lucious: Oh, first job playing music was with, they all dead now, it was a five-piece combo. We all were practically learning. We, we knew something bout all right but we, we didn’t know that much but we knew just enough to get by that we made some bad cards or bad tunes or something like that. We probably knew it, would correct it if we knew, if we didn’t, we just got down with it. [Laughter]
Jackson: What was the name of that combo?
Lucious: The song?
Jackson: No, the, the group that you played with what was the name of it?
Lucious: Oh, now the first group, the first group I ever played with was a was kind of a nonexperienced, didn’t have all that experience we just got together and make noise. We got paid for it. It was Walter Thompson’s, you wouldn’t anything about, Walter Thompson And His Matadors I believe it was. But anyway, the boy’s name is Walter Thompson. Yeah, he’s dead and gone and everybody else along with me that I know of isn’t still living. Wasn’t but five of us what you call a combo when it was small like that, 5 or 6 of you. But that been a long time ago you see when I first started playing music ‘round when I first come out of school. See when I first come out of school, I was around 20 years old or something like that, 19, 20, 21 or something like that. I didn’t know too much but I knew enough to get by like, like Nuckie, his name was Walter Thompson but we called him “Nuckie”. He knew more than any of us. He was kinda the leader of the band. He was a little smarter than the rest of us. But I quit him after I, I was started to, I started to going up. I started moving up just like that. See every time somebody was, was learning me playing bout the way I doing on that banjo. They said, “well, if you, if you, if you wanna make a change we got a place for you. We got a chair for you in our band.”
Jackson: What were some of the bands you played for?
Lucious: This boy was one, Walter Thompson and His Matadors, that was one. Wilson Red Hot, I don’t know if you ever heard of him or not, that was two and the most, the band with the, was the most anchored band I ever played in was Melody Masters. Now you talking bout a band. Every band would come through here wouldn’t wanna come back here anymore when they heard us. And then, and then sometimes they don’t wanna come through and get what they call a double rush with us.
Jackson: A double rush.
Lucious: Yeah.
Jackson: What’s a double rush?
Lucious: A double rush? A double rush is when two bands are playing together the same night in the same place. See and what the really called they self doing is kind of, vying and vying with each. One, one trying to out play the other and all that old kind of stuff, you know. See especially if you got a good reputation. Now it takes some bands with a pretty good reputation to call themselves double rush. Some bands gon double rush and ain’t got know reputation behind ‘em and somebody find out, “well, who gon come here, I don’t know nothing about them guys. I don’t know about ‘em. You ain’t gon have no, you’n gon hardly have nobody at your affairs. But if it somebody come to you like Days of Old. Somebody say when uh, Duke Ellington man, they double rushing with old uh, what's this other guy name used to dancing and hollering [he hums a Cab Calloway tune].
Jackson: Oh uh….
Lucious: You know what I'm talking about [ he hums a Cab Calloway tune].
Jackson: Mitty the Moocher. Ah, Cab Calloway.
Lucious: Yeah, Cab Calloway. Now when somebody, when you say, you double rushing between Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington, you can’t hardly get in the place. See.
Jackson: Uh, huh.
Lucious: But it seldom happened but it did happen.
Jackson: In Mobile too?
Lucious: No, that didn’t happen in Mobile but they came through here on singles. Cab Calloway would come through Mobile on his own. Duke Ellington would come through here to Mobile on his own. Eddie Hayward, I worked with Eddie Hayward while he was here. Now, the Ms. What-you-call-it can tell you all you wanna know about me and Eddie Hayward.
Jackson: Who’s that?
Lucious: Ms, Ms. Hortence, what’s her name? Pauline…
Jackson: Oh, Ms. Paul…. Horton.
Lucious: Paulette Horton, yeah. ‘Cause she got the whole history of it too, you see. When he, when he came through here, I was strutting my stuff then.
Jackson: No kidding.
Lucious: Yeah, I was strutting my stuff. I knew music and I would write and all read it. I got stuff around here that I wrote, transposing and everything for the band what the band could play in the key that we could play better in. See if a piece was written in a piece, if a piece was written in a certain note, in a certain key and the band can’t, can’t can’t do so much with it. In that key I’ll say, “Five flats.” And everybody know that five flat, that’s five flats in “D” for signature is a “D”. That’s for an ackward key to play in too.
Jackson: Tell me where did, where did the Melody Masters play? What kind of venues, what kind of places, what kind of halls did y’all play in in Mobile?
Lucious: Oh they, man they played in some of everywhere you, you would give an affair.
Jackson: Tell me some of ‘em.
Lucious: Played Fort Whiting. You ever heard of Fort Whiting now?
Jackson: Yes, sir.
Lucious: All right, they played at the Columbus, Columbia, Columbus Hall I guess that’s Catholic building on Government Street. And we just played, lined up all the time up here at Gomez Auditorium. And ah…
Jackson: The Elks, you ever played at the Elks?
Lucious: Elks, yeah, Elks down on State Street. And ah…
Jackson: ILA?
Lucious: Who?
Jackson: The ILA Hall?
Lucious: Yeah, ILA too. Yeah on Davis Avenue all those places and not, not and not only we went to, went to New Orleans played down there, a club down there, it was a Colored club at that time, I forgot the name of it. It’s a rich club, man, one that make a lot of money. It’s on Iberville where, you ever heard of Iberville, that’s where… That clubhouse, one of the beautiful clubhouse, now that was years ago. I don’t know whether it’s still in business or not. All those large places cause I, there’s a picture of our band over there.
Jackson: Yeah, I saw that picture.
Lucious: Oh, you did.
Jackson: Who were some of the members, can you name some of ‘em?
Lucious: Yeah, I remember all of em. Now I can put some only one person in there is living besides me.
Jackson: Who’s that?
Lucious: Ms. Olivia Rivers.
Jackson: Piano player?
Lucious: Yeah, she, she Ms. Olivia Rivers, she’s downtown, she’s on Ann and Basil, the only two-story house in that block in the area right in there. And that’s her home. Her husband died and left her that home. Nice place. Two-story place. Her name is Rivers and she can play some organ and she can play some piano and that was a group that didn’t bother nobody that came in here or out of here.
Jackson: No kidding.
Lucious: When they comes here, just telling you, I’m telling you the truth. I’m not bragging because I played with ‘em but I played with em for years and I, and they had top notch musicians and I’m not saying because I happen to be a member. I was glad to be a member that, a group like that that carried that kind of a reputation.
Jackson: Who were some of the other people in the band?
Lucious: Fred Jackson was one, he was a school teacher over here at Owens.
Jackson: Uh, huh. A. F. Owens school.
Lucious: A. F. Owens, yeah. He would, he could write that stuff. We could, we had folks of us could write that stuff. I wasn’t the only one that said could write that stuff. Fred Jackson and Millers Holmes. I don’t know whether you remember, Millers Holmes he was a old timer around Mobile here too. And I hear you say something about Lang being related to you. Seem like to me one of them Langs used to be, used to be a postman, I know him well. But anyway, I’m trying to, Olivia, she was the only lady and it was 13 of us. Twelve men and that one lady. And it was 13 of us. And we had 3 changes of uniforms.
Jackson: Tell me about ‘em.
Lucious: Well, we had, we had tuxes you know, because we played for balls. We played a lot of balls.
Jackson: Who, who were some of the balls you played?
Lucious: Oh, we played just about all of the, the Comrades, the some of ‘em I can’t call the name right off hand, I…
Jackson: Utopians?
Lucious: Who?
Jackson: Utopians Ball? The Utopians Ball? That sound familiar?
Lucious: I didn’t quite hear you.
Jackson: Utopians.
Lucious: Oh, yeah, Utopians yeah. Utopians and that was one of the main ones, Alec Herman’s bunch. Sure. I just it slipped it remembrance now ‘cause it been so long so long ago. Alec Herman and we played for his group and then we played for oh a bunch of ‘em now. Alfred Davis, let me see, what is Alfred Davis’ group. Oh, but I can’t call the names.
Jackson: That’s all right.
Lucious: See. What’s this boy that just died here, buried him here, The Comrades. We used to play with them, their ball. Ah, now what’s his name.
Jackson: Richardson?
Lucious: Richardson, yeah. Oscar Richardson. We used to play for their balls. And Alec Herman and Dr. Russell, Dr. Russell was Utopian. See, he was, he the member or the Utopian. That was easy…
Jackson: Did you know any of the people in the brass bands?
Lucious: Brass band?
Jackson: Yeah, you ever heard of brass band like the Eureka Brass Band or the Excelsior Brass Band?
Lucious: Yeah, yeah, I knew all of them fellows when they… I’m a turn some heat on. Where were we?
Jackson: We’re talking about the Eureka Brass Band and the Excelsior Brass Band.
Lucious: Oh, yeah the Excelsior Brass Band. Yeah, now Eureka, they played out before the Excelsior. The Excelsior lasted a long time. They life lasted them a long time. Well, they played for about every all the Mardi Gras parades even if it was White parades and all.
Jackson: But the Eureka played out?
Lucious: Yeah, yeah, Eureka didn’t… They had a good band while they were going but something, I don’t know what happened. Maybe they all died out or something or other.
Jackson: Who did Mr. Besteda play with?
Lucious: Besteda?
Jackson: The trombonist.
Lucious: That was my cousin.
Jackson: That was your cousin.
Lucious: Yeah, he played with the Melody Masters. We all played together. He’s right up there on the picture.
Jackson: No kidding.
Lucious: He and I both right up there. And he was and believe me and I’m not saying because he was cousin. But he could play ‘cause he got his training at Tuskegee too.
Jackson: So a lot of y’all got your training at Tuskegee.
Lucious: Yeah, a lot of us did.
Jackson: Isn’t that a blessing.
Lucious: Sure did. Especially musicians, you know.
Jackson: Yes.
Lucious: See so Mr. Besteda got his training right up there at Tuskegee and he died right out here at this nursing home out here on Halls Mill Road.
Jackson: How about the E. B. Coleman Band?
Lucious: E. B. I know E. B. Coleman. E. B. Coleman got a good band too. He’s always had a good band, he got a big band. He usually carry a big band around 12 to 14 pieces and all like that see. And he’s got good musicians in his band. Now some instances, his fellows I didn’t teach ‘em but I have taught some of their offsprings. Like this boy, a lot of ‘em fellows. My memory, my memory is just short now, you know when you get old your memory get short and you can’t remember things like you used to. What’s that boy name, his mother and father died here not long ago. He played trumpet with E. B. I taught his, his, his 2 boys and one of ‘em turned sour on the family by taking stuff, taking that dope and stuff.
Jackson: Right.
Lucious: I don’t know if you would remember that case or not.
Jackson: Uh, uh.
Lucious: But that’s what happened. So E. B. has got, he has a good thing
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
VHS
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
13 min 11 sec
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Olney Lucious Interview Clip
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral History
Description
An account of the resource
Olney Lucious talks about his experiences as a musician in Mobile
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Olney Lucious
National African American Archives & Museum
Museum of Mobile
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Mobile Tricentennial Video Oral History Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
National African American Archives & Museum,
Museum of Mobile
Mobile Public Library, Local History & Genealogy
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2000
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
mp4
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Oral history interview
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
VOHP-OlneyLucious-MusicBands
A.F. Owens
Cab Calloway
Duke Ellington
E.B. Coleman
Excelsior Band
Gomez Auditorium
ILA Hall
mardi gras
Mardi Gras ball
Melody Masters
Mobile
music band
Olivia Rivers
Walter Thompson
Walter Thompson and his Matadors
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http://digital.mobilepubliclibrary.org/files/original/5c5bb85106860caa0e1a9e741889ed84.mp4
7f2bc742601869f31aeb87b0c5ad44d1
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Mobile Tricentennial Video Oral History Project Interview Clips
Subject
The topic of the resource
Mobile, African American History
Description
An account of the resource
Oral history interviews of elders in Mobile's African American community. These items are clippings, and the full interviews are available for viewing at the Local History & Genealogy division of the Mobile Public Library. A full listing of available interviews may be viewed <a href="http://digital.mobilepubliclibrary.org/items/show/2732">here</a>.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
National African American Archives & Museum,
Museum of Mobile
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Mobile Tricentennial Video Oral History Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Mobile Public Library, Local History & Genealogy
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1999-2002
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Kern Jackson
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
mp4
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Oral history interviews
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Mobile-VOHP-Clips
Oral History
A resource containing historical information obtained in interviews with persons having firsthand knowledge.
Interviewer
The person(s) performing the interview
Kern Jackson
Interviewee
The person(s) being interviewed
Eoline Pope Scott
Odile Pope Owen
Location
The location of the interview
263 Marine Street
Mobile, AL 36604
Transcription
Any written text transcribed from a sound
Jackson: Because now-days we don’t have…the Excelsior Band leads the parade, it doesn’t come at the end of the parade, it leads the parade.
Scott: Well it used to be at the end of the parade when my Daddy was a member, and when he had his band. That was my Daddy band. Did you ever know the beginning of the Excelsior Band?
Jackson: No ma’am. Why don’t you tell me about that.
Scott: Would you like to hear about it?
Jackson: Please.
Scott: The day my Daddy was born, his Daddy was so happy over the fact that he had a son, he called on his friends and they started playing. And that was the beginning; that was in 1883. And when my Daddy was 19 years old, my grandfather turned the band over to him. And they played all the big balls at the Battle House, the Courthaulds, you name it, they were the band.
Jackson: When you were coming up, who were some of the other members of the band, if you could em out?
Scott: Oh, let’s see, Mr. Hayes, I can't think of his first name. Mr. George Washington, he had a George Washington, and Ernest Pompenette. His Daddy had a band, and he left his Daddy’s band to play in the…he had the Pompenette Band…and he left his Daddy’s band to play in my Daddy’s band. And lets see now. I can't think of all those names.
Jackson: What instruments basically were, was the band made up of.
Scott: Brass instruments, you know, all brass instruments.
Jackson: So you had your trombone, trumpet…
Scott: Trombone, trumpet, sax, quite a few.
Jackson: Did you have a drummer?
Scott: Oh yes. Yes, the bass, you know bas horns: the tubas.
Jackson: The picture that I always see of the Excelsior Band, of the few that exist always have, I always remember seeing the bass drum with the, you know, the name of the group. But tell me some more about these parades. Now he would be out front, he would be in the back right before the maskers.
Scott: Now listen. The floats, after the floats were passed, then the Excelsior Band would come up. They brought up the end of the parade practically, and all these maskers were behind. That’s just some people who attended the parade in mask. It’s not the people who were belonged to the society, or anything like that. That was just people that used to mask. They don’t do that now.
Jackson: What did, did they pay your father and his band for participating?
Scott: Oh, of course. Sure. They’d all get the money. They didn’t get the money then that they get now, but they were paid. Sure.
Jackson: It's important for folks to know that this was part of a profession, not just strictly for fun, although I'm sure they had a lot of fun. Tell me about the route. Where would you stand when you watched a parade.
Scott: At Government and Washington Avenue.
Jackson: Why there?
Scott: I don’t know. It was because we had been going there all the time, I guess.
Jackson: Are there any like foods you associate with Carnival time?
Scott: Beg your pardon?
Jackson: Are there any foods?
Scott: Food?
Jackson: Yeah that you associate with Carnival. Like I know I associate…
Scott: Gumbo and ham, soup.
Jackson: What kind of gumbo?
Scott: You eat gumbo?
Jackson: Yes.
Scott: Huh?
Jackson: Yes. What kind?
Scott: Well, they would get filet gumbo or okra gumbo. My favorite was okra gumbo.
Jackson: Why?
Scott: It's just because I like it better.
Jackson: What's in it?
Scott: Well, they would seafood. They have crab, shrimp, not oysters in okra gumbo.
Jackson: Okay.
Scott: And you could add a little beef if you want to. Whenever I make some gumbo, I’ma call you up and tell you to come get some.
Jackson: Bless your heart. When y'all were coming up, what were some of the favorite things you liked to eat that your mom made?
Scott: That my mom made?
Jackson: Uh huh.
Scott: My momma was a good cook. She cooked gumbo, I liked the gumbo. She made good salads, and I don’t know, she used to make floating island for dessert, lemon pie…
Jackson: What's floating…?
Scott: See you don’t know about floating island.
Jackson: What's floating island?
Scott: Floating island was like a custard. And it had like a whipped cream like a beaten up eggs on top of it, and that was the island. But it was delicious. She’s make apple pies, roast. Oh we ate. WE loved each other so much, we didn’t even know we were poor.
Jackson: How bout that. Speaking of loving each other so much, what were some things that our parents really, really valued? When you think back on the things they taught you, what did your parents really value?
Scott: What they didn’t like, you mean?
Jackson: Well what did they really stress, or find to be important? Or that they made sure that you understood.
Scott: To always carry ourselves as ladies, and especially in public. Don’t do anything that we, that they would be ashamed of. I tell you one thing I did. I smoked, and I hid from my Daddy for years and years. I guess I was about 18, and he still didn’t approve of me smoking. And I loved to smoke. I don’t now.
Jackson: What did you used to smoke? What brand?
Scott: Oh I can't remember now. I guess it was Chesterfield’s or Camels or something like that. I tried to smoke the cool cigarettes, but I didn’t like em. I stopped smoking in 1980. Oh heck, you not a priest.
Jackson: Some people wish I would.
[laughter]
Original Format
The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
VHS
Duration
Length of time involved (seconds, minutes, hours, days, class periods, etc.)
7 min 6 sec
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
The Pope Sisters Interview Clip
Subject
The topic of the resource
Oral History
Description
An account of the resource
Eoline Pope Scott and Odile Pope Owen talk about their father in the Excelsior Band and family memories
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Eoline Pope Scott
Odile Pope Owen
National African American Archives & Museum
Museum of Mobile
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Mobile Tricentennial Video Oral History Project
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
National African American Archives & Museum,
Museum of Mobile
Mobile Public Library, Local History & Genealogy
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2000
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
mp4
Language
A language of the resource
English
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Oral history interview
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
VOHP-PopeSisters-ExcelsiorBand
Battle House
cigarettes
Eoline Pope Scott
Excelsior Band
food
mardi gras
Mardi Gras Parades
music band
Odile Pope Owen
Pope Sisters
smoking