HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC — VOA’s radio magazine in SpecialEnglish.
(THEME)
This is Doug Johnson. On our program today:
We play some American rock and roll music …
Answer a question about show business awards …
And tell about a new book that claims to solve an old murdermystery.
Jack The Ripper Book
HOST:
A murderer walked the nighttime streets of London, England, ineighteen-eighty-eight. He killed at least five women. Newspaperscalled him Jack the Ripper. He was never caught. And he wroteletters to the London newspapers and police in which he laughed attheir efforts to catch him.
Many people have tried to discover who Jack the Ripper was. Theyhave written books about the murders, and offered many ideas aboutthe killer. But no one has been able to prove their claims. Now, anAmerican writer has used modern methods to investigate the crimes.Shep O’Neal has more.
ANNCR:
Patricia Cornwell writesbest-selling mystery books. She has also worked with scientists whoinvestigate evidence from real crimes. Mizz Cornwell says she hasfound the evidence to prove who Jack the Ripper was.
Patricia Cornwell spent several million dollars of her own moneyin the effort to discover who committed the murders claimed by Jackthe Ripper. She hired scientists, hand-writing experts, art experts,history experts and criminal investigators. She scientificallyexamined the letters Jack the Ripper sent to newspapers and police.And, she examined hundreds of letters written by the man she claimsto have been Jack the Ripper.
Patricia Cornwell says she is one-hundred percent sure that Jackthe Ripper was a famous British artist named Walter Sickert. Sheclaims to have found enough evidence to prove it. She has detailedall of this evidence in a new book, “Portrait of a Killer: Jack theRipper Case Closed.”
The book tells the life story of Walter Sickert, and shows why hecould have been Jack the Ripper. A top investigator for Britain’sScotland Yard police organization said Mizz Cornwell’s evidencewould be good enough to try Mister Sickert for the murders if hewere still alive.
Critics have commented on her work. Some say it is possible thatshe has discovered the real Jack the Ripper. Others disagree. Theysay the evidence is still not complete. They say her work onlyplaces Walter Sickert among a group of suspects.
Experts say the question may never really be answered to satisfyeveryone interested in the Jack the Ripper murders. But they alsosay Patricia Cornwell’s new book creates more interesting questionsabout a very old mystery.
Golden Globe Awards
HOST:
Our VOA listener question this week comes from China. Joseph asksabout the Golden Globe Awards that are given to the best movies andtelevision programs.
The members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association presentthe Golden Globe Awards every year. The Foreign Press Association isa group of international reporters who work in Hollywood,California. They broadcast and write about American entertainmentfor their home countries.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association presented the firstGolden Globes in nineteen-forty-four. The group decided to give theawards every year before the Academy Awards ceremony so the awardswould not be influenced by the Academy winners.
The Golden Globe award is a statue of a golden world circled by apiece of motion picture film. At first, the association gave awardsfor best motion picture, leading actor, leading actress, supportingactor, supporting actress and director. Later, it added otherawards, such as best screenplay, best music and best foreignlanguage film. It also increased the number of awards by givingseparate ones for dramatic movies and for comedies or musicals.
In nineteen-fifty-five, the Golden Globes expanded to includeawards for television. They honored best television drama shows,comedy shows, actors, actresses, and directors. American televisionbegan broadcasting the Golden Globe awards ceremony innineteen-sixty-two.
Today, about ninety members of the Hollywood Foreign PressAssociation vote to decide the Golden Globe winners. Show businessexperts say the Golden Globe awards influence the motion pictureAcademy Awards each year. The Academy Award nominations areannounced after the Golden Globe winners have been chosen.
The Golden Globe Award nominees were announced last month. Theawards will be presented at a ceremony in Los Angeles on Januarynineteenth. The ceremony will be broadcast on television inone-hundred-twenty-five countries.
‘Standing In The Shadows of Motown’
HOST:
You probably have never heard of a group of musicians called theFunk Brothers. Yet they played on more hit records than the Beatles,the Rolling Stones, the Beach Boys and Elvis Presley combined. MaryTillotson tells us about them.
ANNCR:
The Funk Brothers were themusicians who played rhythm and blues music of the nineteen-sixtiesthat was called Motown. They played on hundreds of recordings bysingers like Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, the Supremes, theFour Tops and Stevie Wonder.
A new movie tells about the Funk Brothers. It is called “Standingin the Shadows of Motown.” The group has also released an album ofmusic from the movie. The Funk Brothers play while young singersperform several famous Motown songs, like this one, “Heat Wave,” byJoan Osborne.
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Six of the Funk Brothers have died. But in the movie, sevenremaining musicians tell about their lives and how they created thefamous Motown sounds. Ben Harper sings this famous Motown song, “IHeard it Through the Grapevine.”
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We leave you know with another song from “Standing in the Shadowsof Motown.” Here is Chaka Khan and Montell Jordan singing “Ain’t NoMountain High Enough.”
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HOST:
This is Doug Johnson. I hope you enjoyed our program today. And Ihope you will join us again next week for AMERICAN MOSAIC — VOA’sradio magazine in Special English.
This AMERICAN MOSAIC program was written by Shelley Gollust,Nancy Steinbach and Paul Thompson. Our studio engineer was GlenMatlock. And our producer was Paul Thompson.