HOST:
Welcome to AMERICAN MOSAIC – VOA’s radio magazine in SpecialEnglish.
(THEME)
This is Doug Johnson. On our program today:
We play some country music …
answer a question about American superstitions …
and report about a new hall of fame.
National Black Hall of Fame
HOST:
Twenty-four African Americans of the past and present have beeninvited to join the National Black Sports and Entertainment Hall ofFame. These athletes and entertainers were honored during a ceremonyin the Harlem area of New York City a few weeks ago. They werehonored for their skills and for leading the way for other blacks tobecome successful. Shep O’Neal has more.
ANNCR:
Those invited into the National Black Hall of Fame include famousathletes Muhammad Ali, Arthur Ashe, Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson.Jazz musicians Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Lionel Hampton andElla Fitzgerald also were inducted. The National Black Hall of Famealso honored several white people because of their work for civilrights for black people. They include singers Frank Sinatra and TonyBennett and band leader Tito Puente.
African Americans have faced many difficulties in their strugglefor equal rights in America. Black entertainers and athletes havebeen an important part of that struggle. Their success led the wayfor other blacks to succeed in America.
The idea for the Hall of Fame came from entertainers and athleteswho wanted to honor their heroes, both living and dead. Those whoattended the event agreed that the Hall of Fame also is a neededlink between history and education.
The National Black Hall of Fame has not yet been built. Theinduction ceremony was held at City College. But event organizerssay everyone agreed that the museum should be built in the Harlemarea of New York.
Harlem is an international community. People of many ethnicgroups settled there when they first came to the United States.Still, Harlem is known as the center of black culture. AfricanAmericans have made the area famous for most of the past one-hundredyears. Harlem became the center of art, music and entertainment ofblack America in the early Nineteen-Hundreds.
The establishment of the National Black Hall of Fame is takingplace as Harlem recovers from years of economic problems. However,many people fear that plans to develop the area will destroy itsculture. Those inducted into the Hall of Fame say they hope it willbe a way to protect African American culture for many years to come.
Superstitions
HOST:
Our VOA listener question this week comes from Vietnam. Minh ChiLe asks about superstitions in the United States.
A superstition is a belief in unseen and unknown forces that canbe influenced by special objects or actions. A superstition isgenerally considered the result of fear of the unknown. Examplesinclude the idea that Friday the thirteenth is an unlucky day. Orthat something bad will happen to a person who walks under a ladderor lets a black cat walk across his path. Superstitions also includethe belief that objects thought to bring good luck can prevent badthings from happening. These objects include a horseshoe or arabbit’s foot.
A public opinion study done a few years ago showed that abouttwenty-five percent of all Americans considered themselves at leasta little superstitious. Some experts believe the number is muchhigher but that people do not want to admit that they hold suchbeliefs in modern times.
Still, experts say that superstitions may help people by offeringa sense of control in some situations. For example, athletes maywear the same jewelry, clothes or shoes during competitions if theybelieve that the object will improve their performance.
Next Wednesday, many Americans will take part in holidaytraditions that grew out of superstition. Wednesday is Halloween.People from Scotland and Ireland brought the traditions of Halloweento America. Their beliefs went back more than two-thousand years tothe ancient Celtic people in Britain.
October thirty-first was the Celtic day of the autumn feast. TheCelts believed that the spirits of the dead would return for a fewhours that night. They built huge fires to frighten away evilspirits released with the dead. It was believed these spirits wouldplay tricks on people.
American children still try to play tricks on people onHalloween. They dress in unusual clothes and go from house to houseasking for candy. They may play tricks if they do not get treats.But most will not. They are too busy eating their candy.
Tootsie’s
HOST:
Today, we are going to visit a very small but famous place in thesouthern city of Nashville, Tennessee. It is called “Tootsie’sOrchid Lounge.” Shirley Griffith has more.
ANNCR:
Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge is a drinking place on Broadway Street inNashville. It became famous because it is near the Ryman Auditorium.The Ryman theater was for many years the home of the most famouscountry and western music radio program, The Grand Old Opry.
Performers who appeared at the Ryman Auditorium would often goout the back door and into Tootsie’s for a drink, or to talk withother musicians. Sometimes they performed there, too. Almost everycountry and western star has been in Tootsie’s at least once.
One good example is country singer Roger Miller. He often workedas a singer at Tootsie’s before he won seven Grammy awards and aTony Award for best musical on Broadway. Stories say he wrote one ofhis biggest hit songs while sitting in Tootsie’s. It is called “DangMe.”
(CUT ONE: DANG ME)
Willie Nelson is one of the most famous country musicians. Healso performed at Tootsie’s Lounge. In fact, he got his firstsongwriting job after appearing there. Here he sings “Angel Flyingtoo Close to the Ground.”
(CUT TWO: ANGEL FLYING TOO CLOSE TO THE GROUND;CDP-9464)
Patsy Cline was another visitor to Tootsie’s. She often stoppedthere after shows at the Ryman Auditorium. One of her biggest hitswas written by Willie Nelson. We leave you with Patsy Cline singingthat song, “Crazy.”
(CUT THREE: CRAZY)
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 Cynthia Kirk, NancySteinbach and Paul Thompson. Our studio engineers were Tony Harrisand Tom Verba. And our producer was Paul Thompson.