Marty Brown’s “Broken Road”

Marty Brown Broken Road Tonight on a semi-finals show of America’s Got Talent, Marty Brown performed the “Bless the Broken Road,” made famous by the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Rascal Flatts. Alone on stage with his guitar, Brown had a lot of pressure on him after the judges had criticized his last performance. But Brown showed he could handle the pressure, putting on a touching performance of the song within the limited time given to performers on the show.

Hopefully, Brown will advance to the pre-finals Top 12 round, but the competition is tough with a wide variety of talented acts, so fans need to make sure to vote by phone, Internet, and Twitter. See our previous post on how to vote or go to AGT’s website.

Marty Brown chose a fitting song for this national television performance. Marty Brown has taken a broken road to get to the semifinals of America’s Got Talent. Here’s to the next steps along that comeback road.

September 4 Update: Marty Brown did not advance to the top 12 of America’s Got Talent. Besides making a great run, we are more excited than ever that he won so many new fans. So we look forward to more exposure and more original music in the future. We will continue to cover Brown’s ongoing successful career!

[Update: For a post on Brown’s entire run on America’s Got Talent, check out our post on The Great AGT Rebirth of Marty Brown.]

What was your favorite performance on “America’s Got Talent”? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    It’s the Working, the Working, Just the Working Life

    Labor Day book We hope our U.S. readers are enjoying the Labor Day weekend. The official holiday was signed into law by President Grover Cleveland to honor working people, following the 1894 Pullman Strike where strikers had been killed by law enforcement officials and soldiers. But citizens had already been celebrating the Labor Day for years.

    There are a number of songs about jobs, but when I think of the word “work” and music, the first song that comes to my mind is Bruce Springsteen’s “Factory,” from Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978). The haunting repetitiveness of the line about “the working, the working, just the working life” captures the boring sameness that appears in some way in almost every job, although some more than others. Yet, the song always seemed like a tribute to those who do those difficult jobs, such as the factory workers in the song.

    I recently discovered the Canadian band The Deep Dark Woods. The band, from Saskatoon, has put out several albums that one might classify as alt-country. I plan to check out more of there music, and you should too. For now, though, check out their awesome take on Springsteen’s “Factory.”

    The U.S. Labor Department website notes that the holiday is “a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers.” And it is a “tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.” Enjoy your day, and then get back to the working, the working, just the working life.

    What is your favorite song about working? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Marty Brown Is From the Country But Sings From the City This Week

    Marty Brown Kentucky State Fair

    Marty Brown returns to the America’s Got Talent stage this Tuesday. As Marty Brown has continued his comeback with the help of America’s Got Talent, fans have been lucky to see him performing in a variety of places. Recently, he opened for Montgomery Gentry at the Kentucky State Fair. At the show, Brown played “I’m from the Country,” a song he co-wrote that became a hit for Tracy Byrd. It’s great to see him performing his hit at a sold-out show. Check it out.

    Marty Brown will be back on America’s Got Talent this Tuesday, September 3, so make sure to watch and check out our previous post on how to vote by phone, Internet, and Twitter. To vote by phone, call the number they show on your screen for Marty Brown, which looks like it will be 1-866-602-4802 but double-check your TV. To vote by Internet, go here. To vote on Twitter, tweet using the hashtag #voteAGT followed by “Marty Brown.” You get one vote on Twitter but can vote up to ten times each on the phone and on the Internet (for each email address).

    Voting begins 10:55 p.m. Tuesday, and the phone voting goes until 1 a.m. EST while the online and Twitter voting goes to 6:00 a.m. Wednesday. For more information and details on the voting times for your time zone, check out AGT’s website.

    For another original Marty Brown song, check out “I’m Gonna Make It Fly” below, and make sure to catch the show on Tuesday, where Brown will continue to make his comeback fly. [October 2014 Update: Unfortunately, the video is no longer available but we hear that “I’m Gonna Make It Fly” is going to be a new single, so we will post a video once it becomes available.]


    What song would you like to hear Marty Brown sing? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    P.T. Barnum Brings “The Swedish Nightingale” to New York

    Swedish Nightengale On September 1, 1850, Swedish opera singer Jenny Lind — “The Swedish Nightingale” — arrived in New York City from Liverpool, creating a sensation. Showman P.T. Barnum negotiated to bring Lind to the states. His idea paid off, as the tour ended up netting him nearly half of a million dollars.

    Barnum offered Lind a high price for the 150-date tour of the U.S. and Canada, an offer he increased after her first shows immediately made the tour a success. Lind agreed to the tour partly because the deal also required certain payments to charities. Her charm won over audiences, and it also helped bring opera to a wider U.S. audience.

    This scene from 1934’s The Mighty Barnum captures Barnum negotiating for Jenny Lind as he hears her sing. The film stars Wallace Beery as P.T. Barnum and Virginia Bruce as Jenny Lind.

    In the scene above, Virginia Bruce as Jenny Lind sings the Irish song “Believe Me, if All Those Endearing Young Charms.” Unfortunately, the real Jenny Lind lived in the very early years of recording and no known recordings of her voice survive. But there are several things named after her, including streets in Arkansas, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.

    Lind did live on after her triumphant American tour. She spent most of the rest of her life in England with her husband and three children. She stopped doing opera, but she performed concerts until 1883. Starting in 1882, she became a professor of singing at the Royal College of Music. She died in 1887, and as she had done in her lifetime, she left much of her money to charity.

    Photo: via public domain.

    What is your favorite P.T. Barnum character? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Thurgood Marshall’s 1967 Appointment to the Supreme Court

    Justice Thurgood Marshall On August 30, 1967, the United States Senate confirmed Thurgood Marshall for the U.S. Supreme Court by a vote of 69-11. Thus, after almost 200 years, the country had its first African-American Supreme Court Justice. It would be even longer until the first woman, Sandra Day O’Connor, joined the Court in 1981.

    Marshall, of course, made history in a number of ways. While on the Court, he sided with the rights of the oppressed, becoming a fighter for equal treatment of all Americans while leading on such issues as his opposition to the death penalty.

    The following newsreel footage covers President Lyndon B. Johnson’s nomination of Marshall to the Court.

    Regarding the 69-11 Senate vote, twenty Senators abstained and did not vote.  The vote took place after what has been called a “heated” debate for six hours, with conservative Senators concerned about Marshall’s “liberal” work for Civil Rights as a lawyer.  The eleven “Nay” votes came from southern states: both Alabama Senators, both South Carolina Senators, both Louisiana Senators, and one Senator each from North Carolina (other NC Senator abstaining), Florida (other Florida Senator abstaining), Georgia (other Georgia Senator abstaining), West Virginia, and Mississippi (other Mississippi Senator abstaining).

    This short video captures some images and a few short interview excerpts from Senators involved in the nomination process. Early on, you may see New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy next to Marshall, and Massachusetts Senator Edward Kennedy speaks about the nomination.

    Marshall’s fight for equal rights went back long before President Johnson nominated him to the Supreme Court. After becoming chief counsel at the NAACP at the young age of 32, he oversaw many important cases. He also won 29 cases before the Supreme Court, including the landmark 1954 case of Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, where the Court struck down “separate but equal” school segregation.

    By all accounts, Marshall also was a decent man and fun to be around, as he often regaled his colleagues with stories of his experiences. I have been reading Gilbert King’s Devil in the Grove, which recounts a fascinating period where Marshall was involved in a case helping defend four black men accused of a 1949 crime in Florida.

    In the following video, Mike Wallace interviews Thurgood Marshall on 60 Minutes. The video is undated, but the conversation and the reference to “President Eisenhower” (and apparently to his 1956 re-election) place it within several years after Brown. I like Marshall’s response to the question about who he voted for, as well as Wallace’s promotion of the game Jotto at the end. Check it out.

    A few years back, I caught the HBO one-man show Thurgood, where Laurence Fishburne portrayed the legendary lawyer and jurist. Fishburne does a very good job of capturing various sides of Marshall and his long career, and it is worth tracking down.

    Here is the trailer.

    Thurgood Marshall remains one of the giants of American history. Although I did not learn about him while I was in grade school or probably even high school, every school child should learn about his life.

    Photo: Collection of the Supreme Court of the United States

    What is your favorite story about Thurgood Marshall? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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