Big Sole Blog (BSB)

ADAMS Benjamin James Adams, age 45 years, a native of New Orleans, LA, and a permanent resident of Slidell, passed away on Friday, November 9, 2012. He was a devoted member of Calvary Tabernacle CME Church and a regional loss prevention manager for Payless ShoeSource. He was also a graduate of St. Augustine High School and Southern University at New Orleans and a member of Kappa Alpha Psi

Via Morris Chestnut's Facebook page, I just learned of actor Michael Clarke Duncan's death. I have not been watching news much lately, so I did not hear of it sooner. Chestnut said in his FB post, "RIP to Michael Clarke Duncan. A man with a tremendous spirit and great talent. It was an honor to have known you. You will be surely missed my brotha!" I never saw Duncan in person, but whenever I

The first video in this post shows a scene from a 1974 Soul Train episode in which Soul Train creator Don Cornelius interviews the Godfather of Soul James Brown, and the clip includes a young Al Sharpton presenting Brown with an award. I thought this clip would be appropriate upon hearing that Don Cornelius has passed away at age of 75. Soul Train did so much more for the black community than

Watching the romance, the successful marriage of Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson known as Ashford and Simpson, gave me as much joy as listening to their music over the years. I've posted this interview and profile with the pair before (when Saturday Night Live spoofed Barack and Michelle Obama with "Solid"), but with the death of Nick Ashford, 70, from throat cancer, I felt I should post it

You know that the spoken word poem "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" by Gil Scott-Heron left its mark on America because the title's become a commonplace. For instance, I heard a television reporter making reference to the poem during the so-called "Arab Spring" protests of this year as a point of commentary. He said, "Apparently the revolution will be televised." The title of Gil

I awoke this morning to the news that screen legend Elizabeth Taylor had died. According to NPR, "A publicist told The Associated Press that Taylor died of congestive heart failure at a Los Angeles hospital. She was 79."As someone born in 1960, I grew up seeing Taylor's movies on television. I remember Lassie Go Home and National Velvet, and also her adult movies. The latter were often presented