"More than any other golden age comic creator, Lee’s characters put blackness and the black experience at the forefront."
Over at The Root, Jason Johnson has a heartfelt and insightful appreciation of comic book writer, editor, and publisher Stan Lee, who died this past Monday at the age of 95. In his appreciation, Johnson explores how Lee, the creator of, among numerous other superheroes, Black Panther, "taught a generation of black nerds about race, art and activism." Following, with added images and links, is an excerpt.
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Over the next 24 hours you’ll hear how Stan Lee is credited with creating Daredevil, Thor, Iron Man, Ant-Man, Dr. Strange, the Wasp, the Hulk, the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man and, of course, Black Panther. What you won’t hear as much is how he was screaming from the rafters about racism and discrimination while providing a curriculum for black kids like myself when public schools and all other forms of pop culture summarily shut us out.
Stan Lee didn’t just develop the modern superhero, he brought activist heroes and storylines to the mainstream when most other white publishers let alone newspapers were still playing footsie with Nazis, terrorists and bigots.
It is hard to overstate how important Lee is to black kids growing up in the 1980s and ’90s ,back when comic books were considered a “white” thing. I have literally teared up a few times while writing and thinking about how much joy he brought to youngsters like me, and how much his passion and excitement for comic books helped validate this hobby and the culture that goes with the genre. More than any other golden age comic creator, Lee’s characters put blackness and the black experience at the forefront.
. . . Lee’s creations seamlessly integrated “blackness” into comics in a way that was revolutionary and organic all at the same time.
Peter Parker was a poor, white kid who was mentored by his black editor at the Daily Bugle newspaper, Robbie Robertson. Captain America’s best friend was the Falcon (played by Anthony Mackie in the movies[right and below]) who wore technologically advanced wings built by Black Panther (in the comics). Black Panther was the king of a super technologically advanced, never-conquered, African nation called Wakanda that introduced me to afro-futurism before I even knew what afro-futurism was. Stan Lee created all of those black characters, from kings to sidekicks; from father figures to managers.
It wasn’t until later in life, when I started studying and teaching about comics instead of just reading them, that I learned that none of this was a fluke. Stan Lee was an activist artist, a Jewish guy born to Romanian immigrant parents in New York who hated bigotry. He was explicit about it in his Stan’s Soapbox editorials that ran across all Marvel Comics. He called bigots “Low IQ Yo-Yos,” he said that anybody who generalized about blacks, women, Italians or whoever hadn’t truly evolved as a person.
He was doing this in comic pages when mainstream newspaper editorials were still deciding if black folks should be able to live where they wanted. When Marvel Comics were afraid that the Black Panther character would be associated with the Black Panther political movement, Stan Lee pushed for T’Challa to keep his name (at one point they wanted to call him Coal Tiger). All of this at a time when even having a black person in a comic was still considered controversial.
. . . Stan Lee [showed me] that a love of art and politics didn’t have to exist in separate universes; that blackness was as heroic as anything else; and that when you have power – even just the power to draw a few characters on a page – you have a responsibility to make those characters count for something.
Lee would end most of his personal appearances and cameos with “Excelsior” — the Latin phrase that translates roughly as “higher.”
Thanks for all your help, Stan Lee. I hope you’re out there somewhere exploring the cosmos, swinging from the ceilings, knowing that you made the world a better place.
To read Jason Johnson's appreciation of Stan Lee in its entirety, click here.
The youngest Americans who arguably defended their nation from a real threat to its shores are in their nineties, and soon there won’t be any of them left. Every single person who has served in the U.S. military since the end of the Second World War has protected nothing other than the agendas of global hegemony, resource control and war profiteering. They have not been fighting and dying for freedom and democracy, they have been fighting and dying for imperialism, Raytheon profit margins, and crude oil.
You may recall that for my birthday last month I shared the late, great Carl Anderson's song "Love Is," the closing track from his 1988 album An Act of Love.
In this concert Brandon Victor Dixon played Judas Iscariot, a role that I think most would agree remains owned by Carl Anderson – even now, 14 years after his death from leukemia in 2004. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that Carl powerfully and heartbreakingly immortalized a very nuanced, very human portrayal of Judas in numerous Broadway productions of Jesus Christ Superstar over many years (left) and in the 1973 film version of the rock opera (below).
I first saw the 1973 film adaptation of Jesus Christ Superstar some time around 1980 (the same time that Carl was launching his solo music career). Both musically and visually the movie left a lasting impression. Soon after, the film's soundtrack album became a fixture of my teenage years, though how exactly this came about I can't recall. It may even have been me who was responsible! Yet even before that time I was well familiar with "Superstar," perhaps the album's most controversial track. Sung by Carl, it was often played on Australian radio in the early-mid 1970s. I thus heard Carl's voice at a very impressionable age. Little wonder, then, that I continue to find it so compelling. Indeed, vocally and lyrically, Carl's music embodies the qualities that I've come to understand and appreciate about myself as an adult (queer) man: passion, sensuality, and (particularly in the case of "Superstar") the willingness to question the seemingly unquestionable.
An accomplished song stylist
NBC's April broadcast of Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert brought to mind Carl's definitive portrayal of Judas, something I'd actually already highlighted here at The Wild Reed. This in turn compelled me to look deeper into the life and career of Carl Anderson.
I soon discovered that for over three decades after his meteoric rise to fame with Jesus Christ Superstar, Carl was an accomplished and respected song stylist within a range of genres – jazz, soul, pop, and R&B. He released nine albums between 1981 and 1996. In addition, Carl made memorable duets with other artists and provided solo guest vocals on a number of songs by others. Artists he worked with included Weather Report, Nancy Wilson, The Rippingtons, Michael Paulo, Maynard Ferguson, Brenda Russell, and Linda Eder.
Above: Carl Anderson and Gloria Loring performing their hit single "Friends and Lovers" at a concert in 1986. (To view clips of this and other live performances of Carl, click here.)
Yet for reasons that are frustratingly elusive, many of Carl's best recordings remain unknown to the general public. His most popular song is his duet with singer-actress Gloria Loring, "Friends and Lovers" (above), which reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1986.
I actually have a dream of curating a box set of Carl's recordings, something similar to what was recently done for singer-songwriter Bobbie Gentry (left). I've even began compiling the track list and visualizing the overall layout of this project, including the images of Carl that I envision this box set featuring. I think of it as my "act of love" for Carl and his memory and musical legacy.
Falling All Over Again
I share all of this as a way to introduce the song by Carl Anderson that I'm sharing for "music night" this evening at The Wild Reed. It's "Falling All Over Again," the lead single from An Act of Love, the one-off album that Carl recorded with Polydor Records on the PolyGram label in 1988.
The fact that Carl only recorded one album with this now defunct label may account for it being the only one of his albums unavailable on CD.
I recently purchased the album on LP format . . . with a couple of bonus features. Specifically, the album came with a large color photo of Carl (left) and a media release from PolyGram clearly designed to promote both Carl and his new album.
As far as I know, this media release has never been published online. So my sharing of it here at The Wild Reed (along with some added images and links) is a first for my blog.
You can read PolyGram's media release for Carl Anderson's An Act of Love after the audio of the album's lead single, "Falling All Over Again."
Be sure to enjoy both!
I'm falling all over again
Back into your arms I descend
Just like it was all brand new
I'm falling in love with you
Look at how far we've come
Our love is forever young
Remember when we first met
I'll never forget just how good it feels to be
Falling all over
Falling all over again
Falling in love with my very best friend
Now and forever this love will never end
I'm falling all over again
We're falling all over again
Watching the world as it spins
Taking us through our lives
Holding the hands of time
Look at how far we've come
And our love is forever young
Remember when we first met
I'll never forget just how good it feels to be
Falling all over
Falling all over again
Falling in love with my very best friend
Now and forever this love will never end
Falling again . . . and again
Falling in love again
Falling in love again
I don't need no . . .
I don't need nobody else
Ooh, Just you
Just you
Do you remember
When you and me held hands and walked
Under the moon and under the stars
And how we made love
Ooh, just you and me
This time, this time
This time it's gonna get better
'Cause we're falling in love
Falling all over again and again and again
You and me
All I want and all I need
Is for you to hold me
Tell me that you need me
And I will comfort you
Comfort you when you want me to
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It all began as an act of love.
In a distant past a Lynchburg, Virginia high school choir director singled out a teenaged Carl Anderson and discovered the beauty and power of his vocal instrument. After putting a first band together after graduation just to pay the rent, Anderson's singing – and later, acting – became his career: he was the electrifying Broadway and film Judas of Jesus Christ Superstar; assorted street toughs in Starsky and Hutch, The Rockford Files, et al episodes; the love interest in Hotel . . . Emmy Award winner, Grammy, NAACP Image Award and Hollywood Globe nominee; the unexpected singing star of Days of Our Lives; a top-selling artist on both U.S. and U.K. charts; and respected as one of the premiere vocal talents of our time. His versatile voice has already graced four solo albums and made appearances on work by Stevie Wonder, Weather Report, Nancy Wilson, and Maynard Ferguson.
Yet until now, Anderson has never made the album that defined his talents – or anything that could confidently say aired some emotional truths. Perhaps nothing in the past few years has truly been throughout an act of love.
"Truth makes the best kind of music, and this is the first time I've done the right kind of record for me," the singer says of his Polydor/PolyGram debut album. "These songs are a monument to my relationship with my wife – the joys, the sorrows, the agony, and the ecstasy. I have seen my marriage fall apart and luckily, I have been able to pick up the pieces again. Doing this album has allowed me to sing about those things."
Above: Carl and his son Khalil McGhee-Anderson in the mid-1990s.
Al McKay (formerly of Earth, Wind & Fire), La La, Terry Marshall, and the singer share producer credits; while the sound is goose-bumpy clean, their efforts have resulted in a sensitive work reminiscent of Marvin Gaye's emotional throwdowns – only this time the family has their say. Anderson and his son Khalil exchange sentiments on "More Than You'll Ever Know"; his wife Kay shares vows on "Love Is (The Love Song)," the album's final statement. Anderson addresses doubt and hurt with the majestic "Stop Along the Way," while the upbeat "Baby, You Just Don't Know" and "Falling All Over Again" (the LP's first single) speak of love's renewal. Anderson says, "I'm asking a few questions here: 'Are you willing to look a little deeper? Are you ready for love more than once – and maybe with the same person?' The energy here comes from the message, not just from the beat."
An Act of Love is also stylistically varied, stemming from Anderson's well-rounded musical training. Perhaps best known as a ballad singer – after all, Quincy Jones called him "the best male ballad singer alive" – the Virginia native sang opera, show tunes, and spirituals in school, then first played live in a Washington, D.C. area rock band. He fancied himself a jazz singer, and the band made a decent living covering Blood, Sweat & Tears and Chicago while throwing in a few originals. "We all lived together on a farm out in the country, he recalls, "doing gigs whenever the rent was due."
Fate stepped in when a friend who worked in a local record store gave Anderson a copy of the then-popular album Jesus Christ Superstar. "It didn't mean a thing to me because The Who had already done rock opera." When he finally listened to it, Anderson saw a vision of himself on Broadway playing the part of Judas. "I'm not exaggerating, it was like yesterday," he says. The band put together a 45-minute medley from the album, performing it at a club in Georgetown. They were invited by a local minister to repeat the set in his church on Palm Sunday, which created a controversy covered by the national media. Television reports on the Today show brought Anderson to the attention of the casting people from the Broadway production, and his dream came true. Anderson was Judas in New York, on the road, and on screen for the next three-and-a-half years.
Above and below: Carl Anderson performing "Superstar" from Jesus Christ Superstar on a Spanish TV variety show in 1974. (To see the entire video, click here.)
Following that, he won an Emmy for his performance in the PBS production Onstage L.A., and then Anderson launched an acting career. Standard TV-cop fare and soap opera appearances paid the bills and, except for a minor role in his friend Stevie Wonder's epic Songs In the Key of Life, Anderson put singing on the back burner for nearly seven years.
During an appearance in the L.A. stage production Zen Boogie, Anderson decided it was time to let his voice be heard again."It was from the dialogue of acting that I learned the importance of a lyric," he notes. Anderson signed with Epic Records in 1981, recording four albums for the label while continuing to act in Days of Our Lives and Hotel. One song, "Buttercup" (written by Stevie Wonder), became a No. 1 U.K. dance hit in 1985 [left].
In 1986, Anderson performed "Friends and Lovers" on Days of Our Lives with actress Gloria Loring. Requests for the record put it on the charts, and by the fall the duo had one of the biggest songs of the year. (It reached No. 2 and stayed there for two weeks.) The LP which resulted was a patchwork effort, however, and Anderson left Epic for PolyGram.
"I've had many different experiences, I've sung many songs and felt many things. That's all part of me now, it has all gone into the record. I'm grateful to have had this opportunity with the people and the music I love most."
– PolyGram Media Release
June 1988
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So what happened to Carl and his career after his one-off album with Polydor/PolyGram?
Well, sadly (and I purposely use this word given all the inspiring and hope-filled things Carl is quoted as saying in the press release) his marriage to Kay ended shortly after the release of An Act of Love. In 1992 he married Veronica Porsche, the former wife of Muhammad Ali.
In 1996, Carl released a live concert album, Why We Are Here!, under the Abu Khalil label, Carl's own production company named after his son. The album was recorded at the Agape International Spiritual Center, of which Carl was a member.
Shortly after Carl's death in 2004, the center released a collection of live recordings of Carl's performances at Agape. According to the album's liner notes, they were songs "especially dear to Carl's heart" and include "You'll Never Walk Alone," Rolling River God," "You Anointed Me," "Inner Visions," "I Am the Rock," and "I'm Ready to Listen." The album itself was entitled Carl Anderson: Superstar – The Love of Song, the Love of Music. I was fortunate enough to secure a copy of this album on CD format before it recently disappeared from the music section of Agape's store website. (It appears to be archived, however, here. If you're interested in purchasing it, I suggest you call the Agape Store at 310- 348-1266. That's how I ordered it.)
I'll close by sharing the following excerpt from Karyl Lynn Burns' description of Carl Anderson's memorial service at the Agape Spiritual Center on February 28, 2004.
One of the things I was so touched by was how often many people said that Carl had "a good death," that his death was like his life, and that he had great dignity in his passing; that he was compassionate and concerned for others even until the end. The pastor said, "We know that birth is not the beginning and death is not the end." I believe that, too.
Yes, right to the end, Carl Anderson remained open to embodying acts of love. It wasn't just his voice that was beautiful and powerful; so too was his soul. The two, of course, merged; his music was, after all, incredibly soulful. As such, it inspires me in many ways, including to manifest and embody soulful acts of love on every step of my journey, at every stage of my life. Thank you, Carl!
True, it's not actually winter yet . . . but it sure does look and feel like it today here in Minnesota.
NotedStar Tribune meteorologist Paul Douglas earlier today:
November and December are the darkest months; deepening cold accompanied by unusually gray and cloudy days. A double-shot of gloom for most. Ironically, January tends to be colder, but sunnier, as dry Canadian air finally sweeps away the crud.
Last night's clipper left behind a residue of snow and ice – leave extra time for the morning commute. This early cold wave lingers into early next week, with temperatures 15-20F colder than average.
I established The Wild Reed in 2006 as a sign of solidarity with all who are dedicated to living lives of integrity – though, in particular, with gay people seeking to be true to both the gift of their sexuality and their Catholic faith. The Wild Reed's original by-line read, "Thoughts and reflections from a progressive, gay, Catholic perspective." As you can see, it reads differently now. This is because my journey has, in many ways, taken me beyond, or perhaps better still, deeper into the realities that the words "progressive," "gay," and "Catholic" seek to describe.
Even though reeds can symbolize frailty, they may also represent the strength found in flexibility. Popular wisdom says that the green reed which bends in the wind is stronger than the mighty oak which breaks in a storm. Tall green reeds are associated with water, fertility, abundance, wealth, and rebirth. The sound of a reed pipe is often considered the voice of a soul pining for God or a lost love.
On September 24, 2012,Michael BaylyofCatholics for Marriage Equality MNwas interviewed by Suzanne Linton of Our World Today about same-sex relationships and why Catholics can vote 'no' on the proposed Minnesota anti-marriage equality amendment.
"I believe your blog to be of utmost importance for all people regardless of their orientation. . . . Thank you for your blog and the care and dedication that you give in bringing the TRUTH to everyone."– William
"Michael, if there is ever a moment in your day or in your life when you feel low and despondent and wonder whether what you are doing is anything worthwhile, think of this: thanks to your writing on the internet, a young man miles away is now willing to embrace life completely and use his talents and passions unashamedly to celebrate God and his creation. Any success I face in the future and any lives I touch would have been made possible thanks to you and your honesty and wisdom."– AB
"Since I discovered your blog I have felt so much more encouraged and inspired knowing that I'm not the only gay guy in the Catholic Church trying to balance my Faith and my sexuality. Continue being a beacon of hope and a guide to the future within our Church!"– Phillip
"Your posts about Catholic issues are always informative and well researched, and I especially appreciate your photography and the personal posts about your own experience. I'm very glad I found your blog and that I've had the chance to get to know you."– Crystal
"Thank you for taking the time to create this fantastic blog. It is so inspiring!"– George
"I cannot claim to be an expert on Catholic blogs, but from what I've seen, The Wild Reed ranks among the very best."– Kevin
"Reading your blog leaves me with the consolation of knowing that the words Catholic, gay and progressive are not mutually exclusive.."– Patrick
"I grieve for the Roman institution’s betrayal of God’s invitation to change. I fear that somewhere in the midst of this denial is a great sin that rests on the shoulders of those who lead and those who passively follow. But knowing that there are voices, voices of the prophets out there gives me hope. Please keep up the good work."– Peter
"I ran across your blog the other day looking for something else. I stopped to look at it and then bookmarked it because you have written some excellent articles that I want to read. I find your writing to be insightful and interesting and I'm looking forward to reading more of it. Keep up the good work. We really, really need sane people with a voice these days."– Jane Gael
"Michael, your site is like water in the desert."– Jayden
