Babtunde Olatunji

Beat the Drum

Okay, my friends don't do blogs. Last night I visited some friends with my printed brochures about this page and even got the teenaged son of my friend to bring the blog up online to show to a friend.

The best suggestion was "Simplifiy your presentation." What I want still isn't very clear, and that lack of clarity begins with me. And so the coversation goes.

My dear friend who hates computers, but humoring me looked at the blog, began engaging me about what she might do. She said that what she'd do would probably begin with music.

She recalled how when she was a child she saw Olatunji on Captain Kangaroo and he'd made quite the impression on her and her brother. After watching the show she and her brother went outside and started banging on things.

Amazing that Olatunji was on Captain Kangaroo. I found it hard to believe really, so I did a Web search. In 1959 Olatunji had a hit record Drums of Passion! That's about the right time period.

Musicians are so smart to appear on children's TV shows. Emanuel Ax has a big following among the younger set at Pittsburgh Symphony concerts. I wondered aloud why that was at a performance and the person sitting next to me said: "It's because he appears on 'Sesame Street.'"

I've got to start adding links on the sidebar and one that I'm sure to add is for African Voices a foundation Babatunde Olatunji founded to aid Africa.

My African friends are amuzed when I tell them of my get togethers with friends and how we gather around a bon fire to drum and sing. I know now that Babatunde Olatunji is one of the reasons there's drumming. My friend's life was changed all those years ago when she saw a beautiful African man making fantastic drum music on Captain Kangaroo.

Babatunde Olatunji died 7:30 Am April 6, 2003 at the age of 75.

Beat the Drum