B.J. Reagon — Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon — is one of those rare SuperGenius talents that cannot be boxed in by mind or musical genre.  Is she a Blues singer?  Is she a Gospel singer?  Is she a Folk singer?


B.J. Reagon is all of that and more — she sings solely for the longing of the human heart — and she doesn’t stop there:

Bernice Johnson Reagon (1942-) grew up with music. She knew it could entertain, excite, and praise God. When she joined the Albany, Georgia, nonviolent movement, she learned it could do much more, as she describes in this brief memoir. Reagon was born and raised in southwest Georgia. As the daughter of a Baptist minister, religion and music played large roles in her upbringing. She studied music at Albany (GA) State University, where she became active in the civil rights movement. She has pursued a career as a teacher, composer, and performer, founding the a cappella group Sweet Honey in the Rock in 1973.

Here are the list of beautiful melodic runes from her famous album, “Folk Songs:  The South:”

This is B.J. Reagon singing “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” live on Pete Seeger’s “Rainbow Quest” 1960’s television show.  She’s probably around 18-years-old:

When we consider The Blues, we must include B.J. Reagon as a foundation block of that emotional and intellectual continuum and we must always conform to her musical mandate that we all count or none of us count.

5 Comments

  1. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    Gordon Davidescu says:

    Sounds brilliant, David. I will have to look into getting some more of her lovely music!

  2. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    B.J. Reagon sings the history of the Black Experience in America, Gordon. Listen to her, and history comes alive in real and painful ways.

  3. Kathakali Chatterjee – Hyderabad, India – Professionally, I have an interesting concoction of experience -- from entertainment industry to retailing to executive education -- the journey is still on. When I don't work, I love to travel, read, listen to music and watch movies.
    kathakali.chatterjee says:

    Wow, simply touching…

  4. David Boles – New York City – David Boles was born in Nebraska and holds an MFA from the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies at Columbia University in the City of New York. He is an author, dramatist, editor, publisher, and teacher who writes across the live stage, print, radio, television, film, and the web. With more than 50 books in print, David continues to write 2MM words a year and has authored over 25K articles. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Authors Guild, and PEN America, and founded The United Stage advocacy platform on the principle that playwrights have a duty to direct their own work. Read the Prairie Voice Archive at Boles.com | Buy his books at David Boles Books Writing & Publishing at BolesBooks.com | Study with Script Professor at ScriptProfessor.com | Touch American Sign Language mastery at Hardcore ASL at HardcoreASL.com | Explore the Human Meme podcast at HumanMeme.com | Train with Boles Bells at BolesBells.com.
    David W. Boles says:

    She is definitely a necessary superstar for us all to remember.

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