DAVID BIANCULLI, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. Bass-baritone Paul Robeson was one of the most popular figures of the 20th century, and also one of the most controversial. He died in 1976 at the age of 77, leaving a huge imprint on music, politics and race relations. Our classical music critic, Lloyd Schwartz, reviews two recent releases in which Robeson is the subject. One is a CD called "Robeson" by 38-year-old bass-baritone Davone Tines, who says he grew up being constantly compared to Robeson. The other release is an almost complete 14-CD set of Robeson's own recordings.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OL' MAN RIVER")
PAUL ROBESON: (Singing) Dere's an ol' man called Mississippi; dat's de ol' man dat I'd like to be. What does he care if de world's got troubles? What does he care if de land ain't free? Ol' Man River, dat Ol' Man River, he mus' know sumpin', but don't say nuthin'. He jes' keeps rollin'. He keeps on rollin' along. He don't plant taters, he don't plant cotton, an' dem dat plants 'em is soon forgotten. But Ol' Man River, he jes' keeps rollin' along. You an' me, we sweat an' strain, body all achin' an' racked wid pain. Tote dat barge. Lif' dat bale. Git a little drunk an' you lands in jail. Ah gits weary an' sick of tryin'. Ah'm tired of livin' an' scared of dyin'. But Ol' Man River, he jes' keeps rollin' along.
LLOYD SCHWARTZ, BYLINE: "Ol' Man River" from the landmark 1929 musical "Show Boat" was the great bass-baritone Paul Robeson's most famous song, and the song that also made him famous. Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein wrote it for him as the stevedore, Jim's expression of his darkest dilemma, tired of living and scared of dying, a line that has the tragic weight of a certain Hamlet soliloquy. It's one of the most powerful numbers ever written for a Broadway musical. Now, some younger performers have expressed serious reservations about it. Is it really just a demeaning minstrel song written by white people for a Black performer?
In his concert recitals, Robeson himself changed the stevedore's inner questioning to a public battle cry. I must keep fighting until I'm dying. In his new album called "Robeson," 38-year-old bass-baritone Davone Tines, one of the leading musical artists of our generation, says that over the years, he has changed his mind about the singer to whom he has been frequently compared. In his liner notes, Tines writes of Robeson's suicide attempt after what may have been a CIA effort to drug him. Tines identifies with Robeson's desperation as if it were a fever dream reflecting his own most intimate struggles.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE HOUSE I LIVE IN")
ROBESON: (Singing) What is America to me? A name, a map of the flag I see, a certain word, democracy. What is America to me? The house I live in, the friends that I have found, the folks beyond the railroad and the people all around, the worker and the farmer, the sailor on the sea, the men who built this country, that's America to me.
SCHWARTZ: Paul Robeson sang the uplifting song, "The House I Live In," at many of his concerts. It was first introduced by Frank Sinatra in a 1945 Oscar-winning short about America as a melting pot. On his "Robeson" album, Davone Tines and his band, The Truth, do something similar to what Robeson did with "Ol' Man River." After singing the beginning as it was written, Tines adds his own new angry lyrics about the way America has betrayed its ideals of equality. Find America for me, he concludes.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "THE HOUSE I LIVE IN")
DAVONE TINES AND THE TRUTH: (Singing) Truth becomes banished, and justice never won. Our hopes to find some freedom still just raisins in the sun. It's sad to see it failing. It's the way it's always been, to never cleanse the staining of its bloody prime of sin. 'Cause that's America. What's America? Who's America? Where's America? Find America for me.
SCHWARTZ: In the ultra-romantic Rodgers & Hammerstein ballad "Some Enchanted Evening," Tines makes another radical transformation by simply changing the pronouns. The song becomes his love song to Robeson. But Tines also knows that anyone who hears the song without looking at the liner notes would hear it as a love song from one man to another man. And Tines, who is openly gay, has arrived at a point in his career when he can feel free to express openly his most personal feelings.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SOME ENCHANTED EVENING")
DAVONE TINES AND THE TRUTH: (Singing) Some enchanted evening, you may see a stranger. You may see a stranger across a crowded room, and somehow you'll know, you'll know even then that somewhere you'll see him again and again.
SCHWARTZ: The 14 discs of "Paul Robeson - The Voice Of Freedom" are, of course, a treasure and include some extraordinary live performances and other cuts that were never released. Robeson was also a powerful and versatile stage and film actor. And one of the highlights of this set is his recording of "Othello," which he played on Broadway. It's thrilling to hear Robeson speaking as well as singing, and it's thrilling to hear Tines responding directly to Robeson with his own passion and also in magnificent voice.
BIANCULLI: Lloyd Schwartz reviewed "Paul Robeson - The Voice Of Freedom" and the Davone Tines album, "Robeson." Coming up, Justin Chang reviews David Cronenberg's new movie, "The Shrouds." This is FRESH AIR. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
