Hi folks,
An old saw of the jazz radio announcer’s game is to say something like, “This guy is so important that there should be a street named after him.” As we know, in reality (at least here in the USA) it almost never actually happens. Well, now it is happening and I think it is incumbent on us to make every effort to make our listeners aware of it.
The village of Ossining, NY (in Westchester County) is naming the street where Sonny Sharrock lived “Sonny Sharrock Way.” Sonny was a blistering guitarist who never compromised his vision for his audience or other musicians or anyone else. While his commitment to his art earned respect from artists like Miles Davis and Pharoah Sanders (he played and recorded with both of them), he spent close to a decade in total obscurity before re-emerging in the 1980’s to make the best recordings of his career. He died in 1994 at age 53.
Sonny was not only the poster child for the type of artist we at WKCR love to get behind but he was also a great friend to to the station; he was interviewed and performed on the air multiple times. A fantastic way to honor his memory would be to simply read the following announcement…[and] by all means, do yourself a favor and give one of his CDs a spin– either on the air or just for yourself– and experience his luminous spirit.
Plectrally yours,
Mitch
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> Master guitarist and long-time ‘KCR favorite Sonny Sharrock will be honored on Saturday, Oct. 2 in his hometown of Ossining, NY. South Malcolm Street, where he used to live, will be renamed “Sonny Sharrock Way.” The event begins at 3PM at the corner of South Malcolm and Hamilton Avenue. There will be a short ceremony conducted by the mayor of Ossining, followed by a performance by Sons of Sharrock, a tribute band led by Sonny Sharrock’s cousin and former collaborator, Kendall Buchanan. For more information, visit www.villageofossining.org.