On this day, we set aside the time to honor the memory of an admirable man. The strides that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made during the Civil Rights Movement are remarkable and unquestionable. Doing it all in the name of love and non-violence.
In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Music Monday is dedicated to Nina Simone’s Why The King of Love is Dead (live).
This performance was recorded on April 7, 1968, at the Westbury Music Fair, three days after Dr. King was murdered. Why The King of Love is Dead was written by Nina Simone’s bassist, Gene Taylor. This performance was dedicated to the memory of Dr. King.
There is a shorter version of this song on Simone’s “Nuff Said” album, but I believe the live performance captures and embraces the true emotions of the time.
Towards the end of her performance, Simone says, “They’re killing us one by one.” An utterance that still holds true to this very day. When you think of Trayvon Martin, Mike Brown, Freddie Gray, Sandra Bland, Jordan Davis, and countless others that have been gunned down in the past year, one can only think if Dr. King really did die in vain.
That’s ONE HUNDRED black lives snuffed from this earth because black skin is seen as a walking, talking threat to (some) white folks. But that’s another post for another time. Enjoy the music, beloveds.
Enjoy the music, beloveds.
Avery Ware 
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