The Last Holiday (eBook)

Dr. Martin Luther King had a dream. And Stevie Wonder had a dream. This is a book about dreams.''In the autumn of 1980, Stevie Wonder invited Gil Scott-Heron to join him on a forty-one-city tour across America, ending in Washing­ton in January 1981, to gather popular support for the creation of a holiday in honour of the great civil-rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr. Scott-Heron uses this history-making tour as the backbone of his fascinating memoir. Raised by his grandmother in Jackson, Tennessee, Scott-Heron''s journey from humble beginnings to becoming one of the most uncompromising and influential musicians and songwriters of his generation is a remarkable one. Politically savvy and savagely satirical, socially conscious and tender-hearted, Gil Scott-Heron has been called the godfather of rap, and his unexpected death in May 2011 marked the loss of one of the world''s most vocal and articulate artists. Chuck D of Public Enemy said of Scott-Heron, ''we do what we do and who we do because of you'' and Eminem added, ''Scott-Heron influenced all of hip-hop''. And as Sarah Silverman said, "he mirrored ugliness with beauty, audacity, and valour''.A compelling testament to Gil Scott-Heron''s career and achievements, The Last Holiday is full of Scott-Heron''s keen insights into the music industry, the civil rights movement, modern America, governmental hypocrisy and our wider place in the world.