TCNJ

26 WINTER 2017 MATT FURMAN 'What is this child doing singing rock 'n' roll, the devil's music? And you're supposed to be a preacher?'" In 1971, after Birdsong had departed for the Supremes, the group changed its name to LaBelle and traded in its prim stage presence for the flamboyant space-age costumes that would come to define LaBelle's live performance. Three years later, the group released "Lady Marmalade," featuring one of the most enduring lyrics in the history of American popular music: Voulez- vous coucher avec moi ce soir? (Do you want to sleep with me tonight?) For one glorious week in the spring of 1975, "Lady Marmalade" held the number- one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. LaBelle broke cultural ground with routine. In July 1975, the trio became the first all-black musical group to grace the cover of Rolling Stone. A year earlier, LaBelle delivered the first performance by an all-black group at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City, an event that carried such historical weight even the Elder Abraham Dash made sure to attend. "I think I made my father very proud of me," Dash says. "Because he never had to get me out of jail or rehab, and that's important today, you know. That is very important." One sunny morning last October, Dash came to campus to record the Trenton Makes Music theme song. During a break, she suddenly reached for her cell phone. "It's Sam's birthday today," she said with urgency. "Sam" was Sam Moore, one half of Sam and Dave, the seminal soul duo of the 1960s and 70s, who was turning 81. Dash dialed Moore's number, and when he didn't pick up, she left a voicemail — "Hi, Sam. It's Sarah." — that ended with her crooning "Happy Birthday." A S PEARSON AND NAKRA and their students began to research Trenton's musical legacy, they unearthed nugget after nugget of rich material. As Pearson says, they "followed the breadcrumb trail." One day, taking a bus into Trenton from campus, Pearson struck up a conversation about Trenton Makes Music with the bus driver. Turns out the driver, Vance Holland, was a former session musician with Salsoul, the New York City record label. Holland told Pearson about his sister, Diane Jones, a former backup singer for Guns N' Roses and Taylor Dayne. Pearson reached out to Jones, who soon became one of the first musicians to provide an oral history for Trenton Makes Music. And so it went along the breadcrumb trail. Through a former Princeton classmate, Pearson was introduced to Clifford Adams. Before his death in 2015, Adams provided valuable assistance to Pearson's early efforts to wrap her head around Trenton's music scene. They shared many telephone conversations, Pearson says, "with him telling me stories and pointing me to people." Adams told Pearson about influential music educators in Trenton, such as Thomas Passarella and Thomas Grice. In October 2014, Trenton Makes Music presented a concert featuring Grice, a saxophonist, and the TCNJ Jazz Band. At another program last October, Dash presented a plaque to her 87-year-old mentor: "Honoring Thomas Grice in appreciation and recognition to your many contributions to Trenton and to music education." " People's awareness of music, and people's investment in music, really have an effect on the way communities operate." Pearson says one of the highlights of her work on Trenton Makes Music has been hearing so many musicians recall the influence of the city's music teachers. At the November pop program, the singer/songwriter/producer Showtyme Brooks gave a shout-out to his Trenton Central High School music teachers Joseph Pucciatti '76 and Ted Plunkett. The same program featured a performance by the high school's orchestra, under the direction of Pucciatti. "There is no greater evidence of the transformative power of Big band leaders Professors Kim Pearson (left) and Teresa Nakra head up this complex project. Cont. from page 23

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