Book description
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 WashingÂton 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.
