Willie Wei-Hock Soon (born 1966) is an astrophysicist at the Solar and Stellar Physics Division of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Soon has testified before Congress on the issue of climate change^[1] He is known for his views that most global warming is caused by solar variation. In 2011, it was revealed that he received over $1,000,000 from petroleum and coal interests since 2001.^[2][3]

In addition to writing a range of technical papers on solar and stellar behavior, the physics of climate change, and an astronomy textbook for students, Soon co-authored The Maunder Minimum and the Variable Sun–Earth Connection with Steven H. Yaskell (2004). The book treats historical and proxy records of climate change coinciding with the Maunder Minimum (c 1645-1715).^[4] In 2004 Soon was awarded the "Petr Beckmann Award for courage and achievement in the defense of scientific truth" by Doctors for Disaster Preparedness.

He has been chief science adviser to the Science and Public Policy Institute, a think tank which disputes the belief that global warming is anthropogenic.^[5] Soon is also associated with the George C. Marshall Institute, where he co-authored Lessons and Limits of Climate History: Was 20th Century Climate Unusual?^[6] with Sallie Baliunas.^[7] The pair have also written for the Fraser Institute of Canada regarding Sun-climate connections. One of their publications was the center of political controversy,^[8] and editors resigned from the journal which published the paper.^[9][10] Soon and Baliunas have also been criticised because their research budget was funded in part by the American Petroleum Institute,^{[8][11][12][13]} a trade association.^[14] Another paper coauthored by Soon started a heated debate with polar bear experts.^[15]

[edit] Controversy over the 2003 Climate Research paper

In 2003 Willie Soon was first author on a review paper in the journal Climate Research, with Sallie Baliunas as co-author. This paper concluded that "the 20th century is probably not the warmest nor a uniquely extreme climatic period of the last millennium."^[6]

Shortly thereafter, 13 scientists published a rebuttal to the paper.^[16] There were three main objections: Soon and Baliunas used data reflective of changes in moisture, rather than temperature; they failed to distinguish between regional and hemispheric^[which?] temperature anomalies; and they reconstructed past temperatures from proxy evidence not capable of resolving decadal trends. ^[16][17]

After publication, Hans Von Storch, Clare Goodess, and 2 more members of the journal's editorial board, resigned in protest against what they felt was a failure of the peer review process on the part of the journal.^[9][10] Otto Kinne, managing director of the journal's parent company, stated that "CR [Climate Research] should have been more careful and insisted on solid evidence and cautious formulations before publication" and that "CR should have requested appropriate revisions of the manuscript prior to publication."^[18]

Approximately five percent of the Soon-Baliunas study's budget ($53,000) was funded by the American Petroleum Institute.^[8] At the time Soon and Baliunas were also paid consultants of the Marshall Institute.^[8]

Polar bear debate[link]

A heated debate was created from a "viewpoint" article in the journal Ecological Complexity which Soon coauthored with Dyck, Baydack, Legates, Baliunas, Timothy F. Ball and Hancock. Several of these authors are known for their skeptical views on global warming. In this paper they argue that climate change may not be the ultimate control factor on polar bear survival. Specifically they argue that there has been no spring warming in the Hudson Bay area over a 70 year period. As an alternative they list several other factors which may have a negative effect on the polar bear populations, such as increased human-bear interaction.^[19] The Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, cited this paper in a bid to get polar bears delisted from the U.S. Endangered Species Act.^[20] Some polar bear scientists and environmental scientists, including Ian Stirling and Andrew Derocher, responded with a viewpoint article in the same journal. They argued that the alternative explanations for polar bear decline are "Largely unsupported by the data available."^[15]

Funding by fossil fuel business interests[link]

Documents obtained by Greenpeace under the US Freedom of Information Act show that the Charles G. Koch Foundation gave Soon two grants totaling $175,000 in 2005/6 and again in 2010. Multiple grants from the American Petroleum Institute between 2001 and 2007 totalled $274,000, and grants from Exxon Mobil totalled $335,000 between 2005 and 2010. Other coal and oil industry sources which funded him include the Mobil Foundation, the Texaco Foundation and the Electric Power Research Institute. Soon has stated unequivocally that he has "never been motivated by financial reward in any of my scientific research."^[3]

See also[link]

• List of scientists opposing the mainstream scientific assessment of global warming
• Fossil fuels lobby
• Proxy (climate)
• Instrumental temperature record

References[link]

1. ^ "Testimony of Dr. Willie Soon". United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. July 29, 2003. http://epw.senate.gov/108th/Soon_072903.htm. Retrieved July 17, 2011. 
2. ^ "US climate skeptic Soon funded by oil, coal firms". Reuters. 28 June 2011. http://af.reuters.com/article/energyOilNews/idAFN1E75Q1ZO20110628. Retrieved 28 June 2011. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Vidal, John (2011-06-27). "Climate sceptic Willie Soon received $1m from oil companies, papers show". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jun/28/climate-change-sceptic-willie-soon. 
4. ^ "Sunny Occupation". All Malaysia. 2005-04-18. http://allmalaysia.info/news/story.asp?file=/2005/4/18/msiansabroad/10255121&sec=mi_msiansabroad. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
5. ^ "Global Warming Science and Public Policy". Science and Public Policy Institute. http://scienceandpublicpolicy.org/. Retrieved 2009-05-29. 
6. ^ ^{a b} Soon, Willie (2003). "Lessons and Limits of Climate History: Was 20th Century Climate Unusual?". Marshall Institute. http://www.marshall.org/pdf/materials/136.pdf. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
7. ^ Pearce, Fred, The Climate Files: The Battle for the Truth about Global Warming, (2010) Guardian Books, ISBN 978-0-85265-229-9, p. XVI.
8. ^ ^{a b c d} Sanchez, Irene (2005-11-13). "Warming study draws fire". The Harvard Crimson. http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=348723. Retrieved 2009-05-30. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Monastersky, Richard (September 2003). "Storm Brews Over Global Warming". The Chronicle of Higher Education. http://chronicle.com/article/Storm-Brews-Over-Global/27779. Retrieved 2010-04-14. 
10. ^ ^{a b} Goodess, Clare (November 2003). "Stormy Times for Climate Research". SGR Newsletter #28. http://www.sgr.org.uk/climate/StormyTimes_NL28.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-17. 
11. ^ Mooney, Chris (2004-04-13). "Earth Last". The American Prospect. http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?articleId=7603. Retrieved 2009-05-29. 
12. ^ "20th Century Climate Not so Hot". Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. 2003-03-31. http://cfa-www.harvard.edu/press/archive/pr0310.html. Retrieved 2009-05-29. 
13. ^ Andrew Revkin (2003-08-05). "Politics Reasserts Itself in the Debate Over Climate Change and Its Hazards". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2003/08/05/science/earth/05CLIM.html?pagewanted=2. Retrieved 2010-04-14. ^{[dead link]}
14. ^ Revkin, Andrew (2005-06-08). "Bush Aide Softened Greenhouse Gas Links to Global Warming.". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/08/politics/08climate.html?. Retrieved 2009-05-29. 
15. ^ ^{a b} Stirling I. Derocher A.E. Gough W.A. Rode K. (2008). "Response to Dyck et al. (2007) on polar bears and climate change in western Hudson Bay". Ecological Complexity 5 (3): 193–201. DOI:10.1016/j.ecocom.2008.01.004. 
16. ^ ^{a b} "Leading Climate Scientists Reaffirm View that Late 20th Century Warming Was Unusual and Resulted From Human Activity" (Press release). American Geophysical Union. July 7, 2003. AGU Release No. 03-19. http://www.agu.org/news/press/pr_archives/2003/prrl0319.html. 
17. ^ Osborn T.J., Briffa K.R. (2006). "The Spatial Extent of 20th-Century Warmth in the Context of the Past 1200 Years". Science 311 (5762): 841–844. Bibcode 2006Sci...311..841O. DOI:10.1126/science.1120514. PMID 16469924. 
18. ^ Kinne, Otto (2003). "Climate Research: an article unleashed worldwide storms" (PDF). Climate Research 24: 197–198. DOI:10.3354/cr024197. http://www.int-res.com/articles/misc/CREditorial.pdf. Retrieved 2007-04-17. 
19. ^ Dyck M.G. Soon W. Baydack R.K. Legates D.R. Baliunas S. Ball T.F. Hancock L.O. (2007). "Polar bears of western Hudson Bay and climate change: Are warming air temperatures the "ultimate" survival control factor?". Ecological Complexity 4 (3): 73–84. DOI:10.1016/j.ecocom.2007.03.002. 
20. ^ Kizzia, Tom (2008-01-27). "Funding and review of Palin-touted study criticized". Anchorage Daily News. 

External links[link]

• Marshall Institute
• http://www.astrosociety.org/pubs/mercury/32_03/summer.html
• http://www.marshall.org/experts.php?id=44 George C. Marshall Institute
• United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, July 29, 2003, Testimony of Dr. Willie Soon
• http://capmag.com/article.asp?ID=478 capmag.com

Willie Nile
Nile at the Ramshead Annapolis 06-05-06
Background information
Birth name	Robert Noonan
Born	1948
Origin	Buffalo, NY, U.S.
Genres	Folk, Alternative, Rock
Occupations	Singer-Songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, Guitar, Keyboards, Harmonica
Years active	1976–present
Labels	Arista, Columbia, 00:02:59
Website	WillieNile.com

Willie Nile (born Robert Anthony Noonan on June 7, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter. In 1980 Nile released his self-titled debut album which according to one critic remains “one of the most thrilling post-Byrds folk-rock albums of all time”.^[1] His career was interrupted several times by various problems, but he has always returned to recording and performing in the US and Europe, re-establishing himself as a singer-songwriter.

Early life[link]

Born and raised in Buffalo, NY, Nile came from a musical family—his grandfather was a vaudeville pianist who played with Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Eddie Cantor; his uncles played boogie-woogie. His listened to the music of Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Fats Domino, brought home by his older brothers. Nile himself began playing piano at age eight and took classical music lessons until he was a teenager, when he taught himself his first rock & roll song. He soon began to compose short songs and continued the habit into his college years, when during the summers he made trips into New York City to frequent hootenanny clubs like Folk City and the Gaslight.

Nile studied philosophy at the University at Buffalo where he received a BA in 1971, before heading for Greenwich Village. After graduation, Nile took an apartment in the Village; however, during his first winter in New York, he contracted pneumonia, which put him out of commission for about a year. He continued writing songs while recuperating, determined to make a name for himself as a latter-day troubadour. He pursued that throughout the 1970s, becoming a regular in the Village folk and rock scenes and getting tabbed by some as the next big thing to come out of that long-thriving artistic community.

He began hanging out at clubs like CBGB's, where he would see bands like Patti Smith, Television, the Ramones and Talking Heads.

Early career[link]

Establishing residency at the Village club Kenny's Castaways on Bleecker St., Nile began drawing crowds, which in turn led to his first record deal. In a review in The New York Times, rock critic Robert Palmer wrote of Nile; "Every once in awhile the times seems to produce an artist who is at once an iconoclast and near-perfect expression of contemporary currents. He is one of the best singer-songwriters to emerge from the New York scene in a long time."^[2]

Following a measure of critical acclaim,^[3] he had conversations with representatives from several record companies; he was signed by Arista Records, and went into the studio with a band that included Jay Dee Daugherty from the Patti Smith Group. The measure of excitement surrounding his self-titled debut album, Willie Nile, allegedly prompted Pete Townsend to request Willie's presence on the Who 's summer tour. Nile and his band were soon on the road with The Who, only a few months after Willie's first experience playing with a band. After two albums, the self-titled 1980 debut and 1981's Golden Down, Nile was involved with protracted legal problems which, among other things, managed to derail his career for a number of years.

Re-emergence[link]

Although he continued to write, Nile did not perform live or record again until a 1987 performance in Oslo, Norway, with Eric Andersen. A videotape of Nile’s performance in Norway prompted a Columbia talent scout to sign him to the label in 1988. For reasons that are unclear, production on his album didn't start for two more years. It was another significant delay in the self proclaimed troubadour's career. Issued in 1991, His Columbia Records CD Places I Have Never Been contained the songs "Everybody Needs A Hammer" and "Heaven Help The Lonely." Places I Have Never Been featured appearances by backing musicians including Richard Thompson, Loudon Wainwright III, Roger McGuinn, and members of the Hooters and the Roches.^[4] His 1992 EP release, Hard Times in America, became a favorite among some listeners in Europe.^{[citation needed]}

Nile has recorded and performed with several musicians, including Ringo Starr, Tori Amos, Elvis Costello, Lucinda Williams, Ian Hunter, and Barenaked Ladies. A live Central Park concert album, Willie Nile-Archive Alive, was released on Archive Recordings, and Nile was one of the vocalists on the ensemble album Largo, along with Joan Osborne, Cyndi Lauper, Levon Helm, The Chieftains, Taj Mahal and Carole King. Another project found Nile writing and performing most of the songs for the soundtrack to the Kevin McLaughlin film Pinch Me!.^[5]

In the fall of 2003, Nile was invited to share the stage at three concerts with the E Street Band, including the two final Giants Stadium shows.^[6][7]

“Nile’s defining quality among his fans is his charismatic spirit. It’s a passion and enthusiasm that is infectious to his fans and earned Nile the admiration of fans and peers alike.” ^[8] From Shea to the clubs and concert halls of Europe, "his live performances are legendary." to his fans.^[9]

Gathering together his resources over time, he put out his first self-released album, Beautiful Wreck of the World, in 1999. It was chosen as one of the Top Ten Albums of the Year by critics at Billboard Magazine, The Village Voice and Stereo Review. Lucinda Williams called "On the Road to Calvary," Nile's song for Jeff Buckley, "One of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard." The album reached the finals of the Independent Music Awards for Best Rock Album of the Year.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Nile released Streets of New York, which some may consider to be his best work to date, due to its production and songwriting. Former Time magazine music critic and Academy Award winning screenwriter Jay Cocks writes of Streets of New York, "The tunes he writes and plays with such blowtorch vibrancy get the myth and magic and danger and sadness and love in this town--of this town--truer, and righter, than anything I've heard since Dion. This record is a head-twister and heart-wrencher. It's rock and roll at its best. It's New York at its best. And there's nothing better than that."^{[citation needed]}

House Of A Thousand Guitars was released to mixed reviews on April 14, 2009.

On November 22, 2009, Nile joined the E Street Band for the cover of Jackie Wilson's "Higher and Higher".^[10]

“The Buffalo News” said that their hometown troubadour's “Streets of New York”, “House of a Thousand Guitars” and “The Innocent Ones”; stand as “three of the finest recordings to ever straddle the worlds of “singer/songwriter” fare and good ol’street-tough rock ‘n’ roll”.^[11]

Nile will appear on the upcoming Bruce Springsteen album, Wrecking Ball lending backing vocals to the album's first single, We Take Care of Our Own. Nile was onhand when Springsteen shot the music video in early January 2012.

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• 1980 - Willie Nile
• 1981 - Golden Down
• 1991 - Places I Have Never Been
• 1999 - Beautiful Wreck of the World
• 2006 - Streets of New York
• 2009 - House Of A Thousand Guitars
• 2010 - The Innocent Ones

Live albums[link]

• 1997 - Live in Central Park - Archive Alive!
• 2007 - Live at Turning Point
• 2008 - Live From the Streets of New York
• 2011 - Live Hard Times in the UK

Extended plays[link]

• 1992 - Hard Times in America

DVDs[link]

• 2008 - Live From the Streets of New York

Other appearances[link]

• 1990 – Acoustic Christmas – We Wish You a Merry Christmas
• 1991 – Stages: The Lost Album – Electric Guitar, various songs
• 1995 – Troubadours of Folk, Vol. 5 -- Behind the Cathedral
• 1998 – Largo – Medallion
• 2007 - The Sandinista! Project - Police on My Back^[12]
• 2007 - The Dream Jam Band
• 2012 - Wrecking Ball

Footnotes[link]

External links[link]

• Willie Nile Official Website
• Yahoo Wille Nile Bio
• Willie Nile at Allmusic
• Willie Nile at the Internet Movie Database

David Russell Legates is a Professor of Geography^[1][2] at the University of Delaware. He is the former Director of the Center for Climatic Research at the same university,^{[3] [4]} and a former Delaware State Climatologist.^[5]

Legates has published research papers, opinion editorials, and spoken openly in opposition to the consensus scientific opinion on climate change. More recently, he has been known for his skepticism toward the anthropogenic cause of the observed global warming patterns and the severity of its consequences at the local geographical scale.

Scientific work[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (July 2009)

Legates started his career working on precipitation probability modeling. He extended his research to the study of global precipitation and temperature measurement correlation and performed critical analyses of the quality of traditional water budgeting methods applied to recent, better quality measurement data. He also became concerned with the study of the applicability of global circulation prognostication models at the regional and local level. Legates and his team argued for the necessity of technological progress in precipitation measurement used for validating climate change scenarios, and for validation of existing data used for that purpose. They demonstrated disagreement between satellite-based and in-situ precipitation measurements, and pointed out inconsistencies among satellite data processing algorithms. Legates argued for a better adequacy of observation-based climatologies compared to those compiled subjectively. His team concluded that uncorrected centered-pattern correlation statistics applied to the validation of general circulation prognostication models used to predict large-scale climate change may be inappropriate and may yield erroneous results. They proposed modified goodness of fit test methods more suitable for use in hydrologic and hydroclimate model validation. Legates and his coworkers became concerned with the quality of surface instrumental temperature data analysis, treatment and presentation of trends used in the communication of global warming research results.

He co-developed methods to correct biases in gauge-measured precipitation data for wind and temperature effects, with direct applicability in climate change, hydrology and environmental impact studies. His group observed that gauge undercatch was mostly caused by wind turbulence—especially for snow—and has a significant effect on the calculated Arctic water budget. They also studied the correlation between the observed variability in Western US snowpack accumulation and atmospheric circulation in historical measurement data and developed temperature-snowfall correlations based on first principles and observation in order to improve the global radiation balance estimation used in climate change predictions. Legates also developed a calibration method which validates NEXRAD radar precipitation data with gauge measurements to improve the accuracy of precipitation estimates.

Legates and his coworkers extended their research to the development of correlations between satellite crop imaging data and landscape change, crop type and its evolution, and their effects of global climate change. They have also tackled rainfed crop management, modeling and optimization. The group developed a hydrologic model based on meteorological, soil and vegetation measurement data. His groups has demonstrated poor quality of correlation between hydrological cycle data, global runoff and global warming. Legates and coauthors (among which were Willie Soon, Sallie Baliunas, Timothy F. Ball and others) authored a controversial paper attempting to disprove an increase in Hudson Bay temperatures in the past 70 years, and cautioning about polar bear-human interaction as a likely cause for any observed decline in bear populations. In this paper the authors expressed doubts regarding the predictive quality of global warming models at the entire Arctic scale and any extrapolation of polar bear population trends.

Position on global climate change[link]

Legates is a signer of the Oregon Petition, which stated: "There is no convincing scientific evidence that human release of carbon dioxide, methane, or other greenhouse gasses is causing or will, in the foreseeable future, cause catastrophic heating of the Earth's atmosphere and disruption of the Earth's climate. Moreover, there is substantial scientific evidence that increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide produce many beneficial effects upon the natural plant and animal environments of the Earth".^[6]

In his testimony to the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works regarding the Mann, Bradley and Hughes hockey stick controversy, Legates summed up his position as: "Where we differ with Dr. Mann and his colleagues is in their construction of the hemispheric averaged time-series, their assertion that the 1990s are the warmest decade of the last millennium, and that human influences appear to be the only significant factor on globally averaged air temperature."^[7]

In his lectures, Legates has acknowledged that humans have a direct impact on the environment, however he has disputed large scale climatological studies where researchers fail to incorporate sufficient data involving; increased solar activity, water vapor as a greenhouse gas, data contamination through expansion of the urban heat island effect surrounding data collection points, and many other key variables in addition to the human chemical emissions that are the sole focus of many climatological studies.^{[citation needed]}

In October 2009, Dr. Legates and 34 cosigners submitted a letter to the EPA outlining specific objections to the proposed endangerment rule.^[8]

Legates is a signatory of the Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation's "An Evangelical Declaration on Global Warming".^[9]

The declaration states:

"We believe Earth and its ecosystems — created by God’s intelligent design and infinite power and sustained by His faithful providence — are robust, resilient, self-regulating, and self-correcting, admirably suited for human flourishing, and displaying His glory. Earth's climate system is no exception."

Aftermath: use of his title in public statements[link]

In February 2007, Delaware governor Ruth Ann Minner wrote a letter to Legates stating "Your views on climate change, as I understand them, are not aligned with those of my administration,". The letter directed Legates to stop using his title as state climatologist of Delaware in his public statements related to climate change.^[10]

Other affiliations[link]

According to the News Journal, "the Union of Concerned Scientists published a study listing Legates among several scientists it described as 'familiar spokespeople from ExxonMobil-funded organizations' that have regularly taken stands or sponsored reports questioning the science behind climate change warnings."^[11] Legates is a senior scientist of the Marshall Institute,^[12] a research fellow with the Independent Institute,^[13] and an adjunct scholar of the Competitive Enterprise Institute,^[14] all of which have received funding from ExxonMobil.^[15][16]

References[link]

External links[link]

• U.S. Senate Committee on Environment & Public Works Hearing Statement - 07/29/2003

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

"Blind" Willie Johnson
A snippet of the only known photograph of Johnson.
Background information
Also known as	"Blind" Willie "Blind" Texas Marlin The Blind Pilgrim
Born	(1897-01-22)January 22, 1897 near Brenham, Texas, United States
Died	September 18, 1945(1945-09-18) (aged 48) Beaumont, Texas, United States
Genres	Blues, gospel
Occupations	Preacher, musician
Instruments	Guitar

"Blind" Willie Johnson (January 22, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American singer and guitarist, whose music straddled the border between blues and spirituals.

While the lyrics of his songs were often religious, his music drew from both sacred and blues traditions. His music is distinguished by his powerful bass thumb-picking and gravelly false-bass voice, with occasional use of a tenor voice.

Life[link]

Blind Willie Johnson, according to his death certificate, was born in 1897 near Brenham, Texas, United States (before the discovery of his death certificate, Temple, Texas had been suggested as his birthplace).^[1] When he was five, he told his father he wanted to be a preacher and then made himself a cigar box guitar. His mother died when he was young and his father remarried soon after her death.^[2]

Johnson was not born blind, and, although it is not known how he lost his sight, Angeline Johnson told Samuel Charters that when Willie was seven his father beat his stepmother after catching her going out with another man. The stepmother then picked up a handful of lye and threw it, not at Willie's father, but into the face of young Willie.^[2]

It is believed that Johnson married at least twice. He was married to Willie B. Harris. Her recollection of their initial meeting was recounted in the liner notes for Yazoo Records's "Praise God I'm Satisfied" album. He was later alleged to have been married to a woman named Angeline. Johnson was also said to be married to a sister of blues artist, L.C. Robinson.^{[citation needed]} No marriage certificates have yet been discovered.^{[citation needed]} As Angeline Johnson often sang and performed with him,^{[citation needed]} the first person to attempt to research his biography, Samuel Charters, made the mistake of assuming it was Angeline who had sung on several of Johnson's records.^[1] However, later research showed that it was Willie B. Harris.^[1]

Johnson remained poor until the end of his life, preaching and singing in the streets of several Texas cities including Beaumont, Texas. A city directory shows that in 1945, a Rev. W.J. Johnson, undoubtedly Blind Willie, operated the House of Prayer at 1440 Forrest Street, Beaumont, Texas.^[1] This is the same address listed on Johnson's death certificate. In 1945, his home burned to the ground. With nowhere else to go, Johnson lived in the burned ruins of his home, sleeping on a wet bed in the August/September Texas heat. He lived like this until he contracted malarial fever and died on September 18, 1945. (The death certificate reports the cause of death as malarial fever, with syphilis and blindness as contributing factors.)^[1] In a later interview, his wife, Angeline said she tried to take him to a hospital but they refused to admit him because he was blind, while other sources report that his refusal was due to being black. And although there is some question as to where his exact grave location is, Blanchette Cemetery (which is the cemetery listed on the death certificate but location previously unknown) was officially located by two researchers in 2009. In 2010, those same researchers erected a monument to Johnson in the cemetery, but his exact gravesite remains unknown.^[3]

Musical career[link]

	"Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" The traditional blues song recorded in 1928 by Blind Willie Johnson and his first wife
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

His father would often leave him on street corners to sing for money. Tradition has it that he was arrested for nearly starting a riot at a New Orleans courthouse with a powerful rendition of "If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down", a song about Samson and Delilah. According to Samuel Charters, however, he was simply arrested while singing for tips in front of a Custom House, by a police officer who misconstrued the title lyric and mistook it for incitement.^[2] Timothy Beal argued that the officer did not, in fact, misconstrue the meaning of the song, but that "the ancient story suddenly sounded dangerously contemporary" to him.^[4]

Johnson made 30 commercial recording studio record sides in five separate sessions for Columbia Records from 1927–1930. On some of these recordings Johnson uses a fast rhythmic picking style, while on others he plays slide guitar. According to a reputed one-time acquaintance, Blind Willie McTell (1898–1959), Johnson played with a brass ring, although other sources cite him using a knife. However, in enlargement, the only known photograph of Johnson seems to show that there is an actual bottleneck on the little finger of his left hand.^[5] While his other fingers are apparently fretting the strings, his little finger is extended straight—which also suggests there is a slide on it as well.

Some of Johnson's most famous recordings include "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed" (later covered as "In My Time of Dying" on later recordings), "It's Nobody's Fault but Mine", his rendition of the gospel song "Let Your Light Shine On Me", as well as "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground", where he sang in wordless hum and moans about the crucifixion of Jesus. This song was a "moaning" piece related to the Bentonia school of blues practiced by such "eerie voiced" artists as Skip James and Robert Johnson. On 14 of his recordings he is accompanied by Willie B Harris, or an as-yet-unidentified female singer. This group of recordings included "Church I'm Fully Saved Today", "John the Revelator", "You'll Need Somebody on Your Bond", "Soul of a Man", and "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning".

Legacy[link]

Johnson's records have become influential, and his songs have been covered by several popular artists, including Led Zeppelin. Other artists who have covered Johnson include Bob Dylan, The 77s, Beck, The Blasters, Phil Keaggy and The White Stripes (who have covered "John the Revelator", as well as covering "Motherless Children Have A Hard Time" and "Lord, I Just Can't Keep From Cryin'" live). Billy Childish has covered "John the Revelator" with his band The Buff Medways, and it was a staple of their live performances. "John the Revelator" was also recorded by delta blues musician Son House, and "Keep Your Lamp Trimmed and Burning" was recorded by another delta blues musician, Fred McDowell. Eric Clapton did "Motherless Children", Bob Dylan turned Johnson's "Jesus Make Up My Dying Bed" into "In My Time of Dying" on his 1962 debut album and "If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down" has been appropriated by the Grateful Dead and the Staple Singers.

"If I Had My Way I'd Tear The Building Down" was recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary; retitled as "Samson and Delilah". The song was frequently performed by the Grateful Dead and appears on their studio album Terrapin Station; Gary Davis also recorded a version; and Bruce Springsteen has performed a version of the song live with the Seeger Sessions Band. In the opening scene of the second season of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Shirley Manson sang a version of this song. "Nobody's Fault But Mine" has also been covered by Mason Jennings, Nina Simone, and was modified by Led Zeppelin. Nick Cave has performed "John the Revelator" live, and based his song "City of Refuge," from his band the Bad Seeds' 1988 album, Tender Prey, on Johnson's song of the same title. Many of Johnson's songs were recorded in the late 1980s by gospel blues musicians Glenn Kaiser and Darrell Mansfield, on their album Trimmed & Burnin'.

In 1991, Bruce Cockburn covered "Soul of a Man" on his album Nothing But A Burning Light, the title of which is a line from the same song. In 1994 Ben Harper added a short cover excerpt of "By and By I'm Going To See The King" as a hidden track on his debut album Welcome to the Cruel World. "Trouble Soon be Over" was covered by Colin Linden on the album Easin' Back to Tennessee. "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" was covered by Ry Cooder on his debut album and in 2003 Deep Sea Records issued a Johnson tribute album called Dark Was the Night, featuring artists such as Martin Simpson, Gary Lucas, Mary Margaret O'Hara and Jody Stecher. Dark was the Night was also included on the Voyager Golden Record, copies of which were mounted on both of the Voyager spacecraft which have since left the solar system.^[6] This event was mentioned, along with a clip of the song, on The West Wing episode The Warfare of Genghis Khan.

Segments of several performances by Blind Willie Johnson are used as interludes on the 2010 album We Walk This Road by Robert Randolph and the Family Band.

See also[link]

• The Ladykillers Soundtrack

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Charters, Samuel (1959). The Country Blues. United Kingdom: Jazz Book Club.  — Some facts in the book are at variance with those given in this article and may represent an earlier stage of research
• D. N. Blakey (August 2007). Revelation Blind Willie Johnson the Biography.. LULU PR. ISBN 978-1-4303-2899-5. http://books.google.com/books?id=bA7yGgAACAAJ. Retrieved 30 August 2011. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Blind Willie Johnson

• MP3 Audio Files of Songs by Blind Willie Johnson on the Internet Archive

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Willie D (born November 1, 1966 as William James Dennis in Houston, Texas, U.S.) is an American rapper who gained fame as the lead member of the pioneering rap group from Houston, Geto Boys. Despite his reputation for being a hardcore artist who pens often provocative lyrics, Willie D is known for his diligent work in the community and many of his songs contain positive messages. He is often called on to speak at universities, high schools and youth facilities.

A gifted athlete, Willie took up boxing at the age of 11. Willie D was so good at boxing that in 1985, he became the Golden Gloves Champion for the State of Texas. With a Golden Glove championship under his 17-year-old belt it looked like Willie D was well on his way to becoming a professional boxer, but fortunately for his fans, fate intervened. Like any teenager growing up in the early 80s Willie D was captivated by the music of his generation. An avid fan of rap music, he listened intensely to the music and set his sights on becoming an emcee.

Soon Willie D was earning a reputation around town as a fierce MC. It wasn't before long that Willie’s reputation reached J Prince, founder of Rap-A-Lot Records. At the time Prince was looking to revamp the now legendary Geto Boys and knew that Willie D would be a key factor in the group’s success. Once Willie D was on board, Bushwick Bill and Scarface were added to complete the group.

Considered the classic line up, Willie D, Bushwick Bill, and Scarface first emerged as the Geto Boys in 1989 with their Gold record, "Grip It! On That Other Level." The record contained the songs "Gangsta of Love," "Do It Like a G.O.," "Size Ain’t Shit," and "Read These Nikes," all penned by Willie D. Willie went on to record a string of critical and commercially successful solo and group albums including the Geto Boys’ "We Can't Be Stopped" (platinum), which featured the single "Mind Playing Tricks on Me," co-written by Willie D.

In 2009 Willie D was featured on a song called "Down South Hustlaz", along with Young Buck, Trae, Bun B, and Rick Ross. He is currently in the studio with Z-Ro recording a new CD presently untitled.

On November 2, 2010 Willie D was sentenced to a year in prison after pleading guilty to a wire fraud charge. Prior to serving his sentence, he will release a single called "Cell Block Ready".^[1]

On October 28, 2011 Houston Press reported Willie D was apparently out of prison and on Twitter.^[2] According to the album cover of Mike E. Clark's Extra Pop Emporium, Willie D is stated to have recorded a separate track on the album.

Discography[link]

Charted singles[link]

• 1992: "Clean Up Man"

• 2002: "Dear God"

References[link]

• "Boxer Willie Dennis". BoxRec. http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=042911. Retrieved 2007-12-21. 
• "Willie D". Discogs. http://www.discogs.com/artist/Willie+D. Retrieved 2007-12-21. 
• "Raps Willie D pleads guilty to wire fraud". upi.com. http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Music/2009/12/18/Raps-Willie-D-pleads-guilty-to-wire-fraud/UPI-21191261196993/. Retrieved 2010-01-08. 
• "Legendary Houston Rapper Willie D Goes to Prison". myfoxhouston.com. http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/entertainment/music/101105-legendary-houston-rapper-willie-d-goes-to-prison. 
• "Willie D out of Prison; on twitter". houstonpress.com. http://blogs.houstonpress.com/rocks/2011/10/return_of_the_king_willie_d_is.php. 

Notes[link]