    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book I)]
    [June 26, 2006]
    [Pages 1213-1215]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Reception for Black Music Month
    June 26, 2006

        Glad you're here. Thank you all. Welcome to the White House, and
    thank you for joining us as we celebrate Black Music Month.
        I wish Laura were here, but she's got a good
    excuse. She's in New Orleans. She went down there to talk to the
    American Library Association's Annual Conference, and she spoke about
    the importance of rebuilding school libraries up and down the gulf coast
    of our country. She sends her best. I wish she could be here to hear the
    music. I know she's going to love it as much as I will love it.
        I'm looking forward to introducing our artists here in a second. I
    do want to recognize Alphonso Jackson,
    who's a member of my Cabinet. Thank you for coming, and thank you for
    bringing us here. And it's good to see the Federal coordinator for the
    gulf coast rebuilding effort, Don Powell.
    Thank you for being here, sir. I welcome Chip Pickering from Mississippi and Congresswoman
    Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee. Thank you
    both for coming. I'm proud you're here.
        It is always a special treat to be in the presence of Dr. Dorothy
    Height. Good to see you, Dr. Height.
        And with us we have two great athletes, Alana Beard--thank you for coming, Alana--and Kareem Abdul-
    Jabbar. Proud you're here. I don't know
    whether you know this, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is a jazz expert, and he
    is working on a documentary about the connection between jazz and
    basketball. [Laughter] Pretty good combination. [Laughter]
        During this month, we recognize the great contributions that black
    music has made to our Nation. That's why we're here. We express our
    gratitude to the artists whose works have inspired our Nation and have
    brought such beauty into the world.
        Black music was often born of great pain, from the music of slaves
    who sang to warn others that the master was coming to the music of faith
    that helped African Americans endure tremendous suffering and overcome
    injustice. Black music is a really important part of our Nation's
    history and culture, and that's why we're celebrating it here today.
        Some of the finest performances by black musicians have been heard
    right here in the White House, and we're going to continue that
    tradition today. During--in 1878, during the administration of
    Rutherford B. Hayes, soprano Marie Selika became the first black artist
    to perform here in the White House. A few years later, the Jubilee
    Singers of Fisk University became the first black choir to perform here.
    They moved President Chester Arthur to tears with a rendition of ``Safe
    in the Arms of Jesus.'' Like the man they sang about, the Jubilee
    Singers could not find an inn that would welcome them here in
    Washington, DC. Those times have changed, thank goodness.
        In more recent times, the White House has been graced by
    performances by artists like Louis Armstrong and Pearl Bailey, Ella
    Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Shirley
    Caesar, Duke Ellington, and Lionel Hampton.
    These men and women created some of the greatest music America has ever
    produced, and they honored our country by sharing their gifts right here
    in the people's house. We're about to have the same type of performances
    here, if I can ever quit talking. [Laughter]
        This year, Black Music Month celebrates the music of our Nation's
    gulf coast, soul and blues and jazz. And I'm honored that we've got
    three tremendous performers who represent the best of these three great
    traditions.

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        Patti Austin is one of America's most
    talented singers and songwriters. Her extraordinary career began at the
    age of 4 when she made her debut alongside her godmother, Dinah
    Washington, at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater. Since then, she's recorded
    16 solo albums featuring everything from soul to standards. Recently
    Patti earned her sixth Grammy nomination with her tribute to Ella
    Fitzgerald. Patti is an incredible artist. Laura
    and I have been privileged to see her perform at the Kennedy Center. I
    think you're going to like her a lot. [Laughter]
        She's sung at the White House for every President since Ronald
    Reagan. When she was rehearsing her performance
    for President Reagan, Patti was singing so powerfully the piece of
    molding fell from the ceiling here in the East Room. [Laughter] Be
    forewarned. [Laughter] When Patti sings, she brings down the house.
    [Laughter] I'm proud to join the distinguished line of Presidents who
    have welcomed her here to the White House.
        With us today is B.B. King, ``King
    of the Blues.'' B.B. was raised in the Mississippi Delta, where he
    picked cotton for 35 cents a day, and then he played after work on the
    street corners for dimes. He says that when he sang gospel songs,
    ``They'd pat me on the head but wouldn't ever put anything in the hat.''
    [Laughter] So he would change, ``my Lord'' to ``my baby''--[laughter]--
    and then they always gave him a tip. [Laughter]
        One night in the 1950s, B.B. King
    was playing in an Arkansas town called Twist when two men got in a fight
    over a woman and knocked over a kerosene stove and set the whole place
    on fire. B.B. got out, but then he realized he had left his guitar
    behind. And so he went back inside; he braved the flames; and he rescued
    the guitar. Later, he learned that the lady who had inspired the brawl
    was named Lucille. So that's what he named his guitar.
        Since then, B.B. and Lucille have
    played more than 10,000 shows. They have thrilled audiences all over the
    world. B.B. has notched an incredible 74 entries on the Billboard
    charts, and his work has influenced virtually every major guitar player
    over the last half-century. He remains gracious and humble, what folks
    in Mississippi call ``free-hearted.''
        B.B. says this about his career:
    ``I'm trying to get people to see that we are our brother's keeper.'' He
    went on to say, ``Red, black, brown, yellow, rich, and poor, we all have
    the blues.'' It's hard to have the blues when you're about to hear B.B.
    King perform. At 80, this ageless star is still going strong, and we are
    thrilled to welcome him back to the White House.
        We're also pleased to welcome Irvin Mayfield. Irvin is the cultural ambassador of New Orleans and
    artistic director of the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra. At just 28 years
    old, Irvin has already become one of America's finest trumpet players,
    in the great New Orleans jazz tradition. He's more than a musician; he's
    a decent, big-hearted man.
        Last year, as Hurricane Katrina roared through New Orleans, the
    rising water took his dad, Irvin, Sr. The pain of losing his father was
    suddenly unimaginable. Yet in his father's name, Irvin pushed back his grief, and he went to work. He pulled
    out his trumpet; he pulled together his orchestra and started performing
    to help others who had lost homes and loved ones. He helped dry New
    Orleans's tears through the inspiring power of his music, and he hasn't
    stopped.
        He's using his God-given talent to help
    rebuild his beloved homeland--his hometown, one brick and one note at a
    time. After the storm, Irvin made this solemn vow: No breached levee
    will wash away the culture of New Orleans.
        There's a wonderful and unique tradition in New Orleans called the
    jazz funeral. The funeral procession parades slowly through the streets
    followed by a band playing a mournful dirge as it moves to the cemetery.
    Once the casket has been laid in place and

    [[Page 1215]]

    the mourners have moved out of the cemetery, the music begins to speed
    up and the procession is joined by a joyful second line, with crowds of
    people dancing and celebrating the triumph of spirit over death.
        Today Irvin Mayfield will play a song in
    the great tradition called ``Just a Closer Walk With Thee.'' It's the
    first song he learned from his dad. He played it at his dad's--in his
    dad's memory after Hurricane Katrina, and then he retired the song.
    We're honored that he's decided to play it one last time, right here in
    the White House.
        Irvin, we thank you for your personal
    courage and your dedication to others in a time of adversity. I have no
    doubt that with every good deed you perform and every note you play,
    your dad is smiling down on you. God bless you, Irvin.
        Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Irvin Mayfield.

    Note: The President spoke at 5:23 p.m. in the East Room at the White
    House. In his remarks, he referred to civil rights leader Dorothy I.
    Height; Alana Beard, guard and forward, Women's National Basketball
    Association's Washington Mystics; and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, former
    National Basketball Association center. The Black Music Month
    proclamation of May 25 is listed in Appendix D at the end of this
    volume.