New York Urban Explorers: Art, Food, Museums, Walks, etc.

It's Saturday night, let's travel back in time and hear the classic Motown songs of Marvin Gaye.

Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay Jr.; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo artist with a string of hits, earning him the nicknames "Prince of Motown" and "Prince of Soul".
Gaye's Motown hits include "Ain't That Peculiar", "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", and "I Heard It Through the Grapevine". Gaye also recorded duets with Mary Wells, Kim Weston, Tammi Terrell, and Diana Ross. During the 1970s, Gaye recorded the albums What's Going On and Let's Get It On and became one of the first artists in Motown to break away from the reins of a production company. His later recordings influenced several contemporary R&B subgenres, such as quiet storm and neo soul. He was a tax exile in Europe in the early 1980s, he then released "Sexual Healing" the 1982 hit which won his first two Grammy Awards on the album Midnight Love. Gaye's last televised appearances were at the 1983 NBA All-Star Game, where he sang "The Star-Spangled Banner"; Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever; and Soul Train.
On April 1, 1984, the day before his 45th birthday, Gaye was shot dead by his father, Marvin Gay Sr. at their house in West Adams, Los Angeles, after an argument.

Motown Records is an American record label founded by Berry Gordy Jr. in 1959. Its name, a blend of motor and town, has become a nickname for Detroit, where the label was originally headquartered.
Motown played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American-owned label that achieved crossover success. In the 1960s, Motown and its subsidiary labels were the most successful proponents of the Motown Sound, a style of soul music with a mainstream pop appeal. During the 1960s, Motown achieved 79 records in the top-ten of the Billboard Hot 100 between 1960 and 1969.

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Rosa Parks 70th Anniversary Livestream History Programs

Join us for a series of programs honoring Rosa Parks.
December 1st is the 70th anniversary of Rosa's arrest in 1955, an event which led to the Montgomery Bus Boycott and was instrumental in the Civil Rights Movement.
We invite you to participate in an educational and entertaining livestream film history program / screening of "The Rosa Parks Story" starring Angela Basset in the title role.

It's Friday night, let's celebrate the life and music of Jim Morrison and The Doors.

The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts of the 1960s; mostly due to Morrison's lyrics and voice, along with his erratic stage persona, and the group was widely regarded as an important part of the era's counterculture.
The band took its name from the title of Aldous Huxley's book The Doors of Perception, itself a reference to a quote by William Blake. After signing with Elektra Records, the Doors with Morrison released six albums in five years, some of which are considered among the greatest of all time, including The Doors (1967), Strange Days (1967), and L.A. Woman (1971). They were one of the most successful bands during that time but Morrison died in uncertain circumstances in 1971.
They have sold 33 million albums in the United States and over 100 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling bands of all time. The Doors have been listed as one of the greatest artists of all time by magazines including Rolling Stone, which ranked them 41st on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". In 1993, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, musician, songwriter and poet, who was the lead vocalist of the rock band The Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and erratic performances, and the dramatic circumstances surrounding his life and early death, Morrison is regarded by music critics and fans as one of the most iconic and influential frontmen in rock history. Since his death, his fame has endured as one of popular culture's most rebellious and oft-displayed icons, representing the generation gap and youth counterculture.
Together with pianist Ray Manzarek, Morrison co-founded the Doors in July 1965 in Venice, California. The band spent two years in obscurity until shooting to prominence with their number-one single in the United States, "Light My Fire", taken from their self-titled debut album. Morrison recorded a total of six studio albums with the Doors, all of which sold well and received critical acclaim. Morrison was well known for improvising spoken word poetry passages while the band played live. Manzarek said Morrison "embodied hippie counterculture rebellion".
Morrison developed an alcohol dependency in the 1960s, which at times affected his performances on stage. He died unexpectedly in Paris at the age of 27, amid conflicting witness reports. Since no autopsy was performed, the cause of Morrison's death remains disputed.

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“Tower” - 1966 University of Texas Tower Shooting - Film History Livestream

We invite you to join us for a screening of “Tower”, a documentary on the 1966 University of Texas tower shooting.

Tower is a 2016 American mostly-animated documentary film about the 1966 shootings at the University of Texas at Austin directed and produced by Keith Maitland.
The film follows the shooting from the perspectives of several survivors, recreating their recounts via actors filmed and later animated in rotoscoping. The film premiered on March 13, 2016, at South by Southwest, before receiving a limited release by Kino Lorber in the United States on September 28, 2016. It was later aired on television on the PBS series Independent Lens.

On August 1, 1966, Charles Whitman rode the elevator to the top floor of the University of Texas Tower in Austin, Texas and opened fire, holding the campus hostage for 96 minutes. When the gunshots were finally silenced, the toll included 16 dead, three dozen wounded, and a shaken nation left trying to understand what had happened. Archival footage is combined with rotoscopic animation in a dynamic, never-before-seen way to illustrate the action-packed untold stories of the witnesses, heroes and survivors.

Our program will begin with a brief introduction including contextual information, things to look for, and historical accuracy (approximately 15 minutes) followed by a full screening of the film.
During and after the screening you’ll have the opportunity to discuss the film with fellow participants via Zoom.