September 18 2013 - Show #35 

E. is for Elevation Encouragement

Hour One

Get Up - Blaze
Soon As I Get Home (I Shall Wear A Crown) - Minster Thomas A. Whitfield
All About Love - Earth Wind And Fire
Come What May - Patti LaBelle
Black Butterfly (Sonix Piano Mix) - Maya Azucena
Black Butterfly - Sounds Of Blackness
Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me) - Quincy Jones & Tevin Campbell
East River Drive (LP Version) - Grover Washington, Jr.
Reflections - Bill Conti
Free (Prelude) - Jill Scott
Silent Hero - Des'ree
I Am the Black Gold of the Sun (feat. The Creole Choir of Cuba) - Samuel Yirga feat. The Creole Choir of Cuba and Nicolette
Heaven Help Us All - Stevie Wonder
Elevate Our Minds - Linda Williams

Hour Two 

Down Here On The Ground (Live Album Version) - George Benson
Be Thankful For What you've Got [Tom Moulton Remix] - William DeVaughn
Everybody Rejoice - Luther Vandross
Wake Up Everybody - Harold Melvin & The Blue Notes
Facts Of Life - Danny Madden
Optimistic - Sounds Of Blackness
Let It Flow [For "DR. J"] - Grover Washington, Jr.
Philly Jump - Instant Funk
Friends And Buddies - Milton Wright
I Can't Stop Dancing - Archie Bell & The Drells
We're A Winner [Live] - Curtis Mayfield
That's Heaven To Me - Sam Cooke

I was 23 in 1993 and Mr. Collins gave me a gift that I can't remember deserving.

There was a summit meeting between African and African-American leadership and he was going to cover it as a journalist for the radio station that I grew up on. I'll never forget being on a plane headed to Africa with Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Rev Leon Sullivan, Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis, Cicely Tyson, Joseph C. Lowery, Coretta Scott King (had an amazing 30 seconds or so with her in an elevator - I was in awe and speechless, yet very gentlemanly and polite), and many more.

http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2205&dat=19930320&id=tpglAAAAIBAJ&sjid=M_UFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1136,1744730

Mr. Collins invited me and another intern along to assist him.
Very well known in Philadelphia, E. embodied excellence and nobility and showed me that upward mobility is possible for the principled. Was on air as a talk show host, was in the office as a director of promotions - he got to deliver the message while helping to finance it. My hero and example of a nice guy finishing first.

He did that for me. I still have no idea way. Easy guess is that he saw a seed and wanted to flower it. Because he had eyes that discerned what's good, he saw bloom potential in so many.

I am one of 10s of 1000s that he made life better for.

Mr E. Steven Collins, this is for you. Thank you. I love you, we love you.

(R.I.P. September 9 2013)

http://www.phillytrib.com/newsarticles/item/10742-e-steven-collins,-58,-radio-legend,-civic-leader.html

http://www.philly.com/philly/obituaries/20130910_E__Steven_Collins__58__radio_host__activist.html?c=r

The show is called "I Can Imagine" and airs on Wednesdays from 7pm-9pm on WURD, 900 on your A.M. dial or by internet from http://900amwurd.com/


Photo: https://www.facebook.com/barnesfoundation

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5gQLsodBsCys1_3Zbm83vg

https://open.spotify.com/artist/48vhJ2d1hVaFHf6gqXeTm0?si=fWO0N456QeWRMWLUtqe4Yg

https://www.instagram.com/qooldjmarv/

https://music.apple.com/us/artist/qool-dj-marv/1558418894