美国国家公共电台 NPR--Singing with James Brown was a great opportunity but the traveling takes a toll

Singing with James Brown was a great opportunity but the traveling takes a toll¹

Transcript²

In this week's StoryCorps, two women — Sandra Bears and Martha Harvin — talk about their careers in music — which included singing with James Brown.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Time now for StoryCorps. Sandra Bears grew up in the late 1950s, and more than anything else in the world, she loved to sing. At 13, she started her own group with a few friends. Later, at Roosevelt High School in Washington³, D.C., they held an audition⁴ for a new member and met 16-year-old Martha Harvin.

MARTHA HIGH: I was really nervous, and I was so bashful.

SANDRA BEARS: We were all kind of shy because we were young, and your voice just blended⁵ right in with ours. We kind of looked at each other when you started singing, yeah, yeah, that's the right one.

MART?NEZ: Martha officially became one of The Jewels. They made a name for themselves touring across the country. Martha and Sandra came to StoryCorps to remember a night at the Apollo Theater that changed their lives.

HIGH: So we came off the stage, and we were in our dressing⁶ room. And somebody knocked on the door and we said, who is it? (Imitating James Brown) It's me, James Brown. Open the door. We was like, what?

BEARS: (Laughter).

HIGH: I remember he came in to the dressing room, and the first thing he did was kind of look in the mirror. (Imitating James Brown) How y'all doin' - you know, while he was messing with his hair.

BEARS: And he said, I'd like for you all to join my show.

HIGH: Yes, he did. My father, you know, he felt that I should have a 9 to 5 like everyone else. He said singing is not a job. I said, yeah, but, Dad, you know, this is what I want to do. We joined Mr. Brown in 1966. And after that, it was just go, go, go, go, you know, being on the road two and three months at a time.

BEARS: You know, it's not easy because you want to stay out there and you want to do it. But coming up, I got married and had planned - and I loved singing, but that's a wild combination⁷. I just missed my kids. So I just up and left.

HIGH: I never really thought that I would be on the road as long as I did with him. I had three children, and I missed out on a lot - graduations and birthdays and not being home for Christmas. But when we wasn't working, I would come straight home to be with my kids.

BEARS: I remember coming to see you at the Howard Theatre, and you hit every note. I think I screamed louder than anybody in the theater. I was so excited for you.

HIGH: Oh, honey.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "IT'S HUSTLE⁸ TIME")

HIGH: (Singing) It's hustle.

JAMES BROWN: Yeah.

HIGH: (Singing) It's hustle.

BROWN: (Singing) Martha.

HIGH: You know, I can remember calling you sometimes when I needed to talk or had a problem or something.

BEARS: You would always call me like I was your mama.

HIGH: I know.

(LAUGHTER)

HIGH: That's the closeness that we had.

BEARS: But I loved it, and I still do.

HIGH: And it's still that way.

BEARS: Yeah.

HIGH: We're a family, and we're a part of each other.

BEARS: We are. We are.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OPPORTUNITY")

THE JEWELS: (Singing) Take a lesson from a fool's advice.

MART?NEZ: That was Martha Harvin, now Martha High, and Sandra Bears for StoryCorps. You can hear more about them on the StoryCorps podcast at npr.org.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OPPORTUNITY")

THE JEWELS: (Singing) They say opportunity is like a father time.

1 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 Washington   

n.华盛顿特区(是美国首都)

参考例句：

• His birthplace is Washington,but he lives in San Francisco.他出生于华盛顿，但住在旧金山。
• They, together with my father,have gone to Washington.他们和我父亲一起去华盛顿了。

4 audition   

n.(对志愿艺人等的)面试(指试读、试唱等)

参考例句：

• I'm going to the audition but I don't expect I'll get a part.我去试音，可并不指望会给我个角色演出。
• At first,they said he was too young,but later they called him for an audition.起初，他们说他太小，但后来他们叫他去试听。

5 blended   

v.（使）混合( blend的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）混杂；（使）调和；协调

参考例句：

• Yes, I think they are blended together. 是的，我认为他们很和谐。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The two feelings blended in him--neutralised one another and him. 这两种感觉在他心里混为一体，相互抵消，使他采取了中立的态度。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

6 dressing   

n.(食物)调料；包扎伤口的用品，敷料

参考例句：

• Don't spend such a lot of time in dressing yourself.别花那么多时间来打扮自己。
• The children enjoy dressing up in mother's old clothes.孩子们喜欢穿上妈妈旧时的衣服玩。

7 combination   

n.组合，合并，联合；

参考例句：

• He carried on the business in combination with his friends.他与朋友们合伙做生意。
• The materials can be used singly or in combination.这些材料可以单独使用也可以混合用。

8 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。