PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Willis Conover Brought Jazz, the Music o

PEOPLE IN AMERICA - Willis Conover Brought Jazz, the Music of Freedom to the World
By Dana Demange

Broadcast: Sunday, September 25, 2005

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VOICE ONE:

I'm Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

 
 
And I'm Barbara Klein with People in America in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about Willis Conover. His voice is one of the most famous in the world. Conover's Voice of America radio program on jazz was one of the most popular and influential² shows in broadcasting history.

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VOICE ONE:

Willis Conover was not a jazz musician. However, many people believe that he did more to spread the sound of jazz than any person in music history. For more than forty years Conover brought jazz to people around world on his VOA music programs. An estimated⁴ one hundred million people heard his programs. He helped make jazz music an international language.

VOICE TWO:

Willis Conover was born in Buffalo⁵, New York, in nineteen twenty. Because his father was in the military, his family moved around a great deal. When Willis was in high school, he played the part of a radio announcer⁶ in a school play. People told him that he sounded like a real radio announcer. Later, he competed in a spelling competition that was broadcast on radio. The radio announcer told Willis that he should work in radio. Willis had a deep and rich voice that was perfect for broadcasting.

VOICE ONE:

At first, Conover worked for small radio stations in the state of Maryland. He served in the military during World War Two. Because of his experience talking to people on radio, Conover was not sent away to fight. He was needed to interview new soldiers at Fort³ Meade, Maryland. After the war, he continued to work for commercial radio stations.

Willis Conover heard a lot of jazz music during the nineteen forties in Washington, D.C. This city was the center of a very important jazz movement. Willis Conover knew many of the jazz musicians in both Washington and New York City. He helped organize many concerts. He also helped stop racial separation in the places where music was played at night.

At this time, mainly white people went to music clubs even though many of the musicians were black. Conover created musical events where people of all races were welcome.

VOICE TWO:

Willis Conover wanted to be able to play more of the jazz music that he loved on his radio show. He did not like the restrictions⁷ of commercial radio. When he heard that the Voice of America wanted to start a jazz music program, Conover knew that he had found a perfect job. He had full freedom to play all kinds of jazz music on his show which began in nineteen fifty-five.

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VOICE ONE:

Willis Conover once said that jazz is the music of freedom. He said that with jazz people can express their lives through music. And that the music helps people to stand up a little straighter.

Many people think that Willis Conover had great political influence during the period after World War Two known as the Cold War. This was a time of increased tensions⁸ between the United States and the Soviet⁹ Union. During the nineteen sixties and seventies, listening to the VOA was not allowed in many Eastern European countries.

Also, the governments of these countries thought jazz was dangerous and subversive¹⁰. But the people in these countries loved jazz. Many people became jazz musicians themselves. They first learned¹¹ how to play this music by listening to Willis Conover's "Music USA" program.

VOICE TWO:

During the many of years his program was broadcast, Conover presented his expert knowledge about jazz. He interviewed great jazz musicians such as Billie Holliday, Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong. He played the best music from the most current musicians. Here is a recording¹² of Conover talking about the way jazz music changes over time.

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VOICE ONE:

Willis Conover not only talked about jazz music on his program. He sometimes wrote the music and the words to jazz songs. He usually wrote sad love songs. His many musician friends put the words to music. Here he is voicing the words to a song he wrote in the nineteen sixties. The music is written and played by the great jazz guitarist Charlie Byrd.

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VOICE TWO:

Very few Americans knew about Willis Conover's program. Voice of America programs are not permitted to be broadcast in the United States. But, he was very famous in the rest of the world.

Audiences loved his program. When he traveled to Poland in nineteen fifty-nine, he saw hundreds of people gathered near his plane. People held cameras and flowers. They were cheering and smiling. Conover thought that they were waiting for a famous person to arrive. Then, he saw a large sign that said, "Welcome to Poland, Mister¹³ Conover". The crowds were there to see him.

Willis Conover also worked to spread jazz in the United States. He was the announcer for many famous jazz festivals and concerts in America. He presented more than thirty concerts at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. He even produced the White House concert in celebration of jazz musician Duke Ellington's seventieth birthday in nineteen sixty-nine.

VOICE ONE:

Willis Conover once said that Louis Armstrong was the heart of jazz, Duke Ellington was the soul and Count Basie was its happy dancing feet. Here is part of a nineteen seventy-three interview by Willis Conover with the great Duke Ellington. This was one of the last times Conover talked to him. Duke Ellington died the next year. In this interview, these great men express their thanks to one another.

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VOICE TWO:

In his jazz programs Willis Conover played many kinds of jazz. He played songs he liked and songs he did not like. However, he liked to play the musicians he liked best, such as Duke Ellington, often. Here is the song "Chelsea Bridge" from his favorite saxophonist musician Ben Webster. Conover once said that nothing could quite match this song.

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VOICE ONE:

Willis Conover died in nineteen ninety-six after a long struggle with cancer. He was seventy-five. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery¹⁴ outside Washington, D.C. Though his programs are no longer broadcast, his influence is very much alive. Jazz music owes a great deal to this special man.

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VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

3 fort   

n.要塞，堡垒，碉堡

参考例句：

• The fort can not be defended against an air attack.这座要塞遭到空袭时无法防御。
• No one can get into the fort without a pass.没有通行证，任何人不得进入要塞。

4 estimated   

adj．根据估计的

参考例句：

• She estimated the breadth of the lake to be 500 metres. 她估计湖面大约有500米宽。
• The man estimated for the repair of the car. 那人估算了修理汽车的费用。

5 buffalo   

n.(北美)野牛；(亚洲)水牛

参考例句：

• Asian buffalo isn't as wild as that of America's. 亚洲水牛比美洲水牛温顺些。
• The boots are made of buffalo hide. 这双靴子是由水牛皮制成的。

6 announcer   

n.宣布者；电(视)台播音员，报幕员

参考例句：

• The radio announcer said it was nine o'clock.电台播音员报时9点整。
• The announcer tells the listeners what programme comes next.广播员告诉听众下一个是什么节目。

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 tensions   

（情绪上的）紧张( tension的名词复数 )； 张力； 紧张的状态； （作家或电影导演制造的）紧张气氛

参考例句：

• Social tensions were manifested in the recent political crisis. 最近的政治危机显示了社会关系的紧张。
• These disagreements are symptomatic of the tensions within the party. 出现意见分歧表明该党内部的关系紧张。

9 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

10 subversive   

adj.颠覆性的，破坏性的；n.破坏份子，危险份子

参考例句：

• She was seen as a potentially subversive within the party.她被看成党内潜在的颠覆分子。
• The police is investigating subversive group in the student organization.警方正调查学生组织中的搞颠覆阴谋的集团。

11 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

12 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

13 mister   

n.(略作Mr.全称很少用于书面)先生

参考例句：

• Mister Smith is my good friend.史密斯先生是我的好朋友。
• He styled himself " Mister Clean ".他自称是“清廉先生”。

14 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。