- Written by
- Baldwin, James, American, 1924 - 1987
- Subject of
- Charles, Ray, American, 1930 - 2004
- Owned by
- Gleason, Ralph Joseph, American, 1917 - 1975
- Date
- ca. 1973
- Medium
- toner on paper (fiber product)
- Dimensions
- H x W: 14 x 8 1/2 in. (35.6 x 21.6 cm)
- Description
- A photocopy of a narrative essay written by James Baldwin and outlining a musical and dramatic collaboration between Baldwin and Ray Charles. The essay is typed in black ink on white paper and consists of five total pages: four interior pages as well as a title page.
- The cover page reads [HALLELUJAH CHORUS] at center with [BY / JAMES BALDWIN] at the lower right. The first page is not numbered at the top and begins "My earliest notes indicate that Ray Charles is a A: Troubadour, B: Poet, C: Lover, D: Preacher, E: Tragic Artist." The remaining pages are numbered at the top center. The content of the essay describes Ray Charles and his music before giving a tentative outline for the proposed show. On page three, Baldwin writes, "I am sketching a blue-print for what is, after all, an unprecedented improvisation." The document ends with several paragraphs of prose identified as "JB's opening, after Lift Every Voice." which introduces the event as a "testimony service," and muses on the relationship of "Hallelujah" to "Amen." The essay ends on page four with "But I am here only as a witness, to say, Amen. The right Reverend Ray Charles is testifying, singing Hallelujah: Listen."
- Place depicted
- United States, North and Central America
- Classification
- Books and Published Materials
- Topic
- Instrumentalists (Musicians)
- Jazz (Music)
- Literature
- Musicians
- Singers (Musicians)
- Soul (Music)
- Theatre
- Credit Line
- Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
- Object number
- 2011.68.1.3
- Restrictions & Rights
- Unknown - Restrictions Possible
- Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.




