MUSICAL STORYTELLER SERIES - NEW VIDEO

The 23 & 54 : Pulaski Virgina

There's Something Going On Down in Pulaski....

In 1947, 23 brave Pulaski County Virginia parents joined Dr. Percy Corbin in a lawsuit against the Pulaski County School Board for better educational facilities on behalf of 54 Black children.

The Corbin case, while not as widely known as Brown vs. Board of Education, was one of a handful of key lawsuits that gradually chipped away at the legal foundation of segregation. It highlighted the inadequacy of segregated facilities and strengthened the NAACP's legal argument against "separate but equal" education.

WATCH NOW:
The Appalachian Soul Man takes
NPR's Inside Appalachia on a Walk down the Streets of Osage

Aristotle Jones is one Osage resident committed to carrying on that legacy.

Jones is a professional musician and storyteller who plays what he calls “Appalachian Soul” – a mix of soul, R&B, doo-wop, gospel, funk, and folk. It’s an eclectic blend that reflects his identity as a Black Appalachian and specifically, his roots here in Osage.

A LOOK BACK: "STREETS OF OSAGE" OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO

The combination of Aristotle Jones’s smooth, mellow voice and his warm acoustic guitar is at the heart of this personal and soulful ballad that takes the viewer on a trip to Scott’s Run Annual Street Fair in Osage, WV and the Scott’s Run Museum and Trail. We get a charming glimpse of life in Jones’s home town as he sings alongside Rock n' Soul Singer and town historian, Al Anderson. Together with the lyrics, the video creates a real sense of place and history effectively.

-ANDREW FROLISH

AMERICANA-UK.COM

MUSICAL STORYTELLER SERIES - "Streets of Osage" (2023)

Aristotle Jones Receives National Recognition
by National Association of Black Storytellers

OSAGE, WV

Following the release of his latest Album "Mountain Doo-Wop & The Streets of Osage" Appalachian Soul Man, Aristotle Jones has earned national recognition as a Black Appalachian Storyteller fellow. Mountain Doo-Wop & The Streets of Osage was inspired by his family's history in a small West Virginia coal town and features 9 songs that offer a reimagined context for the sonic landscape through various eras of the town evolution as seen. Listen to Mountain Doo-Wop & The Streets of Osage, and hear the Award Winning Album.