"Troubadour": The Life and Times of Jimmy Collier: The Pied Piper of the Civil Rights - Hardcover

by Sam J. Loproto (Author)

Come along and sing with us, as we accompany Jimmy Collier, the unsung 'Pied Piper' of the Civil Rights Movement, on an unbelievable journey. Reminisce about his humble beginnings in Ft. Smith, Ark., and the love for the Church that played a big part in his life; most notably his musical learning from an early age. Choir, piano lessons and even Jim Crow, shaped the rebel within him to always speak up against inequality and any form of injustice. Serenading his way through every protest he could find with his guitar during the '60s, it was no surprise when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. noticed him, and welcomed him into the ranks of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, or SCLC. From Chicago to Selma, Ala., then from Chicago to the Newport Folk Festival, ole' Jimmy (in his own words), was the most famous person you've never heard of! Come ride along on the 96-foot schooner named the Clearwater, with Pete Seeger and a salty crew of (now famous) musicians shouting and singing for a cleaner Hudson River, docking in nearly 36 ports of call for nightly concerts. In between kickstarting the beginnings of environmental concerns, Earth Day and the EPA, Jimmy organized the downtrodden to gather in Washington D.C. only weeks after the death of MLK for the Poor People's Campaign. Jimmy starred in two major films, appeared several times on "Sesame Street", recorded a dozen albums and was the strong voice we could surely use today. Jimmy's music is available on iTunes.