“To tell you the truth, I've never been really good at learning other people's stuff. I've been playing since I was 11, and I never took lessons. I kind of learned through hit and miss. I had the patience just because I loved guitar so much.” PeopleKindStuffMissingLessonsGuitar Author:Mark Tremonti
“My English teacher, Dr. John Lindstrom, taught me an appreciation for the written word. Until his class, I'd dabbled in journalism and essay writing. But when he selected one of my essays as the best in the class, it gave me the confidence to see myself as a writer.” WritingClassTeacherWrittenTaughtAppreciationJournalismDrsEssaysSelectedWritten WordEnglish TeacherEssay Writing Author:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“The Sixties was a perfect storm of disaffection with political leaders trying to pass off the same old platitudes to maintain the status quo and an unexpected courageousness in the masses of youth. Nothing on this scale had ever happened before in U.S. history and it hasn't happened since.” TryingPoliticalPerfectLeaderHappenedYouthMassStormScalesUnexpectedSixtyStatus QuoPolitical LeadersPlatitudesPerfect Storm Author:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“Culture and politics were inseparable [in the Sixties], which gave a soundtrack to political awareness and activism.” PoliticalCultureAwarenessActivismSixtyInseparableSoundtracksPolitical Awareness Author:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“For me, the bold jazz of John Coltrane and Miles Davis reflected the bold attitude in African-Americans finding their political identity and voice.” PoliticalVoiceAttitudeIdentityFindingsJazzMilesAfrican AmericanColtrane Author:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“UCLA acknowledged this shift by bringing in Alex Haley (the co-author of The Autobiography of Malcolm X) and Eldridge Cleaver (Soul on Ice) as speakers.” SoulIceSpeakersAutobiographyAlexUclaHaleyCleaverMalcolm X Autobiography Author:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“But all was not sunshine and Marvin Gaye songs. [UCLA] also recruited black students as part of a High Potential Program that was meant to bring diversity to the campus. Two of the students that were part of that program were Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter and John Huggins, Jr., both members of the Black Panther Party's Southern California Chapter.” TwoSongBlackPartyStudentsMembersDiversityProgramCaliforniaSunshineSouthernChaptersCarterCampusMarvinPanthersUclaSouthern CaliforniaBlack PantherBlack Panther Party Author:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“In January of 1969, after a meeting to discuss the leadership of UCLA's new Afro-American Program, [Alprentice "Bunchy" Carter and John Huggins, Jr.] were murdered on campus by a rival black nationalist group, the United Slaves Organization. This shook up all the students, black and white, and made us all realize that what we were doing wasn't just an academic exercise, but had repercussions in the real world.” WorldMadeRealBlackRealizingWhiteUnitedGroupsStudentsExerciseProgramOrganizationMeetingsSlaveReal WorldAcademicBlack And WhiteRivalsCarterJanuaryCampusRepercussionsUclaAfros Author:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“The only reason is that I hadn't seen The Modern Jazz Quartet perform live and a live performance is often where the real experience of jazz takes place. I'm not familiar with the Boswell Sisters.” RealReasonModernPerformancesJazzFamiliarQuartetsLive Performance Author:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
“We all had a lot of fun making the film ["Airplane" ], but there weren't a lot of outtakes or cracking up because we all were focused on doing our jobs in a professional manner.” JobsFilmFunFocusedAirplaneCracking Up Author:Kareem Abdul-Jabbar