On the eve of Barack Obama’s inauguration and in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Bob Abrahamian curated a powerful mix of soul records with messages of uplift, resistance, and community. Broadcast from WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago, this special “Sitting in the Park” show paid homage to the legacy of civil rights through rare DJ-style spoken word tracks and gospel-inflected soul from Chicago, Detroit, East St. Louis, and beyond. It offered both a historical reflection and a musical celebration of Black resilience, bridging the era of the Civil Rights Movement with a hopeful new chapter in American history.
Roy Wood - The tale of three monkeys - Penny
Dixie Drifter - Let the soul roll on - Archives
Jim Ingram - Drumbeat - Respect(LP)
Bama the Village Poet - I got soul - Chess (LP)
Landy McNeil - Stand up and be counted - Columbia
Festivals - You're gonna make it - Colossus
Soul Generation - Soul motivation - Tru-Ba-Dor
Chances - A better day is coming - Finch
Fantastic Epics - Let's get together - Kelton
Lavel Moore - The world is changing - Yodi
Soul Generation - Ray of hope - Ebony Sounds
Manuel - We got to make it happen - Source
Sons of the kingdom - Hey there - ??? (label is in hebrew)
John Gary Williams - The whole damn world is going crazy - Stax
John Brothers - Try to walk a mile - RCA
Albert Jones - Unity - Kapp
Gregory Magee - Love one another - Virginia
Linda Clifford - March across the land - Paramount
Impressions - This is my country - Curtom
Bachelor Brad and the Black Experience Band - People can you hear - Kris
Larry Saunders - This world - Sound of Soul
Solar Energy - Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King - Castle Sound
Westmoreland Co - Together we stand - Vanessa
There are moments in history when music rises to meet the times—and Bob Abrahamian’s January 2009 episode of Sitting in the Park is a rare broadcast that captures such a moment. As America braced for the inauguration of its first Black president, Barack Obama, Bob filled the airwaves with records rooted in Black consciousness, social awareness, and uplift, linking the past struggles of the Civil Rights era to the hope that seemed possible in that moment.
Broadcast from WHPK 88.5 FM on Chicago’s South Side—the same community Obama had long called home—this special show opened with Bob’s unmistakable warmth and encyclopedic knowledge. The first track he queued up was The Tale of Three Monkeys by Roy Wood, a powerful spoken-word DJ cut produced by Chicago soul stalwart Richard Pegue. Wood, believed to be a newsman at WVON, uses the rhythm and cadence of radio patter to deliver a searing allegory about racial injustice, class division, and moral blindness. This track set the tone for the show: urgent, locally grounded, and politically charged.
Bob leaned heavily into the overlooked corners of soul history, playing records that rarely, if ever, received mainstream airplay. From Detroit, there was Dixie Drifter’s Let the Soul Roll On, a gospel-soaked anthem for perseverance. Jim Ingram’s Drum Beat called back to African heritage and revolutionary struggle, while I Got Soul by Bomb from The Village Poet exemplified the proto-rap style that fused street poetry with funk rhythm. These songs weren’t just entertainment; they were declarations—Black voices amplified through groove and grit.
Throughout the show, Bob continued to weave a musical map of conscious soul across America. Landy McNeil’s Stand Up and Be Counted urged individual and collective agency. The Chances’ A Better Day Is Coming offered a Cincinnati-based cry of optimism. From East St. Louis, Lavell Moore’s The World Is Changing (later reissued by the Numero Group) brought a soulful melancholy, acknowledging the weight of transformation. These records, many of them privately pressed or nearly forgotten, were part of an underground archive of resistance, rediscovered and recontextualized by Bob.
One of the most poignant moments came when Bob introduced Hey There by The Sons of the Kingdom—a group tied to Chicago’s Black Hebrew community but recorded in Dimona, Israel. Their track, featured on the Soul Messages from Dimona compilation, bridged spiritual exile and political identity, a diasporic expression of hope and unity. By including it, Bob reminded listeners that the Black struggle, and its sonic expressions, extended far beyond American borders.
The legacy of John Gary Williams, who closed a later set with The Whole Damn World Is Going Crazy, was another highlight. As lead singer of The Mad Lads and a former member of the Invaders—a radical Memphis group inspired by the Black Panthers—Williams brought real-world activism into his music. That track, drenched in sorrow and soulful clarity, resonated deeply in a country still reckoning with war, inequality, and racial tension.
The final stretch of the show continued this political thread with selections like The Impressions’ This Is My Country, a Curtis Mayfield-penned declaration of ownership and pride. Bob rounded it out with Larry Saunders’ This World, Solar Energy’s Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Westmoreland Company’s Together We Stand—songs that formed a chorus of unity, reverence, and revolution.
Bob Abrahamian 00:00
Okay, you're tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago. You're now listening to the Sitting in the Park show. I was supposed to start off the show with an interview today, but the people had to reschedule.
But that's okay, because I brought in all conscious Black uplift records in honor of Martin Luther King Day, and also in honor of Barack Obama's inauguration coming up in a couple of days. Local Hyde Parker Barack—I'm sure a lot of listeners even know him personally, since he's from the neighborhood.
If you want to call me up, the number here is 773-702-8424.
I'm going to start off the show with a bunch of 60s DJ/rap-type records. This first record was actually produced by Richard Pegue, and it's by a guy named Roy Wood. I'm sure the listeners will correct me if I'm wrong, but I think he was the news guy—or one of the news guys—at WVON. But if he wasn’t, call me up.
This track is called The Tale of Three Monkeys.
[music playing – Roy Wood, “The Tale of Three Monkeys”]
Bob Abrahamian 18:41
Okay, you're tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago. You’re listening to the Sitting in the Park show.
Today I’m doing a special show with all conscious Black uplift records in honor of Martin Luther King Day and local Hyde Parker Barack Obama, who's being inaugurated in a couple of days.
Started off the show with all DJ rap-style records from the 60s and early 70s. That was Chicago's own Roy Wood with The Tale of Three Monkeys, produced by Richard Pegue.
After that, the Dixie Drifter with Let the Soul Roll On, from Detroit. Then Jim Ingram with Drum Beat, and the last cut was I Got Soul by Bomb from The Village Poet.
Okay, I’ll be playing music for the rest of the show. If you want to call in, the number is 773-702-8424. Gotta send a shoutout to Don Montgomery and to Richard Murray. Also, a happy birthday shout from Corey to Sonya.
This next record is by a singer named Landy McNeil. The track is called Stand Up and Be Counted.
[music playing – Landy McNeil, “Stand Up and Be Counted”]
Bob Abrahamian 31:55
Okay, you're tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago. You’re listening to Sitting in the Park. My name is Bob. This show happens every Sunday night from 7:30 to 9:00 PM.
That last set started with Landy McNeil’s Stand Up and Be Counted, The Festivals with You're Gonna Make It, a group from Detroit called The Soul Generation with Soul Motivation—not to be confused with the more famous Soul Generation, though I’ll play them in the next set.
And the last group was from Cincinnati—The Chances—with A Better Day Is Coming.
If you want to call in, the number is 773-702-8424.
This next record is from Chicago. I’ll actually have one of these guys in here for an interview in February sometime. You probably know them better as Rasputin’s Stash, but this is the original group—The Fantastic Epics. This track is called Let’s Get Together.
[music playing – Fantastic Epics, “Let’s Get Together”]
Bob Abrahamian 51:14
You're tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago. You're listening to the Sitting in the Park show.
This is a special broadcast of socially conscious, Black Power–type songs in honor of Martin Luther King Day and Barack Obama's upcoming inauguration.
We started that set with Chicago's Fantastic Epics with Let’s Get Together. Then from East St. Louis, Lavell Moore with The World Is Changing—that’s now on a CD reissue by Numero Group.
Next up, from New Jersey, The Soul Generation with Ray of Hope. Then from Chicago: Manuel and the Main Source with We Got to Make It Happen. That was singer Manuel Seal, who used to sing lead in the Dantells—his son, Manuel Seal Jr., is now a famous R&B songwriter.
And we wrapped the set with Hey There by The Sons of the Kingdom—related to the Black Hebrews from Chicago, recorded in Dimona, Israel, and now available on the Soul Messages from Dimona CD from the same label.
About a half hour left in the show. Again, playing all socially conscious Black uplift songs. Call in at 773-702-8424.
This next record is by John Gary Williams, lead singer of The Mad Lads. The track is called The Whole Damn World Is Going Crazy.
[music playing – John Gary Williams, “The Whole Damn World Is Going Crazy”]
Bob Abrahamian 1:28:18
Okay, you're tuned to WHPK 88.5 FM in Chicago. You’ve been listening to the Sitting in the Park show.
The last set started with The Impressions' This Is My Country, Bachelor Brad and the Black Experience Band with People, Can You Hear, Larry Saunders with This World, a group called Solar Energy with Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, and the Westmoreland Company with Together We Stand.
I hope you appreciated this special set of socially conscious songs in honor of Martin Luther King Day and Barack Obama’s inauguration.
If you want to hear last year’s show or any of my other programs and interviews, go to www.sittinginthepark.com. If you email me there, I can give you access to other music shows I’ve done.
Thanks to everyone who listened, especially the folks who called in—shout out to those who called long distance today.
