Black Fairy

Tracklist

A1	Black Fairy Meets Johnny
A2	Please Give Me Some Magic
A3	Black Fairy Meets Black Bird
A4	Tell Them They Are Beautiful
A5	Travel To Afrika-Instrumental
A6	Black Fairy Meets Queen Mother
A7	Afrika's My Home
A8	Black Land Of The Nile
A9	Trip To America
A10	Go Down Moses
A11	Did You Feed My Cow
B1	The Streets Of Harlem
B2	Afrikan Children
B3	Black Men Can Be Beautiful
B4	Black Fairy
B5	Eulogy For Black Fairy
B6	Black Fairy Returns
B7	Hey, Black Child
B8	Johnny & Black Fairy

Companies, etc.

• Recorded At – P.S. Recording Studios

Credits

• Backing Vocals – Barry Ray, Denise Llorens, Gregory Curry, Jerry Johnson, Patricia Crawford, Rhonada Myers
• Bass – Larry Burton
• Drums – Michael Llorens
• Electric Piano – Anthony Llorens, Jerry Johnson
• Guitar – John Llorens
• Horns – Earl "Chico" Freeman*
• Organ – Anthony Llorens
• Percussion – Jerry Johnson
• Piano – Jerry Johnson
• Producer – Pemon Rami
• Vocals – Gregory Curry (tracks: A7, B1), Tony Llorens (tracks: A10)
• Written By – Eugene Perkins

Notes

Private press version.

Personnel: Black Fairy-Patricia Crawford,;Black Bird-Denise Llorens; Queen Mother;-Rhonada "MaseQua" Myers;Uncle Remus-Barry Ray;Johnny-Vincent Hardman

Black Fairy is a fairy tale, but not in the traditional sense. When writing this play, i did not want to re-create the types of fantasies which are so common in Childrens theater. There is no kind of magic that can relieve black children from the oppression that retards their development. However, i do feel giving them a better understanding of their heritage can help them achieve their true potential. And those of us who are concerned with their development should try to expose them to knowledge that gives them a positive sense of identity. Although i do feel a chldren's play should be entertaining, I also feel it should be educational. Also, because there are so few children's plays which reflect the black experience, I wanted to write a play that Black children could identify with.
"Black Fairy" is a musical drama about a black fairy who lacks pride in herself and feels she has to offer Black children. But when she meets Black Bird and Queen Mother (Who take her to ancient Egypt, East Afrika, a southern slave plantation and the streets of Harlem) she begins toget a better understanding of her heritage. Her journey through the past enables Black Fairy to meet Aesop, Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox, Uncle Remus, Stag-o-lee, Leadbelly and many other characters in Black folklore and Black history. At the end of her journey, Black fairy realizes that "Being Black is nothing to be ashamed of" and is then able to share her knowledge with other Black children. Even though Black Fairy doesn't completely resolve her dilemma, having a knowledge of her heritage does give her more confidence to cope with the future.
It is only fair to mention that "Black Fairy" would never have come to life if it were not for the creative directorsip of Pemon Rami and the music composed by Tony Llorens and Jerry Johnson. These people, more than anyone else, have made Black fairy the success it has become. I also feel that without the full support of Better Boys Foundation and its Board of Directors, The production and this album would not have been possible.
"Black Fairy" was the second play at the Lamont Zeno Community Theater, a cltural program of the Better Boys Foundationm a family agency located in North Lawndale in Chicago. Many of the yougsters who perform in the play are members of our Youth Theater Developmen Program which is partially funded by the National Endowment For The Arts. Under the capable guidance of Pemon Rami and his staff, we were able to take youngsters who had no previous theater experience and train them to become competent performers and also teach themother technical theater skills. The result of this effort has mad "Black Fairy" a favorite among both children and adults who have had an opportunity to see it. During ther summer of 1974 "Black Fairy" was performed for over four thousand children in Chicago. And, in April of 1975, it played to over two thousand children in Detroit at Mercy College.
"Black Fairy" is the only the first of many children's plays we hope to produce at the Better Boys Foundation. There is an Afrikan proverb which says:"Children are the reward of life". We at Better Boys Foundationm are dedicated to this belief, and feel that helping childrren to appreciate their heritage is one means of showing our concern for their development. Asante Sana Eugene (Useni) Perkins. Record Cover designed by Barbara Jones Hogu. Recorded at PF Studios, Chicago, Illinois.

Barcode and Other Identifiers

• Matrix / Runout (A-side): BBC-3101-A
• Matrix / Runout (B-side): BBC 3101 B

Other versions

Category	Artist	Title (Format)	Label	Category	Country	Year
none	La Mont Zeno Theatre	Black Fairy ‎(19xFile, FLAC, RE, RM)	Athens Of The North	none	US	2015
AOTNCD004	La Mont Zeno Theatre	Black Fairy ‎(CD, Album, RE)	Athens Of The North	AOTNCD004	UK	2015
AOTNLP004	La Mont Zeno Theatre	Black Fairy ‎(LP, Album, RE)	Athens Of The North	AOTNLP004	UK	2015
BBC 3101	La Mont Zeno Theatre	Black Fairy ‎(LP)	Taifa Records	BBC 3101	US	1975

Recommendations