Beyonce -- America the Beautiful

[Renaissance Man]

Kind of reminds me of the story of Marian Anderson, and how the Roosevelt's really helped lead this country into what it has become.

"The famed conductor Arturo Toscanini told her she had a voice "heard once in a hundred years. "Once he heard her sing, he knew instantly that with a rich voice like hers, there was no way that she could fail. In 1934, impresario Sol Hurok offered her a better contract than she had previously had with Arthur Judson. Hurok became her manager for the rest of her performing career.

In 1939, the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) refused permission for Anderson to sing to an integrated audience in Constitution Hall. The District of Columbia Board of Education declined a request to use the auditorium of a white public high school. As a result of the ensuing furor, thousands of DAR members, including First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, resigned.

The Roosevelts, with Walter White, then-executive secretary of the NAACP, and Anderson's manager, impresario Sol Hurok, then persuaded Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes to arrange an open air Marian Anderson concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. The concert, commencing with a dignified and stirring rendition of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" attracted a crowd of more 75,000 of all colors and was a sensation with a national radio audience of millions."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marian_Anderson

[dynasaw]

1. Beyince is No Marian Anderson

. . .now if you had heard Renee Fleming. That's a singer!

[SCRUBDASHRUB]

2. I think Beyonce thinks she's Diana Ross. I just don't think Beyonce's that great.

Mary J. Blige, on the other hand, has an outstanding range and stage presence.