Spoken-Word Musician Gil Scott-Heron Dies in NYC
From The Grio – The author of the song “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” — which helped pioneer sounds that would fuse to become rap — has died in New York City. Musician Gil Scott-Heron was 62.
A friend who answered the telephone listed for his Manhattan recording company confirms he died Friday afternoon at a hospital. Doris C. Nolan says he died after becoming sick upon returning from a European
trip.
Scott-Heron recorded “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” in the 1970s in Harlem.
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His music was socially conscious and relevant even today, tracks like Whitey On the Moon, Pieces of a Man, and No Knock still resonate with me.
Mr. Heron was way before his time, and leaving us too early. I’ve been listening to his poetry since i was about 10 (due to a much older, socially conscious brother) and this feels like a brilliant but disturned distant cousin has passed while trying to get his life back on track. His “I’m New Here” from his last album is like his swan song now. I won’t be able to listen to it for a while.