Rock, Race, and Radio: A Conversation with Big Jay McNeely, Little Willie G., and Art Laboe

The years between 1945-1975 were crucial to the growth of R&B and rock & roll across the map of Los Angeles. While L.A. was in many ways still a segregated city, it was music– in nightclubs, in jukeboxes, on car radios– that most frequently crossed its color lines. Moderated by Trouble In Paradise Music in L.A. 1945 – 1975 curator/University of Southern California Professor Josh Kun, the evening will feature conversation, music, and memories with three icons who were central to music’s cross-cultural connections in the post WWII years: R&B legend Big Jay McNeely, East L.A. rock and R&B pioneer Little Willie G. (of Thee Midniters), and radio trailblazer Art Laboe.