COinS
Sep 12th, 2:30 PM
Introductory Roundtable: Looking Back at Funk History in Dayton
Dayton, OH
Moderator: Dr. Todd Uhlman; panelists: Ericka Blount, Keith Harrison, Clarence Willis
Introductory Roundtable: Looking Back at Funk History in Dayton
Dayton, OH
Moderator: Dr. Todd Uhlman; panelists: Ericka Blount, Keith Harrison, Clarence Willis
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Ericka Blount is a professor, author, journalist and film researcher with an extensive body of work in archival research, including for the documentaries Nas: Time is Illmatic, the Tupac documentary Untitled, and PBS’s Finding Your Roots, hosted by Skip Gates. She has taught at the University of Maryland College Park and Loyola University in Baltimore and is currently a producer for the Real News Network.
Keith Harrison, bandleader, sideman, songwriter, producer, arranger, film composer, and solo artist, has performed throughout his career with a variety of artists and bands, including Faze-O, Heatwave, Candles, the Ohio Players, George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, the Bar-Kays and the Dazz Band. The Dazz Band received a Grammy Award in 1982 for the song Let It Whip.
Clarence Willis, guitarist, bassist, songwriter and longtime member of the Ohio Players, graduated from the University of Dayton in the class of 1972. He was one of the founding members of the University’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi, a national fraternity that sponsors community service, social welfare, and academic scholarship programs through its foundation. Today, Willis continues to tour with the Ohio Players.