385:"Ben Branch, 59, musician and civil rights activist, died Thursday 27 in Provident Medical Center after suffering a stroke. Mr. Branch, a South Side resident, was the last person to whom Martin Luther King Jr. spoke moments before his assassination at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis on April 4, 1968. King asked Mr. Branch, a saxophonist, to play his favorite gospel song, 'Precious Lord,' at a rally later that night."
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221:-owned soft-drink manufacturing company. The company eventually signed a $ 355 million agreement with Kemmerer Bottling Group, bottler of several well-known soft drinks, including 7Up, to distribute the Doctor Branch Products beverages.
248:," at a rally that was to have been held two hours later. King's exact words (which were also the last words that he ever spoke) were "Ben, make sure you play 'Take My Hand, Precious Lord' in the meeting tonight. Play it real pretty."
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in 1949. "My very first recordings were for a company out of
Nashville called Bullet, the Bullet Record Transcription company," King recalls. "I had horns that very first session. I had
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For much of the 1950s, Branch was the bandleader for the house band, the Largos, at Curry's Club in North
Memphis, which provided a young
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Branch recorded with King again on an early 1952 Memphis recording with the B.B. King
Orchestra with, among others,
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Branch was president of Doctor Branch
Products Inc., founded in 1983, in Chicago, Illinois, the nation's only
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on bass, Ben Branch on tenor sax, his brother, Thomas Branch, on trumpet, and a lady trombone player."
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While musical director of the
Breadbasket Orchestra and Operation/PUSH, he arranged for gospel singer
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June 7, 1987 "Rosco Gordon with the Ben Branch Band" City of
Chicago Official Tourism Site
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In 1982, Branch founded the
American Music Hall of Fame, a private music school in
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With his brother, Thomas, on trumpet, Branch was a member of the horn section on
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A few months before his death, Branch appeared with his band at the 1987
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Don't Deny My Name: words and music and the black intellectual tradition
89:(January 8, 1928 – August 27, 1987) was an American entrepreneur,
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was the first white member of Branch's big band, in the early 1960s.
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American entrepreneur, jazz saxophonist, and bandleader (1928–1987)
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to perform at the
Chicago Stadium (later the United Center).
244:, Dr. King had just asked Branch to play a Negro spiritual, "
254:, in the introduction to the title track of his 1969 album
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in 1968, Branch had been a jazz bandleader for many years.
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At Canaan's Edge: America in the King Years, 1965-68
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on piano; his father played drums, and his brother,
313:- Operation Breadbasket Orchestra and choir (Chess)
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343:Ben Branch, 59, Leader in Civil Rights, Business
240:and Operation/PUSH. Just moments before being
610:Gospel Singer DeLeon Reflects on 'Here In Me'
514:"Rites Held In Chicago For Ben F. Branch, 59"
452:Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records
588:Thomas, Lorenzo & Lynn Nielsen, Aldon
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619:December 2, 2008 Chicago Defender Online
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701:Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
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593:, University of Michigan Press, 2008
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630:"Atlantic Records Discography: 1964"
691:American rhythm and blues musicians
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400:"Blues Access: B.B. King Interview"
205:Branch held a degree in music from
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154:with his first professional gigs.
100:Although known as the last person
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449:Bowman, Rob (10 May 1997).
246:Precious Lord, Take My Hand
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681:American male saxophonists
207:Tennessee State University
186:Branch also recorded with
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120:'s first recordings for
104:spoke to moments before
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93:tenor saxophonist, and
532:"The Learning Network"
238:Martin Luther King Jr.
177:Chicago Blues Festival
102:Martin Luther King Jr.
520:. September 14, 1987.
322:– Brother Jack McDuff
285:(tp) Ben Branch (ts)
234:Operation Breadbasket
225:Operation Breadbasket
671:American bandleaders
565:Simon & Schuster
429:Accounts.google.com
252:Cannonball Adderley
188:Brother Jack McDuff
615:2018-03-01 at the
536:The New York Times
503:, August 29, 1987.
455:. Schirmer Books.
389:, August 28, 1987.
299:Donald "Duck" Dunn
163:Donald "Duck" Dunn
563:. New York City:
501:Post-Tribune (IN)
387:Chicago Sun-Times
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49:(1987-08-27)
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661:1928 births
271:Discography
152:Isaac Hayes
655:Categories
327:References
303:Al Jackson
192:Etta James
145:Ike Turner
134:Tuff Green
95:bandleader
74:Instrument
66:Occupation
35:1928-01-08
23:Ben Branch
425:"Blogger"
118:B.B. King
77:Saxophone
613:Archived
559:(2007).
486:Archived
179:backing
161:bassist
69:Musician
301:(el-b)
289:(bars)
170:Chicago
157:Future
639:10 May
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468:10 May
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409:10 May
371:10 May
316:1969:
309:1968:
293:(org)
231:SCLC's
198:, and
159:M.G.'s
130:Calvin
58:Genres
219:black
641:2021
595:ISBN
569:ISBN
543:2021
470:2021
457:ISBN
436:2021
411:2021
373:2021
297:(g)
190:and
143:and
91:jazz
61:Jazz
44:Died
29:Born
518:Jet
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.