Ali- Foreman : The Rumble in the Jungle

Tuesday Night Fights presents the Rumble in the Jungle !
Undefeated George Foreman takes on the former champion Muhammad Ali.
At this time Foreman was 40-0 with 37 KO'S.
I met the champ , and spokle to him regarding this fight , but tonight we share with you the tale of the "Rumble in the Jungle".

George came in to the fight a heavy favorite . He destroyed the two men who beat Ali in a spectacular way . In four rounds , he defeated two Hall of Famers , knocking them down a total of nine times in scoring two 2nd round Knockouts.
Ali-Norton 2nd round Knockout

With that on his mind Ali went to Africa to battle Big George !


ALI goes into the fight confident , not scared ! Promising to dance he does that !


Exciting First round .... realizing that he could take Georg'e punches Ali decides to do something amazing . He will take his punches and strike back again in response .Thus is born the rope a dope !

10 years after Liston , 7 years after being strippd of his title.
Justice is restored to the Heavyweight championship !
Ali Bomaye !

Vonda's Vault Box ;The Late Edition with Gap ,Confunkshun ,The Time ,2 Pac , and Vesta Williams

Late night in the vault , gotta make this cut before the lights go out !
We gotta spin the tunes because we Gotta to Be Enuff !
Let's open up with some Old skool Confunshun !

TO GET WITH THIS , you gotta Get up early in the Morning !

I am cool in this vault , but who is this brother with this mirror ! Vonda' call security ! Jerome !

Tell me if you still care that we put this best video blog in the history of Blogging !

The greatest rapper /poet of all time ! 2Pac Shakur is trying to get in the vault!

As we close our blog this week , light a candle for one of our vault artists.
Vesta Williams.... Rest In Peace.
We will see ya next week at the vault !

Gospel Sunday : God Has Smiled On Me: Features Kirk , Rance Allen , Jonathan Butler ,

God has smiled on me ...He has set me free .From the trials and the tribulations , listen to that quiet voice , that may be HIM talking to you.
He has been good to me ,oh so good ,woke me up for another day to serve ,made me walk away from hate ,and run to love !

The Sweetest Name I know is Jesus !
Some people say I am crazy , I can't explain the power of HIS name , It's just like Fire ! Sweeter than Honey ! Listen to Kirk and Rance Allen ....
SOMETHING ABOUT THE NAME !

FALL IN lOVE WITH JESUS is the best thing that I ever done !
Falling in love with the bread of life , for it is that bread that sustains us all!

I LOVE THE LORD -HE TALKS TO US through all music , from traditional Gospel to the modern expressions of his Love. that. Time to STOMP!

It was 1997 and Kirk was just making it big ! Shouting out to Dallas and Ft.Worth on the Lettermen Show .
Times change but GOD DOES NOT CHANGE !
SEE YA NEXT WEEK ON GOSPEL SUNDAY !

Vonda's Vault Box:Ain't No Joke Old SkooL Music 4 U

The Vault Box finally has cooled down. It was hot as a Firecracker in here !
Sometimes I just couldn't remain cool ! It was a Mass Production effort !

David Letterman is here in the vault funkin with Stanley Clarke and George Duke !
About to ride the Mothership !
Check these horns out !

This blog is no joke ...Second to None ... Ain't No Joke !

Usher and Alecia bring love in the vault with "My Boo" !

I hope you like this weeks video selections .
I hope you are like El Debarge " I like It " !

Well we gotta go The Vault is closed until next week !
Remember to have Every Little Step you take lead you back to Vonda's Vault Box !

Jazzy Fridays: George Duke , Brothers Johnson , David Sanborn , Jonathan Butler , and Al Jarreau

Hey we appreciate all the tweets ,instant messages , and calls on our Jazz series. We are 300 hits from our goal for the month of September.So fellow jazz fans send this video blog out to 5 of your friends , do it for an "Old Friend ".


In Grand Prairie , we welcomed Stanley Clarke to our city with the band Return To Forever ! Stanley is a prolific bassist and composer , here he is with George Duke. A favorite collaboration ! You gotta love it !


Gotta go with the Brothers Johnson to the "Land Of Ladies " !
Time to escape ......


Jonathan Butler is crazy about this girl named Sarah !


Our time is up we gotta go !
My partner in crime Casey , says this is the best jazz video blog series ever.
Casey and David Sanborn both say : "I TOLD U SO ".

See ya next week at the club , I will save you a seat by the band

Tuesday Night Fights: Hagler -Hearns

Tuesday Night Fights The Marvin Hagler - Tommy Hearns fight was arguably the best fight in the history of boxing . Never in the history of boxing was there three rounds of brutal carnage . Hagler the Champion , Hearns the challenger . Two men enter - One man leave . For three rounds they threw down like it was a Golden Gloves Fight, Tommy Hearns left the ring beaten but no other fighter could have beaten him that night except Marvelous Marvin Hagler . IF WE HAD MORE FIGHTS LIKE THIS WE WOULD HAVE NO UFC FIGHTS . Tuesday Night Fights sponsored by Right Guard , anything else would be uncivilized. See ya next Tuesday at Ringside.

Two Presidents : September 11 : ONE NATION UNITED

George Bush was my President .

We supported him that day, not because we may or not have voted for him , but because we are Americans .He articulated what was real.
Our anger ,our commitment, our resolve. He was my President.

Barack Obama is my President .

A president who inherited two wars and a mission to finish what President Bush had picked up on September 11 .

When it comes to national security WE ARE United !
For those who say I supported someone that they did not vote for.
I say to them .
We three have a Unbreakable Bond .
WE ARE AMERICANS ...
WE ARE ONE ....

Gospel Sunday : Remember 9/11 Still We Rise

On September 11 , Our Nation was attacked .... Our spirit was attacked ....
We have had our doubts , but We must Never Doubt , that God has for us !
God is right there by our side .We have many mountains to climb, many valleys to cross ,We can do it because WE HAVE A GOOD SHEPHERD !


The Twin Towers Went Down , but like a Phoenix ....We RISE !


We Fall Down We get Up !


One of the many moments of September11 occurred on the airplane that went down in Pennyslvania .After finding out what happened to the other planes, the passengers recited the "Lords Prayer" and forced the jet down and away from its intended target , Washington D.C.
Imagine with you the passenger talking to the airport personell , knowing his last ,moments are here . He tells herto do one favor for me .Recite the Lords Prayer with me.

"The Lord is my shepherd ...
After he recited the prayer he said "Let's Roll" .
The plane missed its target ....
He like many others will be resurrected on Judgement Day .
Amen ,

Vondas'Vault Box : September Super Showdown -Battle of the Bands

In Vonda's Vault Box the bands decided to roll out a Battle of the Bands ! The Bands of the 70"s and 80"s were real ! None of that techno , synthesized music ! You had to play a instrument nothing computer generated about talent!
Let's have Booty's Rubber Band ! "Stretchin Out"!


What band could top Earth Wind and FIRE!
They had all of the instruments !
All the voices and all the stage magic !!!


The bands back in the day could slow it down with a ballad . The Isleys use to have one side of their albums funk ,and the other side smooth ballads .Its all good !


There was a band from Ohio , The "Ohio Players" . When you had the guitar rift you knew it Was Skin Tight ! You a real fine lady ! "Skin Tight !


We gotta leave Vonda is talking about all the bands taking up to much room in the vault ! IT'S HOT IN HERE ! But I got a Godfather who wants to talk about BREAKING OUT IN A COLD SWEAT !
To the stage at the vault and into your computers ....
THE JAMES BROWN BAND !


Who won the battle of the bands ? We all did ! See ya next week at the vault, I will save a seat for you !

Jazzy Fridays @ Careless Whispers :Dave Koz , Sade , EWF ,and many more !

This week our Jazzy Friday series opens up with the great Dave Koz and guest vocalist Montell Jordan .This is the way we do it , when we are in our Jazz set,"Careless Whisper".


We promise we gonna get down and when we do it's gonna be a funky jazz groove!
Get down on it with the late great Waymon Tisdale !


Slip some Ramsey Lewis tune "Sun Goddess " as done by Earth Wind Fire !
LET'S SEE THE SUN GODDESS SHINE !


IF YOU LIKE LIVE MUSIC , COME GET IT HERE !
Ray Parker Jr. and the Crusaders are on stage !


We are "Smooth Operators" in this jazz corner !
Sade has just walked in and she is laying down the tracks !


We will see you next week , at the jazz corner !
I will save you a seat by the band !

September 11 ,2001 We Are One

September 11 , 2001 a Tuesday.
Tuesday's are days when nothing happens.
Mondays and weekends get our attention.
That Tuesday Morning changed America.

A country divided by a contentious election was slumbering through the September morning.A country hyphenated came together .
This would be the day that we would become one.
For 24 hours ,September 11.
There would be ,no black or white.
There would be no straight or gay.
There would be no young or old.
There would be no north or south.
There would be no red state or blue state.

There for a moment frozen in time .
Would be a Nation.

A NATION UNITED IN SORROW.
A NATION UNITED IN GRIEF.
A NATION UNITED IN HORROR.
A NATION UNITED IN ANGER.
A NATION UNITED, NO LONGER DIVIDED.
FINALLY A NATION .
WE ARE ONE .....
AMERICANS


September 11 ,2001 A Tuesday.

Tuesday Night Fights: George Foreman -Joe Frazier

Before George Foreman sold the George Foreman Grill , he was truly a scary man .


The first George Foreman reign he was terror ,none of his fights lasted two rounds. He was Big ,6 foot 4 from Houston Texas. The man pulled jeeps in training up hills.He picked up cows and carried them on his back. He was not a man ,but a Superman !

The baddest man in boxing, the baddest man on the planet.George was Heavyweight champion of the World ! Not the friendly George Foreman of his second reign.


We now take a look at the George Foreman- Joe Frazier Heavyweight Championship ,January 1973 in Kingston Jamaica.The entire fight is seen below with the great Howard Cosell narrating."Down Goes Frazier". Six times Frazier went down!


George that night all boxing pundits agreed was a Superman.
Thanks for looking at edgray4america Tuesday Night Fights brought to you,by what else.The George Foreman Grill!
See ya next week at Ringside !

Labor Day 2011 MLK and the Unions: We Got Work To Do

I spent 20 years as a Union member for the Communication Workers of AMERICA .Each year we had a Labor Day breakfast.I still attended after I became a manager.I realized then as well as now the importance of men and women and the right to organize.

At one union meeting, I urged my fellow union members to recognize that Dr.Martin Luther King Jr. was called to Memphis ,Tennessee to participate in a labor strike. It was the rights of working men ,the sanitation workers that were organizing for their collective wages and benefits that Dr. King supported.


The city government of Memphis was determined to put down the collected organizations that banded together which included labor, American Federation of State,County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and civil rights organizations such as the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.


The events of April 4,1968 silenced not only the most preeminent Civil Rights icon of the ages ,but also one of America"s Labor Martyrs.Dr. King is gone ,his Dream still lives ,and WE ALL GOT WORK TO DO !
Happy Labor Day !

Gospel Sunday :HE IS ABLE,featuring Kirk ,Aretha , Marvin and The SPIRIT !

I like the Morning , and I pray it likes me !I know there is only one who could wake me up !It's God ,didn't do it on my own ! Proof: Take a alarm clock to the cemetery ,and set it.
ONLY GOD CAN WAKE UP AND RESURRECT.
HE IS THE ONLY ONE.


My friend and classmate Yolanda Samuel testifies this morning :
Faith is being willing to trust God -
turning your hopes and problems over to Him and trusting in His wisdom -
and knowing that somehow everything will turn out for the best. No
matter how difficult or dark things become, there is always a light.
Happy Sunday friends!
THE LORD WILL MAKE A WAY !


Rev. Craig Christman is preaching about "Standing Against The Devil" .
GOD HE IS ABLE !


If its broken ,I know I can put superglue on it ,
but only JESUS CAN FIX IT !
From a little church in Memphis to a big White House in Washington !


Pastor Bryan Carter of Concord Missionary Baptist Church in Dallas , is preaching about "MAN UP" to discover "The Definition of a Man .God Bless !
HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW !


LIKE THE SPARROW I WILL HAVE TO FLY AWAY.

Hold your head up and Keep the Faith ! Gospel Sunday !
Thank you and God Bless !

Vonda's Vault Box : Its September ! EWF & Usher

Vonda's Vault Box is back in stride again for another September. As it us for us in the vault, its finally cooling off ,but the old joints never cool off. Maurice White and EWF begin today with "September ".


For some of us in the vault ,September brings back bad memories.
Dallas's own Johnnie "The Wailer " Taylor sings "Its September ".


It looks like like the Old Skool men want to croon today !
If you find you along ways from Home " Call Me" !


The young brothers in the old vault , are harmonizing this morning !
Live from the Kliff Klubb , Lol oh naw it's Little Rock's club "Elevations " .


The youngsters in the old vault , got Vonda and the ladies up dancing !
Usher Raymond is doing what he does best in the vault.
"Yeah " ! Rewind the blog ... It's time to go !

Jazzy Friday: My Ladies Sing The Blues

This Friday's Jazz set is about the ladies. They are incredible , they are beautiful, they are talented .They sing the blues, they sing jazzy, they do it all.
We give you this Friday a jazzy >>> Harlem Blues @ Cynda Williams.

"The Boss" Diana Ross was a Lady who brought millions of new admirers to Billie Holiday's styles of jazz ! A super star from back in the day sings about Lady Day !


The Boss is cold but there was and only will be one Billie Holiday !
Here Billie Holiday sings about the Strange Fruit .....Listen careful. Message.

Before rap delivered Lady Day delivered a strong message !

Down south all things are not always gloomy! Here Stevie Wonder and Queen Latifah sing about "Georgia Rose ". Stevie on harmonica ! Giving assist to the ladies !


Well we slowed down this train to let you get caught up with all the Jazz standards of this past ! Next week the pace will pick up as our conductor for Jazzy Friday's Casey the conductor says we got to take the A train !
With Chaka Khan , and George Duke !

See ya next week, I got a train to catch !