Kiss the Scars: A Playlist
Music plays a key supporting role in Joe Okonkwo’s story collection, Kiss the Scars on the Back of My Neck. The abundant musical references illuminate characters’ emotions and define the historical eras in which the stories are set. This playlist—as wide-ranging as the collection—swings eclectically from jazz to opera, from disco to symphonies, and from 1980s pop to 19th Century French chansons. Enjoy.
Painting: Jazz Village by Romare Bearden
Dizzy Gillespie & Charlie Parker: “Salt Peanuts”
From the album The Quintet: Jazz at Massey Hall, 1953
Cheryl Lynn: “Got to Be Real”
From the album Cheryl Lynn, 1978
Thelonious Monk: “Pannonica”
From the album Brilliant Corners, 1956
Leontyne Price: “Vissi d’Arte”
Aria from the opera Tosca (1900) by Giacomo Puccini. This recording: 1973
Gladys Bentley: “Worried Blues”
Bentley accompanies herself on piano. Recorded 1928
Michael Jackson: “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”
From the album Off the Wall, 1979
Jessye Norman: “Es gibt ein Reich”
Aria from the opera Ariadne auf Naxos (1916) by Richard Strauss. This recording: 1988
Dinah Washington: “Come Rain Or Come Shine”
From the album Dinah Jams, 1955
Mozart: Symphony No.41 (“Jupiter” Symphony, 1788) - First Movement: Allegro vivace
Performed by the Concertgebouw Orchestra, conducted by Josef Kripps, 1972
Mel Torme: “The Surrey With the Fringe on Top”
From the album Mel Tormé Swings Schubert Alley, 1960
Barbara Hendricks: “C'est l'extase langoureuse”
By Claude Debussy. From the album Debussy Mélodies, 1985
Culture Club: “It’s a Miracle”
From the album, Colour by Numbers, 1983
