Blog – Everyone's A Singer

News

Celebrating Music Legends: Millie Small Plaque Unveiling Ceremony

Honouring Millie Small, the Voice of an Era

In a stirring tribute to a music legend, Everyone’s A Singer CIC recently had the honor of participating in the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to the late Millie Small. This event, held in memory of the iconic Jamaican singer, marked a significant moment in our ongoing mission to celebrate the rich tapestry of Black and Caribbean music history.

Millie Small, born Millicent Dolly May Small on 6th October 1947, forever etched her name in the annals of music history with her 1964 hit “My Boy Lollipop.” This chart-topping song not only reached number two in the UK and US charts but also sold over seven million copies worldwide, becoming a defining anthem of its era. More than just a hit, this song was a trailblazer, catapulting Island Records to mainstream success and establishing Millie Small as the first international recording star from the Caribbean and its most successful female performer.

Watch the highlights from the Plaque Unveiling Ceremony

A Tribute to Heritage and History

This event, made possible through the dedicated efforts of the Nubian Jak Community Trust, serves as a reminder of the impact of artists like Millie Small. The Trust, committed to celebrating and preserving Black heritage and achievements. At Everyone’s A Singer we aim to continue to highlight the historical significance and lasting influence of Caribbean music, culture, and the Windrush generation.

Stay tuned for more updates as we delve deeper into the history and impact of Caribbean music. Let’s continue to sing, celebrate, and remember the voices that have shaped our world.

News

Sound On Sound Magazine: Introduction to Everyone’s A Singer

See below for our Sound on Sound feature: August 2nd 2023

Based in London, UK, Everyone’s a Singer is an organisation that was established with the goal of promoting the benefits that singing and songwriting can have on a person’s wellbeing and providing communities with access to singing lessons and music workshops.

They currently organise and run a variety of online and in-person events that aim to help communities explore their love of music, as well as nurturing upcoming talent through youth artist development programmes and The Songwriters Hub, a worldwide community for music makers.

An Everyone’s a Singer performance at the National Maritime Museum for the launch of a new exhibition from The Collective Makers. All of the events strive to create a supportive, inclusive environment, and focus on the enjoyment of singing. A wide range of contemporary music genres are covered including pop, soul, R&B, reggae, hip-hop and more, providing attendees with the chance to build their confidence whilst learning new songs and techniques in a fun and engaging way.

Singers of all ages, abilities and experience levels are welcome, with the organisation’s skilled and experienced instructors ensuring that everyone feels comfortable and supported regardless of their musical background. As well as workshops for groups, Everyone’s a Singer is also happy to provide one-to-one lessons to help individuals develop their skills and techniques.

In addition to the events and workshops aimed at musicians, the organisation also provides Workplace Wellbeing services which seek to help companies create an engaging and positive work environment. They offer everything from one-off workshops to ongoing weekly sessions, all of which can be tailored to fit a company’s particular needs, and are designed to help employees feel valued and connected to their peers.

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News

AHRC projects kickstart future of health and social care…

Some of the thousands of West Indian Immigrants disembarking from the liner Begona at Southampton shortly before the Commonwealth Immigration Act came into force.

2 July 1962

Windrush folk songs supporting mental health and films on health and social inequality are among the projects exploring the future of health and social care.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) have today announced a £348,000 investment in 10 projects. These projects are spread across the UK from Kent in south-east England to the Highlands and Islands in Scotland.

Each of the projects will see researchers collaborating with communities to explore their lived experience of health and social care to help inform researchers, health practitioners, and wider discussions with policymakers and the public about the future of care.

World-leading expertise

AHRC Executive Chair Professor Christopher Smith said:

The foundation of the NHS 75 years ago was just one of the many ways in which the UK has been an innovator and leader in health and social care.

Today we are announcing new projects to harness our world-leading expertise in arts and humanities research to present the future of health and social care in imaginative and exciting ways.

We will be engaging the public in wide-ranging discussions around the future of health and social care.

The NHS was fundamentally a consensus driven idea about care and respect for our fellow humans, the product of a humane imagination, and those are the values which will again secure the future of our health, ageing and wellbeing.

New and diverse audiences

Taking place between June 2023 and spring 2024 to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the NHS, they will connect with new and diverse audiences whose voices are not often heard as part of national debates.

Funded projects will use a wide range of creative and imaginative approaches to engage the public, including:

new artwork created by staff and patients. This will form part of a travelling exhibition exploring the realities and challenges of the connections between acute care in hospitals and social care delivered in communities across Greater Manchester
podcasts and TikTok videos created by new mothers, migrants, older adults and young people based on their lived experience of using mental health services in Kent
archival materials and first-hand memories. Researchers, musicians and artists will collaborate with local communities to examine the history of social care and NHS provision in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland to help shape forward looking conversations about its future

New ways of thinking

These projects demonstrate the unique ability of the arts and humanities to explore new ways of thinking about healthcare and social care. They will resonate with communities and give people the confidence to find their voice and have their say on the future of care provision.

This investment forms part of UKRI and AHRC’s long-standing commitment to bringing diverse communities together to help shape how we can secure better health, ageing and wellbeing.

Each of the projects funded provide two-way engagement with benefits for both sides through knowledge exchange and have the potential for positive long-term impact.

NHS 75

Alongside these new projects AHRC has supported a programme of activities linked to the 75th anniversary of the NHS that focus on the telling of untold stories.

A writer-in-residence, award-winning poet, Dr Kim Moore, has been based at Trafford General Hospital since January 2023. A new anthology of poetry, by Dr Moore and staff working in the hospital will be released in July.

Three emerging filmmakers are working on producing new short films that respond to the NHS on Film archive. They will be released in November this year, as part of an AHRC partnership with the British Film Institute.

To coincide with the NHS 75th anniversary five New Thinking Podcasts, an AHRC and BBC collaboration, will also be released in late June. These will explore the latest ideas on areas such as young people and the future of health and writing and healthcare.

Further information

The projects

Re-igniting Windrush folk song and stories to improve African-Caribbean mental health disparities

Dr Myrtle Emmanuel, University of Greenwich

The project will explore how Windrush generation African-Caribbean (A-C) folk stories and songs can support the mental health and wellbeing of today’s UK A-C community.

This work takes place in Greenwich and Lewisham, which have the fastest growing Caribbean communities in London and provides an opportunity to investigate these mental health concerns.

The project will use folk stories and songs to discuss cultural perspectives, and both shared and unique generational experiences, to create a culturally appropriate mental health toolkit.

Co-investigators are Dr David Hockham, FLAS and Tracy Durrant from Everyone’s A Singer.

Community partners include The Caribbean Social Forum and Partisan.

Read full post here UKRI