A few African-American popular music PODs/ideas

A lot of us participate in threads around alternate versions of the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, Beach Boys, etc. - but I don't think I've seen quite so many threads around AH ideas that have to do with genres more associated with African-American artists like soul or funk music. So, just off the top of my head, here's a few:

1. December 12, 1964: (an obvious one) A little bird/sixth sense tells Sam Cooke not to go back to the Hacienda Motel with Elisa Boyer. He's alive and well on December 13.

2. December 10, 1967: (another obvious one) The weather clears up a little bit in Madison, Wisconsin, and Otis Redding's plane manages to land safely.

3. 1956: Jackie Wilson is signed to Atlantic Records rather than Brunswick. Jerry Wexler either produces him himself or assigns a producer to him. Therefore, Jackie's amazing voice is matched with good material and a producer/label who know what the hell they are doing.

4. 1972-ish: Sly Stone gets himself into rehab and gets over his cocaine habit before it wrecks his talent.

I'll see if I can think of some more.
 
July 3, 1977. Lightning strikes occur outside NYC. The grid controller for the Eastern Seaboard manages to keep the power running. Newspapers the next day mention the averted disaster, on the second page. In NYC's electronic shops, mixers, turntables, and mics rest safely on the shelves.

IOTL, NYC was plunged into darkness and all hell broke loose. Ultimately the damages were over $300 million, including the 16,000 stores that were looted. It's been argued (here for example), however, that the blackout was a major factor in the development of hip-hop music. Before the blackout there were a handful of DJs, partly because the equipment was expensive. During the blackout, it's said, many aspiring DJs/hip-hop musicians 'acquired' equipment they could never afford.

A caveat: like much of hip-hop history, events might have been partly mythologized.
 
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