CityView Magazine - Fayetteville, NC
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/101164
out that Mr. Rawls needed someone to play the piano and immediately said here is a musician,��� he said, ���I was just a little nobody,��� said Harrington. ���But Lou Rawls was extremely kind to me. He was even more suave and charismatic in person than television and stage performances show.��� Harrington���s love for music inspired him to write his dissertation/documentary at Ohio State on the first lady of gospel, Shirley Caesar. His research included traveling with Caesar for over more than two and a half years on the weekends and then heading back to class on Monday mornings. This book is now housed at The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, a part of the New York Public Library. In November of 1999, the National Endowment of the Arts honored Caesar and Harrington with the National Heritage Award. Harrington is passionate about his music and performs most weeks, but he is even more passionate about his students. ���I want my students to be the ones people come to see perform. They are the ones I want to see shine,��� he said. Reggie Codrington, a jazz saxophone player, also has his roots in Fayetteville. Reggie grew up in a musical family; his father, Ray, is a musician and can be heard on Reggie���s latest CD. ���He played with Little Richard,��� Codrington says with pride in his voice. Codrington himself has played with the likes of Kevin Toney, Paul Jackson, Jr., Frankie Beverly and Maze. He has nine CD credits to his name. Born with cerebral palsy, he had to overcome nine operations and numerous obstacles growing up. ���Music was a great way for me to express myself,��� Codrington said. Recently he has been traveling all over the world performing at military installations. ���It is such an honor to be entertaining the military personal; they give so much for us,��� he said. He also feels fortunate to be able to do what he loves for a living. ���It���s a joy and a blessing to wake up and do something you like.��� Harrington agreed with Codrington on that count, ���I am very fortunate to do what I do,��� he said. Last fall Harrington found some other good fortune in his home, historical items that belonged to a woman who gave of herself to the Brothers David Kenneth ���Bubba��� Brooks, Jr. and Harold Lloyd ���Tina��� Brooks were born in Fayetteville. Reggie Codrington, a jazz saxophone player, also has his roots in Fayetteville.