Congress Woman Malinda Jackson Parker

Walking down the street in New York City a couple of months ago, I ran into Greg Caz of the legendary DJ night Brazilian Beat Brooklyn, which happens every Sunday at Black Betty in Williamsburg. A beat junkie’s beat junkie, the first thing Caz says when I tell him I’m moving to Liberia is, “You have to find that record by Congress Woman Malinda Jackson Parker. It’s one of those ‘outsider’ records that collectors are crazy about.” I had never heard of her. Then a couple of days ago, our good friend Jason emails:

"This tune I heard, it's her playing piano, this famous Rachmaninov prelude, really dramatic and spooky, you probably know it, and she keeps randomly stopping and talking about how great 'Radamaninov' was and then she starts singing this song about mosquitoes over the top, following the prelude melody like 'mosquito is not your friend', ' mosquito will suck all your blood', and like that. It's super weird."

I found this catalog listing of a 10" record housed in some collection of Liberian artifacts:

Malinda Jackson Parker, The Liberian Landmark, Joy Records LLJ-1O1-B

Needless to say, we'll not sleep until we find the LP. From the review at emusic, with clips:

“Loveable Liberian eccentric who conjures up a heavenly hash of Nina Simone and Lucia Pamela. Though not a politico by profession, the late "Ma Parker" served a term in Liberia's House of Reps in the '50s during the William V. S. Tubman administration. Musically, the dizzy yet dignified Parker mauled folk songs and addressed societal concerns with a freewheeling half-sung, half-narrated style, while pounding mercilessly on a grand piano. The album offers odes to bush cow milk and palm trees, along with not one but two diatribes against bloodsucking bugs. On "Cousin Mosquito #1," Parker utters the word "cousin" 204 times in three and a half minutes. Madame had independent wealth, was by reports kind, generous and beloved, and was never without a bag of candy to bestow upon street urchins. She dressed flamboyantly, was renowned for an overload of cosmetics and sported a turban festooned with safety pins.”

Fascinating!