SOCIAL SECURITY IN AMERICA

[Music] to introduce this week's guest here is Roy swift of the Social Security Administration this week Social Security in America pays a visit to a man who has become a living legend in bringing you each week a story of one of the more than 23 million Americans who are receiving Social Security benefits we hope to provide you with information about your Social Security protection one of the things that America has given to the world is her own style of music jazz and the music has enriched the language Hut cool ragtime these words have a special meaning when applied to music but let's visit the birthplace of jazz jazz the music that has set beep to tapping all over the world way down yonder in New Orleans the universal language that America gave to the world came from here this is New Orleans Bourbon Street flashing exciting on this famous street in the heart of the French Quarter you can feel the pulse beat of New Orleans at night Bourbon Street is a street of sounds and most of these sounds are music sometimes the beat is hot and sometimes it's cool but the kind of music is always the same on Bourbon Street this is where jazz was born a shark a key and a banana our clues to the name of one of the pioneers of jazz Sharky Bonanno he began his musical career over 45 years ago since that time he is played with most of the outstanding jazz musicians in the country Sharky banana bought his first horn when he was 14 he played professionally for the first time in 1922 at Pete Herman's ringside in New Orleans [Music] in recognition of his contribution to the world of music the New Orleans jazz museum displays a few of Sharky's musical mementos the Brown Derby is his trademark the Museum located in the historic French Quarter houses some 10,000 items pertaining to the history of jazz one of the popular exhibits at the Museum is the panel of Museum of phones telephones on which the visitor may dial and hear recordings of blues spirituals brass bands and other jazz art history this is a forerunner of the banjo it was brought to this country from Africa by the slaves and it played an integral part in the shaping of jazz music during the heydays of minstrel shows the banjos popularity spread throughout the country jazz bands started with the banjo is a basic instrument then the brass was added and later the reeds in 1910 bands like Jack Lane were responsible for putting jazz on the streets and in other outdoor events another group of Lane musicians became the original Dixieland jazz band the first band to record in 1917 a jazz record the name of the song was Tiger Rag many of the early jazz bands could play indoors or outdoors they played on the move on wagons on trains on river boats they played at picnics in parades in dance halls they made up a handy group of musicians with a rhythm all its own the imperial orchestra of 1910 an early jazz dance group often borrowed their instrumentation from classical orchestras besides hot music they could play mazurkas and short ishes later Jelly Roll Morton and others introduced the piano to jazz this added a new quality to the sound but put some limits on the band's ability to play anytime anywhere [Music] Danny Barker is assistant curator of the New Orleans Jazz museum playing a banjo is just one of his many talents he was a member of the famed Cab Calloway band for many years danny has composed dozens of songs and more than 50 have been recorded by famous artists born and raised in the French Quarter Danny like Sharky Bonanno is another product of the New Orleans Jazz Age we asked Sharkey if he could recall when he first became interested in music well when I was a youngster I moved with my sister and husband who is called John karela and a summer resort called Milan blade in other words they call it milling Bay and that's where all the picnics were the jazz bands used to play like King Oliver played there Sam Morgan bill Garrity Frank Christian Oh a number of bands played and I became interested in music because if I was surrounded by it milenberg the summer resort where Sharkey lived as a youngster was immortalized in song and later became a jazz classic called milenberg Joy's Joseph Sharkey Bonanno has been known by his nickname since he was six months old because when I was born I was well sort of lively child and my brother-in-law was going to be my gorge folder and he was a sort of a gambler so he figured he had a bet on Tom Sharkey so I figured if Tom Sharkey would win the fight I would get the name was shocking that's been my name ever since many legendary jazz figures are best known by their nickname Satchmo jellyroll Mugsy Yardbird wingy and slow drag Alcide slow drag kvitko who is now almost 80 made this face fiddling when he was 16 he played it in the famous bunk Johnson band during the early nineteen hundreds like many of the old-time jazz men slow drag Papago is now receiving Social Security benefits and Medicare protection one of the best-known jazz figures in the world is Louis Satchmo Armstrong this is the horn on which he learned to play in 1913 the museum displays these original drawings of jazz greats by Richard II premier showing peewee Russell Sidney Bechet JC Higginbottom and Louie Armstrong charkie like many older Americans works in some months of the year and does not work in others he gets social security benefits for the months he is not working and if his earnings in a year are low he may even get benefits for some of the months he did work in addition to Social Security retirement benefits he has the added protection of Medicare sharky like millions of other Americans 65 and over feels a little more secure with the knowledge that in the event of illness or accident Medicare hospital insurance pays all his covered hospital expenses for 60 days except for the first forty dollars and if is necessary for him to stay in the hospital over 60 days all but 10 dollars a day for another 30 days when Medicare began Sharkey also signed up for the medical insurance part which helps to pay doctor bills and other medical services Medicare health insurance protection is available for almost everyone who is 65 or older the jazz greats like Sharkey spread the influence of New Orleans jazz throughout the world looking back over the years Sharkey remembers when he was just 14 and bought his first horn for 2 dollars and 50 cents a few years later in 1918 he was playing at the milenberg dance hall he recalls playing on the riverboat Island Queen as it cruised up and down the Mississippi River he remembers leaving New Orleans for a year to play with Jimmy Durante band at the College Inn in New York when he returned to New Orleans he opened his own dance hall the Hollywood featuring charkie and the kings of Dixieland later when playing at the famous door on Bourbon Street charkie's band featured Santo pakora and from boned monk hazel on drums cinque Martin on bass Sharkey on trumpet Lester Redick on piano and Lester Bouchon on clarinet Sharkey's musical career has spanned almost five decades and his memory is a storehouse of the history of New Orleans jazz [Music] New Orleans jazz has had a great influence on American music at the turn of the century it was played at picnics minstrel shows riverboat excursions and even at funerals then as more people heard more and more about jazz and like what they heard jazz became a household word the twenties were called the Jazz Age as jazz grew it influenced the lives of the men who later became famous figures in jazz men like Buddy Bolden King Oliver Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Satchmo Armstrong it was George Gershwin who glamorized jazz with his Rhapsody in Blue Paul Whiteman played Rhapsody in Blue in New York's Aeolian Hall and at last jazz became respectable jazz also enriched the language with words as expressive as the music words like hot cool and ragtime contributed to the dynamic growth of American English many of the old-time musicians were become legendary figures in the world of jazz are now receiving Social Security benefits as does Sharky Bonanno their lives like the lives of all older Americans are made a little easier with Social Security and the added protection of Medicare that's the story of Sharky Bonanno a name that will live in the annals of jazz America's own contribution to the world's music now Sharky in addition to his retirement benefits now has the added protection of Medicare as do other Americans 65 or over but remember anyone who waits until his 65th birthday to sign up will lose at least one month of his Medicare protection the time to sign up is not after you're 65 but two or three months before you're 65 if one of your friends our relatives nearing 65 please urge him to visit telephone or write the Social Security office two or three months before his birthday not after you'll be doing him a favor and we hope you'll favor Social Security in America by permitting us to visit with you next week [Music]