Last month a notable children’s book was published with a strong connection to a bit of Deep Ellum history, and yet nary a mention was made by any media in town. This is what we get for letting Robert Wilonsky step down from the Dallas Morning News. Maybe he covered this on Intentional Grounding. Not sure.
In any case, Dark Was the Night was written by New York Times-bestselling author Gary Golio and illustrated Caldecott winner E.B. Lewis. The book centers on the blues singer and guitarist Blind Willie Johnson. The title of the book comes from a Blind Willie song of the same title that was recorded on a gold record and shot into space in 1977 on the Voyager probe. And that song, “Dark Was the Night,” was recorded for Columbia records in 1927 in Deep Ellum.
Here’s some more about the book and Blind Willie. And here’s a great way to start your week:
