TRANSCRIPT:
I’m Mark Rapp, and this is Rapp on Jazz.
In 1964, jazz legend and South Carolina native Dizzy Gillespie added a new title to his resume—presidential candidate. That’s right—Dizzy launched a satirical campaign for President of the United States as a write-in independent. What began as a joke by his booking agency, complete with campaign buttons, quickly became a clever and bold social commentary.
Gillespie’s proposed cabinet was pure jazz royalty: Duke Ellington as Secretary of State, Miles Davis as CIA Director, and Malcolm X as Attorney General. With his signature wit, Dizzy brought attention to civil rights, cultural pride, and artistic freedom. Though he later withdrew from the 1964 race—and again from a brief 1971 bid—his campaign remains a legendary mix of music, politics, and protest.
This has been Rapp on Jazz, co-produced by ColaJazz and SC Public Radio, made possible by The ETV Endowment of South Carolina.