Hey mr. Sister youve got the world on your shoulders kate pierson of the b52s. You know the greatest legacy of the band, i realized later is like that people are allowed to have fun, to let their freak flag fly. And great standup comedians. Inspired at the age of ten by bill cosby. I was, to be a comedian, to be a comedian obviously a comedian. So, when i hear ladies and gentlemen, richard lewis, and my goal is to make people laugh. First of all, im not entirely, not depressed a lot of the time, either, by the w, lemme just, i dont wanna paint this rosy picture. Wevebrought you those whose achievements have inspired others and peopleat the frontlines of change. And were remembering julian bond, a Civil Rights Movement leader whose life was dedicated to its cause. We begin this weeks show with thoughts from a musical composer whos been nicknamed the hit man for the many awards hes won collaborating with the biggest names in the business. Did you really Start Playing at five . I did which i dont think is unusual if you show talent. You know, i had parents that were, you know, nurturing and not too pushy and that was perfect for me. I havent heard you talk much about your parents. What kind of a start did they give you . My father was an amateur piano player. And he sorta taught me a little bit. But i, they, they allowed me to have classic lessons. We didnt have any money but we werent poor. Its that old story, right . And it was just right. I had a great upbringing. I had six sisters. And my mother was a homemaker and my father worked hard. And i got a great work ethic from both of them. I had, like, a perfect upbringing. Yeah. First song you learned on the piano. First song. Now im taking you back. Well, the first jazz chord i learned was, oh okay. Okay. music and i thought i was so cool when i learned that. Oh this was great. The man just jumped up, went to the, laughter right, now what chord is that . Ah, like a c sixnine. Yeah. First song probably was maybe, pat boones Wonderful World up there. Really . Yeah. And, weve talked about that too. I told him what an influence he was on me. When you think about your forming, did you form your first band or did you join a band . We formed it. And, you know, i alway, i was the guy that was always, you know, 12, 13 years old, making money on the weekends, organizing the band, making the phone calls, calling the wedding person or getting the gig and, like, knockin on the door. But i would knock on the door and say, hi, im here to talk about, your daughters wedding. And theyd go like, are, i thought you were the paper boy. You know, it was, like, but i was always, i was always like that. But thats a big leap to creating your own music. When did you know maybe at what age, at what moment, that you had that particular gift . It was actually quite late. There was a School Teacher in the fifth grade that kept giving me a b in music. And i said, what do i need to do to get an a . And she said, you need to write your own school and performing it for the whole school. So i did that. And she still gave me a b. And i dont know why. Maybe to push me or whatever. A little whiplash, in there. laughter so it turned me off. And so i really didnt write, start, start writing songs till i was maybe 23 or 24. So, which is very late, you know. And then, what was your first song . Well, the first hit that i, the first hit that i wrote was a cowrite with, a friend of mine named david page called got to be real. So that was 1978, so. Cheryl lynn . Cheryl lynn. Whoa. Wow. The man knows his stuff. What you find. laughter right . Yeah. Wow. But, so mid70s i guess i started writing seriously but didnt get on the hit train until 78. The b52s been around since 1976 . Yes, that was our sort of, our first show, it was at a house party in 1977, valentines day. What was that like . Amazing. We um, we brought the, literally brought the house down. It was in this little house thats still there in athens, known as opposite the taco stand. Um, and we had borrowed this equipment and we had some uh little speakers and stuff, and i remember they were on bookshelves, and they were shaking and people had to hold them against the walls and we had um, cindy and i had these fake fur pocketbooks that i found at the diana shop. And they were white, and so we turned them upside down and teased them out a little bit and so they were like white fros. And we hung a couple of barbie dolls and we you know made it look all punky and funny and uh, so but the house shook. And our friends danced like crazy. So we knew wow this is, we had no idea how people would react, but that first you know house party, our friends went wild, so we knew something was good. Did you have any idea at the time that years later Rolling Stone magazine would call the b52s americas Favorite Party band . Well were selfproclaimed, uh tacky little dance band from athens, georgia. And sometimes americas greatest party band. Um, but. Is there a tacky element to the b52s . Oh yeah and at first it seemed to overshadow the band, it seemed to be like the wigs, you know the, the outfits and the hairdos and you know our lyrics we felt were misunderstood. And we felt like everyone just calling us whacky, whacky, whacky, and they didnt understand the incredible seriousness of the band. There is a seriousness to some b52s songs youre saying. Yes, but i think you know the greatest legacy of the band, i realized later is like that people are allowed to have fun, to let their freak flag fly, people can like bust loose, it gives people joy and it actually helped a lot of people get through life which is something i never, you said, you know did i expect this to happen. No, never did i expect people to say like, you helped me through high school. You got me through this hard time, you know i was a young gay boy or a girl, whatever, or it just having you know hard times or being bullied and it was okay to be different i think the b52s message is definitely just by example. Its okay to be different. Do you always have that sense that youre moving through as an outsider, and that you have something to prove with your music . I dont need to prove something in the music. And i think its a really its kind of a good push. Because your life in our life, in everybodys life, nothing is guaranteed. You know . Nothing is just come naturally. You really need to have some, maybe sometimes you work harder to get. Sometimes you dont need to work so hard to get it. But you need to do something, laughs in order to, to get where you want, right . If i want to achieve my dreams i need to go through some, turbulence. Because there was turbulence, to bring you to where you are today. And for people who have not followed your story, you lay it all out in journey of a thousand miles, in your memoir. Right. There were some very difficult periods. You and your father left your mother at home in your home city to move to beijing. Yeah. Under very difficult circumstances, to try to bring your career forward, to make it into conservatory. Your father, by the accounts you give, i think in the west that would be interpreted as the tiger dad. Absolutely. Yeah. The story that you tell, that your father told you had nothing to live for. He thought you had failed at a particular point. He suggested you commit suicide. What did you learn from that, looking back now . Its, i mean, its kind of hard thing. You know, to even think about it. Its something that i think the love become too extreme, what you call . You know . And also, you know, every one of my family members, like my parents, and myself, we were under a lot of pressure. Its not completely, i mean, its not completely my fathers fault, or my fault, or my family fault, or the teachers fault. It just, somehow when you have, such a high hope, you know, you really believe you can do it, and you really want to do it, you know, you become very aggressive. And sometimes you make mistakes. So, thats why, you know, even though he was brutal time, but i already forget, almost forget about it, you know . Its just because we all changed. Andits become much more relaxed. Thats including myself, my parents, and people who have a very high expectation, you know, in me, you know. So, thats why, you know, when i, when i see some, critical moment today. Or when i see something, you know, kind of, challenging, i really f, just, you know, im not under such a pressure anymore. Because i know, you know, lets, you know, lets find a solution. Theres everything, there must be a solution. Youre watching talk to al jazeera. When we come back, a ballerina who danced her way to the top and set a new standard on the way, misty copeland. Inside story takes you beyond the headlines, beyond the quick cuts, beyond the soundbites. Were giving you a deeper dive into the stories that are making our world what it is. Im stephanie sy and this is a special edition of talk to al jazeera. Looking back at the past year. We begin with a dancer and trailblazer, misty copeland. Did you ever envision that this is what your life could be . No. No. Its still hard to, accept that its a reality. I dont know, its, again im just, so, like, humbled and grateful for sniff the background that i have and the situations ive been through, and to still be standing and that i want to forever be able to give back to ballet what its done for me, and thats this constant battle i have within myself and proving myself to the ballet world. And, and getting all of the exposure that ive been getting that its not about something as simple as someone wanting to be famous, cause ive never wanted that. I want the ballet world to be given the respect that it deserves. And to be seen by more people for so many to experience the beauty that ive received from the ballet world. And with every opportunity and every incredible thing that happens its still just such a shock. Its overwhelming. Its overwhelming and i never, like, step outside of myself and think, thats me. Its like, thats a proud woman. Thats the little girl i mentor. Thats her. Thats ballet, and it makes me so proud to be a part of it. That is a constant refrain in your book, as its, for the brown girls. For the little brown girls. Yes. That is, its constant and its clear that thats what motivates you. Thats what drives you, and im sure there are little brown girls who meet you who probably get pretty emotional, yeah. Yeah. When they see you. I cant imagine the pressure, but i would imagine its, its gotta be kind of an honor, too, isnt it . I dont feel any pressure from that at all. Its the same way i, i look at Raven Wilkinson and how emotional i got the first time i met her just hearing her story being the first African American ballerina to dance in a major ballet company. To experience what she went through in the 50s, i saw myself in her and, and i know thats what theyre seeing in me. And it pushes me to keep going, to keep setting an example for them to push as hard as i can to make it as far as i can in the ballet world so that they will have an easier path. Youve got 400 years worth of history that you have to put into this building . How do you how do you do that . How do you decide what story it is that youre going tell . Well, i think that you look for important flashpoints in the story, that have a very powerful resonance. So, for instance, just looking back at the history, thinking about the great artistic periods of west africa. The yoruba were one of the great kingdoms of that time. And looking at what would have been iconographic to people of that time, or what would have been special, or the magical thing, the temples of that time. So, we try to imagine that. We looked at the agrarian past of slavery, and the architecture of slavery. And the architecture of slave houses. But we also looked at the work of slaves that were freed just after the emancipation. Some of the kinda First Industries that slaves went into was the army, of course. Cause that was part of lincolns agenda but it was the army, it was carpentry, and it was metal work. Because they were actually trained to be part of the infrastructure. I wanted to look at that. Because in a way i wanted to also talk about a history of building within the African American community. That was important that they werent just, you know, crop sharers, or crop pickers. They were also people that were building and making america. And i wanted to speak to that. I was actually down Walking Around the property yesterday, and its almost an inversion of a typical building. Exactly. It sort of opens itself up. And it reveals itself. But it also kind of moves upward. But what its doing is that its referring to a few things. Its referring to washingtons monument. The sort of obelisk in the center of the monumental sort of master plan of the core of washington. The pyramid at the top. Its an inversion of that pyramid. And its exactly the same angel as that pyramid. So, visually they come into alignment, almost like two sort of planetary bodies. But also its referring to a yoruba sculpture, which was about the column, the capitol columns of shrine houses. In a way im sort of speaking about an ancestral memory of something, and a contemporary memory of something. Youve been dubbed the prince of pain, and you, a, and in the book, you know, you, you describe yourself as the best sparring partner, i can have. So does beating yourself up defuse the anxiety, or does it actually make it better . Thats a great question. God, i havent seen my therapist in quite a while, laugh just reminded me. I am not as unhappy as, people think i am. But my sweet spot, and theres, and one of the lines is that, desperation is my sweet spot. Thats a craft that i honed. And even though i got so, i got, even though i got sober, i got more grateful, i got more spiritual, in my old, in my later years. Still, when i hear, ladies and gentlemen, richard lewis, and my goal is to make people laugh. First of all, im not entirely, not depressed a lot of the time, either, by the w, lemme just, i dont wanna paint this rosy picture. But its much rosier than being near death on crystal meth, lets put it that way. But you write in the book, youve got one that says, happiness is overrated. Theres nothing to fear but life itself. Well, because life has dealt me a lotta bad blows. Nothing close to, majority of the world. And what bugs me is that when people say, hey, hey, you hang out with the stones. Or, yeah you were, you know, i used to work for the clintons a lot when he was running, and, and gore, and, youre in the white house, and how can you be. I go, hey, hey, hey, time out, man. You know, i suffer from depression. I have obsessivecompulsive disorder. I work my butt off, you know, for the, i, i have no children, so its all th, my art, until i met my wife. And then it was takin care of her. And my sister has four kids, ten grandchildren, two greatgrandchildren, and i try to be some kinda role model. laugh sort of frightening, i understand. Does she let them watch you . Huh . Well, not until theyre 30. laughter you know, talkin about your family, your, your, your good friend larry david, he says that you use shrink, as much as teenagers, use, like and yeah, i know. So pardon me for acting like a shrink, but lets talk about your family. I mean, you really go after your parents in this book, especially your mom. You write, the worst audience i ever had were my parents. My mother tried to switch me at birth. Yeah. After i was born, my mother asked her friends to breastfeed laugh me. How much of a role did your mom play in, in your dark years . Well, what do you think . laugh listen, i, heres the deal. I made amends with my mother when she, my mother was very ill, she had a lot of emotional problems in her late 30s on, and until she got old. And, i tried my best to, understand it. But again, realize, back, you know, when she was having her problems, i was an active addict. So, you know, i couldnt have been easy either. So, i mean, when she really lost it at the end. My sister made, my older, i have an older sister and an older brother. She was with her and made sure she would get the best care, and so did i. And, all of us tried, to do what we could do. And, i remember something when she was in the hospital, and she was near death. And she really f, didnt know who she was at that point. I, and i grabbed onto her. And i said, look, i was far from perfect. Neither one of us were. But, i love you, and, and, and please forgive anything i did. And if you, and if you can, cause i forgive you for everything. I mean, i did, and i do. Whats the p, i didnt ho, i dont hold onto it. And i said, just squeeze me. And you have to understand, this is at a point where she was insane basically. And she grabbed my hand and squeezed it, and ill, you know, ill always remember that. But that doesnt mean that i cant mine those feelings, because we did have a pretty tough relationship. And i, and im no comic if im not tellin the truth. Comedian, rather. I prefer that word. When we come back, Nobel Peace Prize winner, president Ellen Johnson sirleaf shares what this award has meant for her and the legacy she wants to leave for liberian women. This is talk to al jazeera, this week were remembering some of our favorite interviews from the past year. Well close the show with a charismatic civilrights great who passed away, but first with a Nobel Peace Prize winner, Ellen Johnson sirleaf. How much did it mean to you to win the noble peace prize . Quite a lot because i didnt expect it. Its one of those postive suprises in life. True that my life story of fighting of getting up of being beaten and rising again. Fighting for the things i believe in. And if anybody looks theyll see consistency from the time i took a position, in prison i took a certain position there is a consistency in that says i earned it. Those of us who went to jail in those particular days. You know when jail was jail. You dont know whether you are going to live until the next day. So i went through that. And i went to jail twice. My first time i went to jail. It took the us congress to take a strong position because liberia is such a prime country for them. And i went to jail again and i took political positions. So in a way i know that in selecting me they went through the life history. I am pleased that today i can use that when i work with other women and young girls and i say there is a lot you can be. If you stay with your dreams. Ive heard you in other interviews even talk about how it was a good time, the Civil Rights Movement. Talk about that a little bit. It was a wonderful time. It was the best time of my life to be in the Civil Rights Movement, to be doing this thing, this thing, and this thing with this group of people. My colleagues, people who worked for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee with me. People who marched down the street with me, who walked across the bridge with me. These people were just the best people, and i loved being with em and i can only hope i get to be with em again and again and again. And as you get to together with some of those people, as im sure you do from time to time, do you shake your head sometimes that can you believe whats still going on . I say, not only can you believe whats still going on, but, can you believe were still going on . Thats the thing thats hard to believe. I mean, youre taking tours through the south teaching people about what you did then. Youre teaching at university. Do you feel moved to do that . Oh, very much so. I feel compelled to do it because, i think its one of those things, if i dont do it, whos gonna do it . Im going back to the vacuum of leadership, is do you see people and inspire a spark and then know that, okay, one day im gonna be able to hand this stuff off to them . Sure. I see that. And, you know, it may be tomorrow morning. It may be next week. It may be next year or something. But sure, i see that happening. I wanna call your attention to a letter that you wrote also 50 years ago. Julian bond, democratic candidate for the Georgia House of representatives. In it, you say that you wanna talk about housing, Getting Better jobs, Getting Better pay, and improving schools. 50 years ago. And that was for the Georgia State senate. Has that gotten better . Yes, the Georgia Legislature and the state of georgia is a better place than it was when i wrote that letter. Its not a perfect place, far and from it, but its a better place now than it was then. So were not postracial in this country, no, were not postracial. Were better, were better. What would define postracial, and is it possible . I think it is possible, but i think its something, you know, youre just, some dreamer, some dream, dreaming youre having. And if youre, understand this dreaming, then you understand its a dream. Can you recount for me any interaction you had with dr. King that, kind of inspired you to keep doing this . I cant say we were best friends or buddies. But i had, some association with him this time, this time, someplace else. I remember one time he and i were walking across the Morehouse College campus, and i said to him, doc, how you doin . His friends called him, doc. He said, julian, im not doin well. He said, unemployment is high. Racisms everywhere. Segregations immovable. He said, i feel awful. I have a nightmare. I said, doc, turn that around. Try, i have a dream. so really, it came from you. You were the i have a dream guy. I wouldnt say that. I wouldnt say that. Announcer this is al jazeera. Hello, welcome to the newshour, live in doha. Our top stories a deal has been done to get aid to starving people in syria. For some it takes days to arrive, and tens of thousands are left out. The situation of iraq is crisis that has, you know, that will be forgotten. Aid workers say the world is ignoring the suffering of