Sometimes The Internet Gives You A Gem. Here Is The East Side High Alma Mater Song From Morgan Freeman's Lean On Me - Over 30 Years Later.
For all of the vitriol and anger we come across online these days, every now and again our algorithmic overload offers up what The Daily Show used to refer to as a 'Moment Of Zen.' During a recent search of YouTube, an amazing blast from the past graced my humble screen and pumped a balad of joy into a quiet office.
If you are not old enough to remember the film Lean On Me from the year 1989, it tells the story of tough as nails educator turned principal Joe Clark (played to perfection by Morgan Freeman) and his unorthodox, take no crap, methods of cleaning up one of the toughest inner-city schools East Side High. In the movie, Joe catches a group of young men loitering in the bathroom. In an effort to scare the kids on to the right path in life, he forces them to sing the school song. What he discovers about his students both surprises and impresses Mr. Clark in one of the most breathtaking scenes in the film.
In 2019, the original cast who sung the East Side High Song reunited to perform it for the 30th anniversary of the film's release. This acapella number performed by Michael Best, Stephen Capers Jr, Jermaine Hopkins, Dwayne Jones, and Kenneth Kelly will bring back a few wonderful memories for some and, hopefully, inspire the uninitiated to watch this fantastic motion picture.
I implore you to check out both of these clips, preferably in the order posted below.
Enjoy.
