Editing Louis Farrakhan (section)

==Music career==
In the 1950s, Walcott began his professional music career as a singer billed as "The Charmer". It was during a tour in [[Montreal]], [[Quebec]], [[Canada]], that he took this nickname.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMGaBrPGyG0 |title=Mike Wallace 60 Minutes (Full) Interview With Min. Farrakhan (1996) |date=2021-07-05 |last=TruthControversy🔙 |access-date=2024-06-19 |via=YouTube}}</ref> At this point, earning $500 a week, Walcott was touring the northeastern and midwestern United States, sometimes also using the nickname "Calypso Gene".<ref>{{Cite news|last=Lei|first=Richard|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1995/10/14/louis-farrakhan-calypso-charmer/40613502-02c1-48c0-8cde-8c0024d06015/|title=Louis Farrakhan, Calypso Charmer|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=October 14, 1995|access-date=May 12, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0190-8286|quote=Recordings of Farrakhan's pre-Nation of Islam work are exceedingly rare, if they exist at all.}}</ref> In 1953–1954, preceding [[Harry Belafonte]]'s success with his album ''[[Calypso (album)|Calypso]]'' (released in 1956), he recorded and released a dozen cheeky, funny tunes as "The Charmer" in a mixed [[mento]]/[[calypso music|calypso]] style, including "Ugly Woman", "Stone Cold Man" and calypso standards like "Zombie Jamboree", "Hol 'Em Joe", "Mary Ann" and "Brown Skin Girl". Some were reissued: "Don't Touch Me Nylon" has mild, explicit sexual lyrics as well as "Female Boxer", which contains some sexist overtones<ref>{{Cite web |title=Editions, Galerie, Librairie Sonore et Vignobles Frémeaux & Associés |url=https://www.fremeaux.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=1304&Itemid=13 |access-date=2023-06-29 |website=www.fremeaux.com |language=en}}</ref> and "Is She Is, Or Is She Ain't" (inspired by [[Christine Jorgensen]]'s sex change operation).<ref>Farrakhan's ''Is She Is, Or Is She Ain't'' and ''Don’t Touch Me Nylon'' calypso tunes (as The Charmer) were reissued here: {{cite web|url=https://www.fremeaux.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&page=shop.product_details&flypage=shop.flypage&product_id=1787&Itemid=13|title=L'edteur de référence du patrimoine musical et de la Librairie Sonore: Caribbean (Music) in Americas 1915–1962|work=Notre Mémoire Collectiv Fremeaux |access-date=July 18, 2020|language=fr}}</ref>

When Farrakhan first joined the NOI, he was asked by [[Elijah Muhammad]] to put aside his musical career as a calypso singer.<ref>{{YouTube|9s2hW2PUVtU}}</ref> After many years, Farrakhan decided to take up the violin once more primarily due to the urging of prominent [[European classical music|classical]] musician [[Sylvia Olden Lee]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=black nationalism {{!}} Definition, History, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/black-nationalism|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en|access-date=May 21, 2020}}</ref>

On April 17, 1993, Farrakhan made his return concert debut with performances of the ''Violin Concerto in E Minor'' by [[Felix Mendelssohn]]. Farrakhan intimated that his performance of a concerto by a Jewish composer was, in part, an effort to heal a rift between him and the Jewish community. (Mendelssohn's family converted to Christianity).<ref name="Holland" /> ''[[The New York Times]]'' music critic [[Bernard Holland]] reported that Farrakhan's performance was somewhat flawed due to years of neglect, but "nonetheless Mr. Farrakhan's sound is that of the authentic player. It is wide, deep and full of the energy that makes the violin gleam."<ref name="Holland" />'

In 2021, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven's]] birth, Farrakhan performed Violin Concerto in D Major Op. 61 with the [[New World Symphony (orchestra)|New World Symphony]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Farrakhan's Agapic Birthday Gift: Beethoven's Violin Concerto {{!}} The Schiller Institute |url=https://schillerinstitute.com/blog/2021/05/13/farrakhans-agapic-birthday-gift-beethovens-violin-concerto/ |access-date=2023-01-05 |website=schillerinstitute.com}}</ref>