Gil Scott-Heron may have mellowed a bit

Gil Scott-Heron - the fiery poet, musician, and author -- pauses for a pleasant photograph before he performs live at the Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City on August 16, 2009. Spoken-word tracks like "The Revolution Will Not be Televised" (1971) and "Whitey on the Moon" (1970) made Gil Scott-Heron a prominent Black voice in the 1970s, and he went through something of a revival in the early 21st century. Gil Scott-Heron was born in 1949, so he turned 60 the year this photo was taken. He died two years later, in 2011, at age 62.