10+10 Fishermen Against the Wind. 17) Tony Mason-Cox Tony Mason-Cox - Black
This is a truly incredible story (as if the others were any less....)!
Tony is an Australian insurance agent who one fine day (well, not so fine!) in the 90s has a heart attack.
The doctors made it sound grim: emergency surgery, triple bypass….
Now, our Tony doesn’t trust doctors at all and decides that he will be operated on by a strange Filipino healer.
Now, this Filipino healer, who - among other things - claims to be a reincarnation of Christ - decides to operate on good Tony without anesthesia….
Well, I don't know the details, but - however it was - Tony survives and, according to him, feels quite well (the photos of the operation are prominently displayed on his first album)!
But the strangest thing isn’t even that: at this point, our Tony becomes convinced that he too is a reincarnated soul. Specifically, the reincarnation of a black slave who lived in Alabama in the 1800s.
Therefore, Tony finds himself recalling a certain number of work songs, gospel hymns, litanies, prayers, and other things from that slave's life….
And, even crazier, there are people who listen to him!
They offer him a contract, provide him with an entire jazz orchestra to arrange his songs (Tony is clearly not a musician), and make him record albums (I have found three and I don’t think there are others, but I can’t say for sure).
Well, now you are free to believe it or not, but…..