MovieChat Forums > 1776 (1972) Discussion > John Cullum singing "Molasses to Rum"

John Cullum singing "Molasses to Rum"

posted 5 months ago by ClementinaSpur (1212)
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I've been a fan of John Cullum because of Northern Exposure for a long time and know that he is an award-winning Broadway performer with a fabulous singing voice, but I was very unprepared for how dynamic he is singing "Molasses to Rum." His performance is riveting and haunting. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeuaTpH6Ck0

He plays Edward Rutledge, the youngest signer of the Declaration of Independence and later South Carolina governor. The song is Rutledge pointing out at the Second Continental Congress the hypocrisy of the northern colonies' public ridicule of slavery while at the same time profiting financially from it.

[–] ClementinaSpur (1212) 5 months ago

I want to add that the Southern accent John Cullum has in the "Molasses to Rum" scene is authentic. He was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. He spoke the same way in Northern Exposure, but his character in that show was born in the Yukon. Somehow it worked.

He would've been a great casting choice for a lot of movies down through the years in which the Southern accent is butchered and over-done by non-Southerners coached by dialect coaches who think they know what a Southern accent is. The Southern accent has many variations just like the English accent.