tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight, the first of tonight and my tribute to dr. maia -- maya angelou. i had the privilege of being her friend and speaking with her many times. and i will begin the first of my reprise from 2000 four and we will pivot to a conversation with musician ziggy marley. join us again tomorrow night when our entire program will be a tribute to dr. angelou. and a conversation with ziggy marley coming up right now.

>> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. honor to is always an be in the presence of dr. maia angelou -- maya angelou.

she is out with a cookbook. it is titled hallelujah, the welcome table of a lifetime of memories and recipes. i was doing an interview the , and day and they asked me i probably shouldn't say this on the air -- who is your favorite guest of all time? the person i never get tired of talking to, more than anybody, dr. angelou. >> i am glad to be back. do you know who the other entity is? elmo wasday show, asked. [laughter] tavis: elmo said the same thing. you're in good company. to pbs personalities. elmo was here first.

i'm glad to see you. your hair looks gorgeous, by the way. put the cover back up for me. you wear a head wrap like nobody . i expected to see one today but what is the significance? >> i lived in west africa for years. tavis: you took me there. the women wear head ties and they represent certain things. you can have one end of it being this way and it means i'm married. don't bother me. this means i'm married but you can talk to me at least. and i amnot married looking for certain kinds of people.

so i wear a head tie for the season. i was going to ask you what that direction meant. >> you couldn't know. that is the way it is. tavis: let me talk about this wonderful cook book. i did not know what the look was going to be. but i knew that you couldn't just read a cookbook. i knew it had to have a hook to it and i find out it is a cook book that has some of your favorite lifetime stories so that every recipe is tied to a particular person, place, or thing.

let me ask you what the importance of food is. it must mean something. world useall over the food as a device. use it because our bodies needed as fuel but we also use forek a job, reconciliation. tell a person your not very important to me. the singer says she makes cornbread for her husband, but biscuits for her man.

that tells you something because cornbread you can throw together live -- with your left hand but biscuits, you have to take some time. where, throughout my life, has food been there? how did my life change when i ate this or was served this. and it made it so fascinating because it has -- i have lived a long time and all over the world. it is so tedious writing the recipes because i have never been much of a measurer. and write smart.

i know what a teaspoon of salt looks like in my hand. chef to measure everything that i did. if you hear me say i am going to , shake me and look in my eyes. but now i've thought about 10 more incidents, 10 more stories. i may have another one. tavis: let me throw some things that you. there's never enough time with you. you have a great story and a great recipe.

>> my mother made the caramel cake and it was so tedious for her. she didn't have brown sugar so she had to do it all in three or four hours. speak for a number of years. i was a volunteer mute. everyone knew that. the teachers, the students. the teachers said you will speak. i did not speak for six years. was so angry at me that she slapped me. and i ran off to my grandmother , we willandmother said go back to school. she went back to school in a fresh apron and she asked, are

you miss williams? the teacher said, i am. she said, are you somebodies grandbaby? she's as him but his granddaughter. will this here is my grandbaby. tavis: slapped the teacher. said i am wrong this time. nobody ought to slap nobody in the face but i am teaching a lesson and you find yourself a seat and sit down and get your lesson. no children, nobody said anything. nothing had ever happened like that in school. andnt home that evening they said, sister, look at me on the table. there was a beautiful caramel cake.

brought it out and they said, nothing that can make for you -- nothing can make up for you being slapped in the face but we want you to know how precious you are. with that kind of love, you can come through. racism, sexism, racism. they never once hugged me. cake and itaramel took four hours to do it. you better stop because you are about to cry and i am about to cry and we can't have that. there's no crying on pbs. ribs.

>> i was in san francisco. and is on at in the window for a cook for $75 a week. i went in and they said, do you cook ribs? that's all i know. people how to cook and an old man's only to put an onion, garlic, and you got creel. and i built up the business. short ribs, beef, meat loaf. i could go on and on but there are so many wonderful recipes in this book. do you have a favorite in here?

>> i like the lemon meringue pie. my mother used it to fish for young men. tavis: you better stop right there. , she cannt a good read put stories and recipes together and make it taste this good. always an honor to see you. tomorrow night, more of my conversations with the remarkable dr. maia angelou. coming up now, my conversation with ziggy marley. stay with us. tavis: ziggy marley brings a calm look at legacy to his music. bob marley's iconic

presence, his mother's continuing commitment to political change and his own immersion in the roster far in culture while he has forged his own path in his latest cd. let's take a look at a clip from the cd. a love song to planet earth. ♪ tavis: you are always saying

something which a music but on the cd, you are really saying something. mind is a bitn my environmental. a message of love to the planet earth. global warming is going on. we need to take a stand on the environment and make it be a priority. you always have something to say but my sense is you are becoming ever more conscious about the world. >> it is just good. i do a lot with the earth. i grow food and i'm a farmer. i just feel like we're not taking it serious enough. detrimentalpretty

and is becoming more detrimental as time goes on. about. what that is i open up the cd and this little thing fell out. this little cutout of the world sort of fell out of the cd. >> it is wildflower seeds you can plant. there are instructions. tavis: you really are trying to save the world. i've had a lot of things fallout but never wildflower cds. -- wildflower seeds. >> people should have a relationship with the earth, make them more aware of it.

tavis: i have asked this question of other artists but not of you. how do you talk about these kinds of serious issues? global warming, climate change, love. how do you make it sexy, give it a beat? i've heard of comedians that tell a joke that you can sing anything to reggae. it doesn't matter what you're saying because the beat and the groove. lyricallyke a song and not make it sound like you are preaching to me? >> that was one of the things i thought when i was writing that song in particular. everything outside of the

boxcar, use your imagination. i still have that kind of fascination with everything. create words and and using itn that as a foundation. tavis: that innovation, that creation, is that something your mom and dad just gave to you? or is it is something that you nurtured and fostered? >> when i was growing up, i spent a lot of time in the woods by myself. i think that kind of fascination with nature, i am very inquisitive.

guitarer would give me a , and i would take it apart. i just wanted to see how it works. could you put it back together? >> no. tavis: i see why you'd be mad at you. i see why. speaking of your grandfather and your father, i read an interesting quote. leave it to you to always make me think and see things a little differently. he said in certain parts of the world, your father is regarded as an artist, an artistic genius , and another he is seen as a liberator. what makes that distinction?

>> different experiences with people in different parts of the world. these a kiss for entertainment but for people in africa that went through certain struggles used the music as a thing to overcome all of these obstacles. apartheid, colonialism. i think it is the experience of different people. you get older, is the way you see your father changing? not just age, but as i grow as a person and as my , i see weess grows

are now more of a brotherhood. we have the same boss. we are in the same management. working in the same company. which is something spiritual. it's a brotherhood. the subject of love, it is inexhaustible. i am hearing more and more, love for your wife, love for your kids. theme of loveis

is appearing more in your work. back, i noticed i was doing it. if there is no love in your heart, there is no hope for you. i understand myself now. part ofhis such a big my songwriting and my it is something and there is love inside of me. this is the real love. i am influenced by christ. influenced by buddha.

something.t >> do you think that music -- we were talking about the impact your father's music had and still has and people fighting for liberation. do you think music or anybody else's is still pregnant with the kind of power to change the world? >> we have experienced it in different cultures. it definitely has the ability to , but it depends on what the message is. it can be a change of materialism and sex and money.

or it can be love for one another. is is what is per meeting the popular culture, the message in the music. what is being promoted more than the next thing? will that get as much airplay if it is about a girl? the power of music still exists. artists are able to sing something, will it get the same treatment as something that is just entertainment value? tavis: since you last sat in this chair, you crank another ook out.

tell me about this one. the song and the words were and my daughter. she was in the kitchen one day and she looked up at me and said, i love you. .e created these words is a busy man, not resting on his legacy or his laurels. get your seeds. the careful when you open it up. thank you for that. his latest children's book is called i love you, too. i love you, man. always glad to have you. and respect to you my friend. thanks for watching and as always, keep the faith.

>> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a second night of our tribute to dr. angelou. that is next time, we will see you then. >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like

you. thank you. >> be more. pbs. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. >> be more. >> be more. pbs. pbs.

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