This year, while Major League Baseball added Negro Leagues stats to their own record book, Altered Statesman frontman Steve Poulton shined a light on Cool Papa Bell, a Negro Leagues star he has long admired, on this recording from his solo EP Exit 204. Bell, a center fielder, could allegedly run the bases in 12 seconds flat. He was so fast that Olympic gold medal sprinter Jesse Owens refused to race him. But being a Negro Leagues hero did not mean fame and riches, and Poulton’s haunting track with lyrics by Kevin Gordon captures that reality. In the chorus, Bell answers any questions about his speed: “I was the fastest man / How fast you ask? / Faster than that.”
Best Historical Song
Steve Poulton, ‘The Fastest Man’
Album art: Steve Poulton, 'Exit 204'
