BAM Affiliation Trailblazing singer, actor, and civil rights leader, Paul Robeson appeared at BAM at least twice during the 1930s and 40s, giving solo concert recitals in his unmistakable bass baritone of the African-American spirituals which he helped bring to the center of the American songbook. In 1987, a decade after his death, BAM presented A Tribute to Paul Robeson, an evening of remembrances and performances of Robeson and his music, which included artists Ed Pearson and Geraldine Fitzgerald.