African-American History Month "Takes a rockin' chair to rock"
What do you call a rewrite of a cover of a great original blues song? One of the best known early blues songs in history. Somewhere in...
African-American History Month - "he's my man"
Here’s a tribute to Valentine’s Day from the past. The story of Frankie and Albert (or Johnny) tells of love, betrayal and murder. That...
African-American History Month - muted history
Johnny Dunn was a Memphis original, a hard working musician playing the Metropolitan on Beale Street (where the New Daisy now sits) and...
African-American history month - "to keep, love and to hold"
The young man had a string of hits and the support of two 1950’s rhythm and blues giants. He started life in Memphis as the son of a...
African-American History Month - "shake it up"
On this day in 1963, the Beatles recorded ten of fourteen tracks for their first album. Wait, I thought we were talking about...
African-American History Month - Besting the best
Louis Jordan, Cootie Williams and Johnny Hodges all worked for him at some point. He gave teenaged Ella Fitzgerald her start. Bandleaders...
African-American History Month - Infinite infamy?
I can imagine them facing off on a rainy night just like this, blood in the gutter. They were gambling and drinking, these two men on the...
African-American History Month - Next time you hear a guitar solo..
Creator, groundbreaker, innovator. He was a multi-instrumentalist but focused on the guitar. He affected the music of every city or...
African-American History Month - "proclaim liberty throughout the land"
Fisk University was established in Nashville in 1866 with the mission to educate freed slaves. It was established by the American...
African-American History Month - "Someone weeps eternally"
Etta James once called him “the greatest singer of my generation.” While Jesse Belvin was in the Army, he still wrote and mentored other...
African-American History Month - "That's what I want"
He’s still fighting for it, a fight that started decades ago. He was a powerful singer who turned into one of the best American...
African-American History Month - Collaboration
Football may be done for the year and some folks are worn out by hype and the promise of destiny, but African-American History Month is...
Blues Brief - African-American History Month, Day 3
Performers as varied as Etta James, Frank Zappa, and Dr. Dre counted him among their influence and collaborators. As a boy in Texas, his...
Memphis Minute - Second Day of Black History Month
If you left Atoka Oklahoma at 3am you would get to Memphis in time for lunch. Music sometimes takes a little longer. Lowell Fulson was...
"Shout" About African-American History Month
It’s late, but I’ve been a little busy today. February is African-American History Month so of course I’m going to learn more about music...