A Recollection of Memphis’ Black Majorette and Drummer Tradition
Black majorettes and majorette drummers were a unique part of the culture of Memphis’ Black neighborhoods from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. Most …
Majorettes
The Orpheus Parade on Lundi Gras in New Orleans
Lundi Gras is really a holiday in New Orleans, with schools and some businesses closed, and a lot of people off work. My friend Darren …
Breakfast in New Orleans, Lunch in Jackson, and a Christmas Parade in Como
The actual day of my birthday was much colder than the day before, but my friend Darren Towns of TBC Brass Band and I headed …
Remembering the Legacy of Bartlett’s Shadowlawn High School
Back in 1979, I had attended Shadowlawn Middle School in a rural area along Shadowlawn Road north of Ellendale. I was in the sixth grade …
R. L. Boyce, Cam Kimbrough, Joyce Jones and the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band at the Memphis Music and Heritage Festival
New Orleans’beloved Jazz Fest celebrates the wide diversity of New Orleans music, but the Memphis equivalent, the Beale Street Music Festival generally does not feature …
Football & Funk At Grambling Homecoming
The name Grambling was familiar in my youth, more than likely because my dad was quite the NFL fan, and the little historically-Black college in …
An Endangered Memphis Black Drumming Tradition Featured at MMHF 2016
https://goo.gl/photos/k9awRPMyDDLk85r47 https://goo.gl/photos/EJtqFXfYRcgWEKFU8 https://goo.gl/photos/WAVtoRF3PgrXMKxy6 https://goo.gl/photos/snTGfTFQPYVLNH897 https://goo.gl/photos/64SgUhCoJyo6JQxW9 https://goo.gl/photos/cpufHmEfM3A7mYdt5 https://goo.gl/photos/Cy4a1hDwPsVAqrnh8 https://goo.gl/photos/QS7ZkYCLZC6rmU71A https://goo.gl/photos/Yz2j6gT7kUqsk3tu7 https://goo.gl/photos/dsroS62gv4NHrdRPA https://goo.gl/photos/DdimkuQcgqCEf7fY6 https://goo.gl/photos/8Av6MBsAN2R82GUJ7 https://goo.gl/photos/k1kwGAZ218RhLAWm6 https://goo.gl/photos/njtjbqZbNRUNycJNA https://goo.gl/photos/kfopdxRjGtVvXWVw6 https://goo.gl/photos/K7aQc1rbpYqyjDxH8 Drums have played an important role in all Black …
The Manassas High School Drumline at Melrose Stadium
Although Memphis’ Black community has an old and deep history of drumlines, the phenomenon has been fading in recent years. A reduced interest on the …
Krewe of Orpheus: The Rains Came
Because rain was predicted, the city of New Orleans had moved up the starting times of both Lundi Gras parades by an hour. That had …