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Willie Mitchell Historical Marker at Royal Studios

On March 1, 2012, a historical marker was unveiled outside Royal Studios at 1320 Willie Mitchell Blvd in South Memphis in honor of the studios, Hi Records and Willie Mitchell. A number of Memphis music figures and personalities were there, including Preston Lauterbach, the author of The Chitlin Circuit and the Road to Rock and Roll, Boo Mitchell and many other members of the Mitchell family, Steve Burrage and the Novareses of the Poplar Tunes record stores, Otis Clay, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Earl Randle, Darryl Carter, Teenie Hodges, Charles Hodges, Howard Grimes, Scott Bomar of the Bo-Keys, Wes Phillips and DJ Bay of Select-O-Hits Music Distribution, Elizabeth Montgomery of Ardent, Cameron Mann and Pat Mitchell of the Memphis Music Foundation, local music supporter and businessman Kris Kourdevelis, George Klein, Jack Hale of the Memphis Horns, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and US Representative Steve Cohen of the 9th Congressional District. It was a beautiful day, and one of the kind of events that shows the good side of Memphis and what our city can and will be with a shared purpose and vision. 

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Gospel Singers Kicking Off The Memphis Black Expo, 2012

The first annual Memphis Black Expo was sponsored by the Tri-State Defender newspaper and WRUG Internet Radio, among others, and was held Saturday, February 18, 2012 at the Cook Convention Center. The event kicked off promptly at 10 AM with a concert of various local gospel groups. 

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Ricky “Soul Man” Burton at Ground Zero Blues Club, Clarksdale

After the earlier majorette jamboree in Memphis, I drove down to Tunica for the Rosa Fort Jamboree, but that one proved to be quite a disappointment. If drumlines are becoming rarer at Memphis jamborees, they are non-existent at Mississippi ones. After an hour and a half or so, I decided to leave and drive down to Clarksdale to the legendary Ground Zero Blues Club. They were having a Pre-Valentine’s Day Bash with Ricky “Soul Man” Burton and the Basic Soul Band, so there was a fairly substantial cover charge, and, once inside, I found the place packed to the rafters. The TV’s were flashing the breaking news about Whitney Houston’s death as I looked in vain for a table. Finally, I was directed to a table where a French family was sitting, and I was able to sit down and order food. The band and vocalists were quite good, and the audience included a lot of radio personalities from Helena’s Delta Force III and Clarksdale’s WROX.

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Kottonmouth-Dallas Hardhitters

From his beginning as one-half of the legendary Texas rap group P.K.O., Kottonmouth has been a consistent figure on the Texas rap scene. Now he returns with a new album Dallas Hardhitters, featuring appearances from Tum Tum, Lil Keke, Trae and Mr. Pookie, which will hit stores on February 21. This is not an album to be missed.

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Lining Up For The Whitehaven Christmas Parade, Memphis, 2011

With the Merry Christmas Memphis Parade cancelled this year by the Downtown Memphis Association for no reason they cared to share with the public, the Whitehaven Christmas Parade took on extra importance as the only Christmas parade that would be held in Memphis. People started lining the parade route early last Saturday November 19.

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