The West Memphis Devastating Divas and Drumline march in the Southern Heritage Classic Parade, Orange Mound, Memphis TN, 9/8/12
majorettes
Majorettes and Drummers at the Southern Heritage Classic Parade
Majorettes and drummers march in the Southern Heritage Classic Parade, Orange Mound, Memphis TN, 9/8/12
Midtown Divas and Drummers at the Memphis Black Expo 2012
#24 Midtown Divas and Drummers.MOV (by jdoggtn7)
The Midtown Divas and Drumline perform at the Battle of the Bluff jamboree as part of the Memphis Black Expo 2012 at the Cook Convention Center, February 18, 2012
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.
At The Blazing Dolls Jamboree in South Memphis
At the Blazing Dolls jamboree at New Life M.B. Church in South Memphis, last Saturday, February 4, 2012
The Blazing Dolls Majorette Jamboree at New Life MB Church in South Memphis
The Blazing Dolls had their majorette jamboree last Saturday afternoon, February 4, 2012 at New Life M.B. Church in South Memphis. Once again, most of the girls worked out to CD’s, but Crump Elementary had a drumline with their majorettes.Â
Moonwalking With The Klondike Dance, Drum and Bugle Corps Back in 1970
Anyone who has ever been to a majorette jamboree knows that majorettes and drummers are a big part of Memphis culture. So I was really interested when I came across this July 4, 1970 article from the Commercial Appeal about the Klondike Dance, Drum and Bugle Corps, which for one thing proves that the roots of drumming and drilling in Memphis go back at least that far (legendary drummer Willie Hall claims back to 1969). Also of interest is the reference to the dancers doing the “moon walk”, so that dance is clearly older than Michael Jackson, and might have come from Memphis!