Memphis Music Hall of Fame Ceremony Review
The inaugural Memphis Music Hall of Fame ceremony took place November 29th at The Cannon Center. Covering more than 100 years of music, the ceremony was a mix of generations and genres including blues, R&B and rock ‘n’ roll. Administered by the Smithsonian, Memphis Rock ‘n’ Soul Museum honored several artists including Elvis Presley, Al Green, ZZ Top, B.B. King, Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, Jim Dickinson, W.C. Handy, Howlin’ Wolf, Dewey Phillips, Sam Phillips, and several more artists. The ceremony was produced by local documentary filmmaker Willy Bearden. Performances and film clips were sprinkled throughout the ceremony as four storytellers told the history of Memphis music.
Several acts took place Thursday night, including the first performance by Jonathan Blanchard, which honored songwriter Lucie Campbell. Blanchard danced around onstage, flapping her arms, as she soulfully sang “When I Come to the End of my Journey.”
At one point in the night, Henry Juszkiewicz, chairman and CEO of Gibson Guitar came onstage and told his favorite story of B.B. King. The story was of Lucille, B.B. King’s guitar. Early in his career B.B. King was playing at a juke joint. King was flirting with a woman who happened to be married. A fight broke out with her husband, and B.B. King ended up knocking over a large gallon barrel full of kerosene. The juke joint caught on fire. King remembered leaving his guitar inside and ran back in after it, nearly dying. He decided to name his guitar after the girl he flirted with that night, Lucille.
One of the highlights of the night was a performance by “The Lion of the Blues,” 82-year-old legend Bobby Bland. Shortly after being helped onstage to a chair, he sang his classics “Stormy Monday Blues” and “Goin’ Down Slow.” During an impressive solo from the house guitarist, Bland spoke saying, “I hear ya.” Two men came onstage to take him away as he waved goodbye.
Performing two pieces, the fifth act of the night was from 77-year-old saxophone player George Coleman. As he sat in his chair, playing his instrument, his legs swayed back and forth.
With record sales above 5 million, Stax’s house band, Booker T. & the MGs were honored Thursday evening. Their guitarist Steve Cropper dedicated a song to Lewie Steinberg, the band’s original bassist. Everyone in the room was swaying as he performed “In the Midnight Hour,” a tune he co-wrote with Wilson Pickett.
A second-generation motif took place for the second half of the ceremony. The liveliest performance of the evening was Ottis Redding’s sons, Ottis III and Dexter, who did an act honoring their father. Songs included “Hard to Handle,” “Try a Little Tenderness,” and “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay.” Rufus Thomas’ son Marvell and daughter performed their father’s Stax Records’ hit, “The Memphis Train.” Jim Dickerson’s sons, Cody and Luther, celebrated their dad with his Sun Records’ single, “Cadillac Man.”
Later in the ceremony, ZZ Top’s Dusty Hill attempted to move like his younger self performing “Jailhouse Rock” with the house band.
After the “story” was brought to present day, honoring Three 6 Mafia, the actual induction ceremony took place. 25 inductees were honored as family members took to the stage accepting awards in honor of their Memphis musician.
The Hall of Fame inductions will take place annually with plans for a second group to be announced in the fall of next year.
– Dana Ainsworth