The Return of King Biscuit - King Biscuit Name Returned to Festival!

The Return of King Biscuit--Thanks to Wolfgangs' Vault

King Biscuit name is returned to festival! In a surprise announcement broadcast on the Main Stage at the opening of the 2010 Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival, Bill Sagan, founder and CEO of Wolfgang’s Vault said, "On behalf of the whole Wolfgang’s Vault family of companies, including King Biscuit, we are pleased to announce a rekindled partnership between King Biscuit and the Blues Festival. It our pleasure to announce that beginning next year, 2011, this Blues Festival will once again be named the King Biscuit Blues Festival in honor of the great historical music legacy we share."

International Blues Challenge February 1-5, 2011 - Memphis

The week will begin with the FedEx International Showcase (Feb 1). IBC will move to a four day format. This new format will include 2 days of quarter finals (Feb 2-3), one day of semi-finals (Feb 4) and concluding with finals in the beautiful Orpheum Theater (Feb 5).

The 2011 International Blues Challenge will be the 27th year of Blues musicians from around the world competing for cash, prizes, and industry recognition. The Blues Foundation will present the 27th International Blues Challenge February 1-5, 2011 in Memphis, TN. The world's largest gathering of Blues acts represents an international search by The Blues Foundation and its Affiliated Organizations for the Blues Band and Solo/Duo Blues Act ready to take their act to the international stage. In 2010, 110 bands and 80 solo/duo acts entered, filling the clubs up and down Beale Street for the semi-finals on Thursday and Friday and the finals at the Orpheum Theater on Saturday. 2011 looks to have at least that many.

Downtown Memphis celebrates the arrival of Pinnacle Airlines

By Wayne Risher
Commercial Appeal

Originally published 03:00 p.m., October 8, 2010

Updated 09:14 p.m., October 8, 2010

Ruby "Queen of Beale Street" Wilson belted out "Stand by Me." Five hundred Pinnacle Airlines Corp. employees filed out of buses onto Main Street and into One Commerce Square to see the "before" picture of their future workplace. About 200 Downtowners welcomed Pinnacle to the neighborhood.

It was Pinnacle's homecoming Friday morning, organized by the Center City Commission to celebrate one of Downtown's biggest economic successes of the decade.

Pinnacle, an up-and-coming regional airline company, will base 600-plus workers at 40 S. Main starting next fall, after the 70 percent vacant building gets a total facelift. Downtown won out over an airport-area office park and a build-to-suit offer in Olive Branch.

That was cause for Wilder Hubbard and John Strawn of Oden Marketing to hoist a sign proclaiming "Oden Welcomes Pinnacles Airlines to the neighborhood."

Downtown Is This Community's Brand!

When successes such as the Pinnacle Airlines headquarters strengthen the center city, the effects spread across the county.

By Paul Morris, Special to Viewpoint

Commercial Appeal

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Landing Pinnacle Airlines in One Commerce Square is an enormous win for Downtown. Pinnacle will shore up the biggest building in the Memphis skyline, and Pinnacle's hundreds of employees will enjoy and support existing Downtown retail, restaurants, entertainment venues, sports venues, residential projects and hotels.

Pinnacle will join other recent office openings to bring vibrancy to Downtown and serve as a catalyst for Downtown's re-emerging office market. Pinnacle will cause pivotal and positive change in Downtown.

But what do Downtown's successes mean to the rest of Memphis and Shelby County? That's a fair question, and one that speaks to the reason I decided to work at the Center City Commission.

Cashing in on the Blues, Memphis stages a party Cleveland could learn from!

Cleveland seeks to revitalize its downtown district

As it looks for ways to enhance the Warehouse District, Cleveland could study Memphis, which shaped Beale Street into the top tourist attraction in Tennessee.

Living Blues Publication Reaches 40-Year Milestone!

OXFORD, Miss. – As the Vietnam War raged and rock 'n roll reeled from the breakup of the Beatles, a ragtag group of enthusiasts put out the first edition of what they hoped would become a showcase magazine for the blues music they loved. 

AP – In this photo taken on Sept. 1, 2010,
Living Blues editor, Brett Bonner,
stands next to the Blues Trail 


The 1970 debut issue of Living Blues was peddled at a popular Chicago record store, at nightclubs and from the trunks of cars.

Living Blues, now owned by the University of Mississippi, is the country's oldest magazine dedicated to the genre. Its current 40th anniversary issue features images from more than 90 past covers, including some of the biggest names in the business.

The magazine, published every two months, has an international distribution and circulation of more than 25,000. Many fans are hardcore traditionalists who like their blues tinged with the grit born of the Delta region.

SPOTLIGHT ON LITTLE WALTER

Little Walter was an American blues harmonica player who holds the distinction of being the only artist ever to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame specifically for his work as a harmonica player. Born Marion Walter Jacobs in Marksville, Louisiana, in 1930, and raised in Alexandria, Louisiana, Jacobs quit school at the age of 12 to work at odd jobs in New Orleans, Memphis, Helena, Arkansas and St. Louis, before heading to Chicago in 1945.

Jacobs was one of several million blacks who migrated from the Mississippi Delta to Chicago, St. Louis, New York, L.A. and other northern cities in the period known as “The Great Migration”, roughly after the First World War through the 1950s.

King Biscuit Blues Festival, Oct. 7, 8 and 9 - Helena, Arkansas

The Ole King Biscuit Blues Festival - Across the bridge from Clarksdale in Helena, Highway 49
October 7, 8 and 9, 2010 - Don't miss this event!  Blues and Heritage Festival - Tickets and Info
 

B.B. King, Dr. John, Charlie Musselwhite are just a few of the artists who will be performing at this 25th annual Arkansas Blues and Heritage festival.  Formerly known as the King Biscuit Blues Festival, this event comes at the end of several blues events that occur throughout the year celebrating the Delta's rich, music heritage.  Expected to attract upwards of 100,000 or more, this is sure to please any blues fan. 

The original name of the festival came from the King Biscuit Time radio program which featured famous Blues performer Sonny Boy Williamson of Helena. The radio program was sponsored by the King Biscuit Flour Company.  The official name of the festival was changed due to a dispute over the use of the King Biscuit name.

The Soulsville Foundation Gets New CEO

Grammy nominee, Kirk Whalum, new CEO for the Soulsville Foundation
by Christopher Blank, Special to The Commercial Appeal

On Sept. 7, opening day at the Stax Music Academy, Kirk Whalum, the new CEO of the Soulsville Foundation, stops by the new Mac computer lab to help Brandon Chornes, 15, learn the music editing software used by professionals.

Memphis, Memphis Everywhere!

Hot Property! Everyone wants a piece of Memphis!


Why America Loves The City of Memphis in 2010!


Memphis - A List of Some Very Good Things!

Review of Sheryl Crow's "100 Miles from Memphis"

BLUE CRUSH - A company owned by IBM has changed the face of law enforcement!

23rd Annual Cooper-Young Festival

Thanks to a Facebook friend for bringing this highly respected, award-winning, Seattle-based blues photographer, Jef Jaisun, to my attention. 

Seattle-based blues photographer Jef Jaisun - Keeping the Blues Alive!

The Blues Foundation - Memphis, Tennessee

Jukeboxes Are Loaded!

Jukeboxes are loaded and ready to go!

Click on the "Jukeboxes" page, and currently there are three music collections:  The Memphis Beat Jukebox has been moved to this location.  Then there are two jukeboxes with mostly pre-1966 songs.  It took 2 jukeboxes to hold nearly 300 songs from the early 1950s to the mid-1960s.  There may be a few duplicates, but there shouldn't be many.  Hope you enjoy these.   Would love to have your comments and suggestions for future music playlists.

Some really great live performances of Al Green and Tina Turner in the Music Videos section.  Check it out!  You will not believe the ageless Tina Turner....69 years old and looks and performs better than she did 40 years ago!  This picture was 2008.  She was born 1939!  Amazing!  Some of the videos can be adjusted to hi-def....very high quality viewing!

More to come.....................

Memphis Beat Renewed for Second Season!

 It's Official!  Turner Announces the Beat Goes On!

Click link above for official announcement today!

 

 

 

 

Previews of Coming Attractions!

What's new?

There are new songs in the Music Videos section, and I will be frequently adding content there.

Be sure to listen to the two new songs by a young blues artist -- John Nemeth -- it's like he stepped out of a time machine from the Fifties!  He is really amazing!  Young or old, you have to appreciate this refreshing talent.  He's been around for awhile, but escaped my notice until he appeared briefly in a bar scene in my favorite new tv show, Memphis Beat.  I fished around and finally found out more about him, and then went to YouTube and found these two recent releases. 

"Walking in Memphis" - Marc Cohn

No Memphis anthology would be complete without Marc Cohn's "Walking in Memphis".  It has been covered by many artists -- my second favorite other than Marc is Cher's version.

Lyrics are below the video frame.

This Is One Title Memphis Will Be Happy To Give Up!

Memphis' title as one of the most dangerous cities in the U.S. may be be risk!  And happily so! Check out these recent articles that show a trend that many Memphians will agree is welcome and long overdue!  And the program responsible is one that is being emulated by law enforcement departments in other areas of the U.S., and, even internationally!  And one letter to the editor thinks that Memphis may be getting a bad rap! Here are some recent reports that show a more positive trend for crime:  DOWN!

Other Cities More Dangerous than Memphis - Commercial Appeal 8-16-2010

Memphis Crime Down - Commercial Appeal 8-19-2010

Operation Blue Crush a Key Factor in Crime Drop: Commercial Appeal 8-22-2010

MEMPHIS IS

        Oftentimes, all you hear about Memphis are the negatives.  That Memphis has many positives may surprise you.  Did you know that Memphis is:

• #1: World’s largest cargo airport
• Only dual passenger & cargo hub in the
       world
• World’s largest mail processing center
• 2nd largest port on Mississippi

Why America Loves the City of Memphis in 2010

CLICK ON LINK ABOVE to read article (also a video) from
MyEyewitnessNews.com

On Broadway!  On TV! 

I am an unabashed fan of Memphis Beat!

The show is without a doubt one of the freshest ideas to come along in many years of tv watching.  Much has been written about the show.  Though most of the comments and reviews have been positive, there have been some questions raised about various issues:  Why isn't the show filmed in Memphis?  Does Jason Lee do his own singing?  What about the "glitches" and miscues from the freshman season?