April 17, 2025 • 50 mins
We're talking about the great Jimmy Lunceford and the upcoming Awards Show with founder Ron Herd on The Bev Johnson Show on WDIA Radio.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Whether you're in Arkansas, Tennessee, or Mississippi on Facebook, Twitter
or Instagram. Thank you for listening to the Bev Johnson
Show on w d I A Memphis.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Justin show, Bell johnpas mephis talkie at home Away.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
How you Go, You Go Son't get ready?
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Will make your day by herod.
Speaker 5 (01:14):
Listen to what today you know It's time for the
belt of show.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Lucky.
Speaker 6 (01:24):
We are rocking and rolling on this Thursday, April seventeenth,
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Enjoyed this fabulous day to day.
Speaker 6 (01:32):
Hold on y'all, getting ready to talk with my very
special guest. You remember I told you all that we'll
be talking with him in just a few minutes. But
let me tell you about my place here, the rock
and Cheer of Memphis, where we rock with the best
soul food in town, best entertainment. Around fifteen forty two
(01:53):
Elvis Presley will get you to the Rocking Chair in
South Memphis. Open on Mondays, Wednesday's, Thursday's, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
But this Sunday it's Easter, y'all, The Rocking Chair will
be closed this Easter Sunday so they can have time
to share with their their family and their friends. So
(02:15):
the Rocking Chair will be closed on Sunday. You can
dine in today or take out. It closes at five pm.
Call them at nine zero one four two five, five
two six four. Nine zero one four two five five
two six four will get you into the Rocking Chair
of Memphis. Get all those main courses, vegetables, desserts, and
(02:39):
a lot of good fun.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
And don't forget they love miss Anne's chitlings. Yes they do.
So dine in at the Rocking Chair today, tomorrow and Saturday.
Oh yeah, if you need some catering, they'll do that
for your Easter dinner.
Speaker 6 (02:53):
Yeah, So call the Rocking Chair nine zero one four
two five five two sixty four. Remember they're closed on Easter. Yeah,
but they're open today and tomorrow and Saturday. It's the
Rocking Chair of Memphis, where we rock with the best
entertainment in town, the best soul food around. Dine in
(03:14):
or take out, and when you go there, y'all tell
him Bev Johnson sent you to the rock and Chair
of Memphis. Fifteen forty two. Elvis Presley and once again
he's back in the house. I love talking to this
(03:34):
young man because he knows his musical history, especially jazz.
Once again, want to welcome in mister Ronald Heard who
is here to talk about again it's coming up again
the Jimmy Lumsford Legacy Awards program and other things going on,
and let me say good afternoon.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Till you Rod, how are you?
Speaker 7 (03:56):
Brother?
Speaker 4 (03:56):
The jazz testically yours Queen's the star like that.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
I like that, jazz fantastic. I love that. I love that.
Speaker 6 (04:06):
But but before we talk about Jimmy Lunsford and people,
and still I'm finding ron that folks don't know about him,
don't know about him, don't know about him.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
So I know it's coming. We're gonna talk about.
Speaker 6 (04:22):
But let's tell folks because you spotlight that on this
and tell our listeners who is Jimmy Launcefort.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
Jimmy Lunsker was a very proud black man who loved
black people. He is credited with being the first person
in the history of the world to teach jazz.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Studies in a formal educational setting.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
He did it with kids in North Memphis at Manassa's
High School at the Manassa's High School back in the
nineteen twenties as a volunteer and he took his best
high school students form a pretty.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Good popular dance band in the area.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
He actually used Race do local radio to promote the band,
and he ended up taking these guys on the road.
Left Bufics in nineteen thirty with his best school students
and also buddies from Fisk University where he graduated. It
was also a kappa, you know. He was a major
social work and stuff like that, so he was a
Fisk Man. So four years later in nineteen thirty four,
(05:20):
there was the house band at the Cotton Club up
in New York City in Harlem, USA after Duke Ellerton
and cav call Away and eventually it became the number
one attraction at the Apollo Theater for a whole decade.
And this is basically a jazz orchestra. Like Jimmy Lonsk
is credited with being one of the first people to
help Taylor made suits in his band. Like they always
(05:40):
dressed Taylor made suits. It was like the greatest show
on Earth. This is before it was made for social
media and TV.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Whereas like you.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Hit the trumpet section with throw their trumpets in the
air and catch them where they played off, you know,
and catch them then played where they left off, you know, dancing,
singing and telling jokes.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Very into active, very athletic.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
They will call the trained seals for their discipline as
well as for their infertaining way of being.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
And while I love about Jimmy Lunsford that he was
not only.
Speaker 5 (06:08):
A philanthropist, he was a hu Maine a Arrrian, and
I call him a Hugh Maine Aitarian. He would come
back to Memphis, sell out church auditory on Bill Street
and give free musician clinics and concerts for the.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Kids at Manassas High School.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
One of the people in the Rhythm Bombers back in
the day who saw mister Lunsfer come back to Memphis
was mister Emerson Abele Jr. One of my good friends, Jagnalls.
He's a righteous anccess star. Now, uh, it'll be ten
years ago this summer. I can't believe it been ten
years almost wow. But he was amazed by Jimmy Lunster.
He liked the fact that he loved the tenor saxophonist
(06:44):
from Kansas City. They played for mister Lunsford, Joe Thomas's sounds,
so he kind of immolate that sound on his saxophone.
He ended up becoming one of the greatest music educators
in the city of Memphis or has ever known.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Like.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
He actually was the band director at Manassas and he
kicked Isaac Hayes at the band.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Oh No, working for.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
Moses and a working for Isaac and stacks and stuff,
the livey things. He loved Isaac Man, he loved them.
And he's also the co founder of the Southern Heritage
Classic that actually was found in his living room, him
and Fred Jones. But he had to connect you think
about it. He was a high school band director before
they had a college band director at HBCU's proud product
(07:23):
of Tennessee State. Uh he So he had a lot
of connections to make that happen. Also, he was a
gifted artist. He designed the first logo from my understanding
for the Southern Hritage classes. So mister Abe was definitely
renaissance man. And I always think about him when I
think about mister Lunsford because all the respect and priory
head about him. And I also think about Nat Dee Williams,
(07:43):
the great Na d Williams was a pioneering you know,
black radio was invented in Memphis, DA October twenty fifth,
nineteen forty eight.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Williams was a teacher at.
Speaker 5 (07:56):
Memphis created these master teachers, like you know a master
teacher in religion or in education. We create some phenomenal
teaching prodigies and geniuses. But yet we always know him
for some negative stuff, which is crazy to me.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
But getting back to.
Speaker 5 (08:09):
That, Nadine Williams said, let his burial spot in Memphis
be a rallying point for black people. Let us not
forget about this man who too young, unsophisticated black boys
from North Memphis to the heights of musical eminence, you know,
to come around the world and everything and made them
to men because he used that music program as the
rights of passage to help young boys and girls become
(08:31):
responsible adults. I remember talking to Katherine Perry Thomas, who
was Manasa's class in nineteen.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
Thirty two, right before she passed.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
Her brother was Andrew Perry, who was in the band
with Jimmy LUNs For at high school and turned pro
with him. She said, run by the time they graduated,
you doctor them guys was twenty five or thirty years old.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
It was so mature. And that mister lunch For all,
he was a cool Talkdrick. He was tall, dog and handsome.
Mister Long.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
He was a good looking guy, very smart guy, a gemini,
very mysterio years in a way. But thinking about that,
I think about that. But also it was an aviation
pioneer where he owned and flew his own airplanes. This
back in the thirties. Wait a minute, Wait a minute,
a black man had his own airplane during a great depression. Yeah,
he flew his own airplane, brought his first airplane for
like a half a million dollars maybe in today's money.
(09:17):
And you know it, took flight lessons in nineteen thirty nine,
brought his first airplane nineteen forty, would actually fly himself
to concert gigs.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
So where's the movie about mister Launcher.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
He's an aga pioneer, a music pioneer, and a lover
of black people. By the time he died, he was
looking for a spot of real estate, the start of
retirement community for black musicians. So he was helping the
young people and also doing investing in music education programs
throughout the country to keep kids out of trouble, Black
(09:46):
kids out of trouble.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
He always was a social worker, but.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
He used music as the way to bring community, to
bring connectivity, to bring investment and love of people. And
it was contagious with him because he spread it all around.
But you know what's in tested by him in a
passing away July twelfth, nineteen forty seven, up in Oregon
and seaside Oregon, this beach resort town on the Pacific Ocean,
on the coastal line of Oregon. And legend has it
(10:12):
that he was arguing with the restaurant owner who did
not want to serve black people.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
And I always tell people that I love Oregon. It's
a beautiful place.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
I've never been there.
Speaker 5 (10:20):
Oh man, you got to go there. Why white folks
want to keep it white? Beautiful, pristine?
Speaker 4 (10:25):
It's just nice. It's amazing out there.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
But Oregon became a state in eighteen fifty nine, that's
two years before the Civil War. So you know it's
a constitution they had that black folks could not own work,
own property, work, or live in Oregon. That's in that
state constitution. This ain't Mississippi at.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Whoa whoa whoa whoa wait wait wait wait a minute.
Speaker 7 (10:47):
Run.
Speaker 6 (10:47):
So the state of Oregon, in their constitution, they said
black people couldn't have property what.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
Else could not work there, could not live there.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
This is I wonder if it's still in their constitution.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
That's a good question because scholars talk about it.
Speaker 5 (11:02):
But there's a lot of things still around in our
laws and stuff that shouldn't be you know, Yeah, this
is Oregon. Yeah, this is like y'all can look this
up basic search. But that's you know, you go up
to Oregon. It's hardly any of us up there. But
it's beautiful up there. It's gorgeous, it's amazing geography. I mean,
it's cool.
Speaker 6 (11:20):
But you know, but I'm just going to ask this question.
Do you know in your research of James, why did
he choose Orgon to go?
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Well, because he was on a concert, it was touring
and it was very popular.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
But you know, allegedly the restaurant was located downtown Seaside.
Allegedly the owner said they didn't have any hamburgers. They
wanted hamburgers. They said we had best sandwiches. So they
end up allegedly serving Jimmy Lungs and his men. And
I think, I never get into what somebody fixing my food.
If I don't, I just leave. You know, I'm not
(11:55):
gonna eat it.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
I'm I love food, but it yeah, but he ate it, allegedly, and.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
He was signing auto graphs at the racket shop right
next to the venue called the Bungalow where they was
going to play.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
He dropped dead, allegedly signed.
Speaker 5 (12:09):
He was just forty five years young, so he allegedly
had fifteen hundred dollars for payroll on his person that disappeared.
It caut around me the oldest Redding store when they
found them on the plane up in Wisconsin. Allegen might
say he had like ten thousand dollars in a suitcase
from like a couple of nights work. Yeah, back then,
a salary back in sixty seven, the average solar five
(12:29):
thousand year.
Speaker 6 (12:33):
They kept they kept cash money. They wanted cash money
and they kept it in They kept it just like
you hear the stories about Aretha. Oh yeah, she was
about our business. Yea, they pay Hey, that's they kept
cash money and they had it right. They kept the case.
They don't want no chicks. I think I got that
(12:54):
from them. I tell people, don't give me no chick
cash money cash.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
They took that money though, like it disappeared. The oldest
read it and they said it was ten thousand dollars
to disappeared. The police say, don't know what happened to it. So, yeah,
well Jimmy Lunser had fifteen hundred dollars on him. That's
back in nineteen forty seven money, So that's a lot
of money.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
That's a yeah. So that was the payroll.
Speaker 5 (13:15):
But the band didn't know he was dead until halfway
through the concert, and allegedly people was coming off the
band standing and throwing up and doing combinations in the
restaurroom and stuff like that because it was food poisoning allegedly. Now,
I went up there on the seventy anniversary week up
the seaside. They did a story about me coming from
Memphis up there in the local paper and the guy
(13:37):
was actually a New York transplant who was a jazz musician.
He did the story about me coming there trying to
trace Jimmy Lunch was last moments in his town. And
think about that interview the town historian, who was a
white woman, but she was a young woman back then.
She just you know, she had a love for Jimmy Lunch.
You could tell her voice inflection, how she appreciate the
genies of the music and stuff like that, and she
(13:59):
was there that night that he allegedly died in the band,
just found out and she got a different perspective of
what happened versus what I read from different sources and
what went on. Allegedly they were denying black folks access
to the band or to the concert because you're black.
She said, she didn't see no problem with it. She
didn't encounter that, But that was like at the time
I spoke, it was like over seven years ago. Seven
(14:21):
years ago when.
Speaker 6 (14:22):
It happened, right, Wow, So I've always wanted I don't
know if I've ever asked you this, Ron, Why have
you been so interested?
Speaker 3 (14:31):
How did you get so interested in Jimmy Launceford.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
That's a great question because actually I started getting interested
in jazz my freshman year in college. One of my
most interesting professors I ever had of my life teachers
guy named Guseppe Paroni. He's an ancestor down but he
was like it was like he was an Italian American
dude from Boston.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I'm a black dude from the South. And it's like
a Spike Lee movie. Do the right thing part too,
you know what? You know, It's like you know. The
class was like eight o'clock in the morning Monday, Wednesdage
and something.
Speaker 5 (15:01):
I wasn't the best student, and I'm never I learned,
but I'm not the best student, but I know how
to learn. So one day, you know, but got me
to see things his way a little bit. He had
played a documentary featuring Sunraw. It's like Sonraw was his
care from. He said, he's from.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
Saturn, but he's from Alabama. But he's the guy.
Speaker 5 (15:19):
He's really the father of the guyfather of Funk in
a way, because he was doing things in the late
forties and fifties that ended up, you know, being part
of Earth Wind and Fire, probably being Funk, the delic
Prince and all that.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
I remember.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
Undred three thousand was on Rap City back in two
thousand and the host action when he was reading, he said,
I'm reading a biography about Sunrise.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
He said, man, what you know, boy? Some Sonraw.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Well, three years later the Love Blow came out and
alten grammys. They want off that album. There was a
double album but Speaker Boxing Love Below. But you could
tell undred three thousand was under the influence of Son Raw,
who was a music mystic. I mean, he was a
red philosopher and everything. So when I started getting here
to son Raw, he saw my interests cause it was like,
(16:03):
it's only two black people in the class, Me and
this other guy. He was sleeping when he saw them
playing at the Pyramids and all this space galactic guard on.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
He's like, huh, he was about to sleep. I said, huh.
Like it was sparked something in my mind. So the
teacher started feeding my interest.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
He started sharing his jazz collection with me, like he'll
give me tapes from his jazz album collection, like, and
he introduced me to Cliff for Brown and Donald Washington,
Albert Island, Anthony Braxton's Duke Ellerton, Male Wildrome. He really
opened my ears up and opened my mind and my
brain to receive this information. So when I started getting
really deep into jazz, and my first jazz album I
(16:42):
think I brought was Giant Steps by John Coltrane. I
ain't looked back since, and but I started seeing everything
kept on coming back to Memphis, you know, like everything
kept on coming back to Memphis. You think about jazz,
people think about New Orleans right in New York and Chicago.
You don't think about Memphis. You think about blues, barbecue, yes, gospel,
prayers and spirituals. But everything runs through Memphis. It's like
(17:04):
what Charlie Parker said. He said, the four most important
words in jazz history is Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
Well.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
Louis armstrong second wife is from Memphis, born and raised
Lil Harder Armstrong February third, eighteen ninety eight, off.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Of Bill Street. She was the one that saw his
superstar potential.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
But she was the piano player for I called him Jagna's.
I don't say mentor I say Jagna. King Oliver called
Louis to Chicago, and Loeui, I went to come Chicago
play for me, all right, right, King.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Alive, all right, Pops, I'll come up to Chicago.
Speaker 6 (17:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
Then Lil was saying, here, Kyle, this a little lower
that comes Chicago, and I saund a little LOWI I said,
ain't nothing little about him but his clothes Jesus. And
but what happened to her was her favorite musician was
a favorite trumpet player, was a guy from New Orleans
that I loved to Freddy Kepper. He was like the
second king of jazz, after Buddy Bowden, who was the
(17:55):
first king of jazz. Buddy Bowden was a cornet where
they they used to play cornets instead of trump is
a lot back in the day. But he was the
king of jazz and he actually went had a nervous breakdown.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
Back in nineteen oh seven.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
So his crown was passed to Freddie Kepper, who could
have been the first jazz musician in history to record,
but he was paranoid each from New Orleans about the voodoo. Said, man,
they're gonna steal my sound, They're gonna steal my style.
I don't want to record. So he could have been
the first person in the history of the world record
what they call jazz music, but he turned it down,
and so that was her favorite trumpet player. But what
(18:28):
got her to look at things a different way was
when King Oliver told us something that she didn't tell
Louis until decades later after King Oliver's past, and she
said he was very hurt about it, but.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
You know that's God.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
King Oliver told her, Look, lel that Lewis is a
better horn player than me, but he'll never be a
star because he don't have comfortence in himself. Like they'll
go into recording studios and they be recording like this
is primitive, not like this set up here at this
primitive recording equipment. Louis Armstrong was so demanding and loud
in his cornette. They forced him to stay fifty feet
(19:02):
away from the recording from everybody else. So he wanted overpower,
overwhelm everybody else's recording ability.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
So she started listening with King Oliver's saying, and she
started doing that.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
Beyonce, I'm an upbraide on an upbraiding little Loi he
gonna be the king, the king, So she actually did that.
She was married herself to another person. Lewis was married
to a person. His first wife was a prostitute named
Daisy Parker. Like you know, you talk about toxic. You know,
when she used to get mad at Louis, she used
to throw bricks at his head.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Oh wow.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
But she defended his honor too.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
She'll fight about her Louis in the saloons, and so
she got stabbed. I think maybe a couple of times,
fighting over Lewis and putting respect.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
On his name.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Wow, was that down in New Orleans?
Speaker 4 (19:43):
In New Orleans?
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Yeah, yeah, And so he and Lil they left their
first you know, wild husband thing, and they got married
and she set him on his way. She gave King
Oliver the walking papers for Louis, and she made sure
he went to New York where he become a star
with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, which was the biggest, most
popular orchestra in all the land back in the early twenties.
(20:05):
They used to have a residency at the Roseland Ballroom.
They closed down maybe a decade or so ago. I
think Lady Gaga was the last act there. So it
was a very prominent dance music venue. So well, my
thing about that is that Memphis is powerful because everywhere
Lewis went it was Memphis people that upgraded him, whether
(20:25):
it be his second wife, little Hard and Armstrong. Even
when he was in Chicago and he was playing at
the Vendome Theater, the orchestra was led by Erskine Tate,
who was a Myfian He was born and raised in
Myfian and he played for W. C.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Handy, so he was on he like oh man like
Handy just and when de C. Handy heard he heard.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
Lewis played on the riverboats coming up and down the Mississippi.
But he said, it's when he heard him play in
the Vendome Theater on the one of his proteges that
really caught his eye about who he was.
Speaker 4 (20:57):
He could see or Lewis was a race band.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
He was a proud black man. He loved performing for
his people, giving his best. But he was playing for
a Memphis cat, you know what I'm saying. He used
to play for doub C. Handy, then we went to
New York. The top trumpet player in New York was
a guy named Johnny Dunn who was born and raised
in Memphis and played for w C. Handy, then went
with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. On the top early jazz
(21:20):
clarinettis was a guy named Buster Bailey who was born
and raised in Memphis and played for w C.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
Handy, who was from Florence, Alabama.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
But you know, also another cat from Florence, Alabama was
Sam Phillips, the guy who found.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
A song Records, Yeah, Sun Records.
Speaker 8 (21:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:34):
So something about Alabama, it's something about mississipp it's something
about Tennessee, something about us down here.
Speaker 6 (21:40):
Happened did and I was asking you your interested That's
how you got interested in Jimmy lunslerd It was.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Lowis, Tomstrong around Jimmy and Lonster.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
Oh yeah, it was about yeah, because Jimmy Lunch was
born in June sixth, nineteen oh two. Lewis was born
August the fourth, nineteen on one. So they was around
and getting back. Luncher did not, you know, you look
at the Lunsford thing. Memphis was a jazz mecca in.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
His own right. Like I said, Louis Armstrong, wife's from here.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
Also Charlie Parker, the Great bird Before they had Patrick
Mahomes in Can's City, you had, you know, Charlie Parker,
the bird.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Man, the real bird Man, who's dad is from Memphis.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
Okay, so you got these are two of the most
important musicians in jazz history. Arguably this is National Jazz
Appreciation Month. And they all got Memphis connections.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
So that's the thing.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
But with Lunsford, you know, he was here at the
same time, living in Memphis as Mary lou Williams, who's
really the godmother of a bebop of modern jazz. Mary
lell Williams was a child piano prodigy, born in Atlanta,
raised in Pittsburgh, but she was married to a Memphis cat.
They love you, they love these Memphis people. His name
was John Olverton Williams. John Overton Williams was the saxophonist
(22:48):
for Andy Kirk and she also did arrangements and stuff
for Andy Kirk. And I think Andy Kirk and Jimmy
Lunson actual were raised in Denver together. They had the
same music teacher, wibber Force white Man, who is the
file Paul white Man, who was the guy who was
the so called king of jazz because he was a
white man, who also commissioned George Gershwin to do rahpsty
in Blue.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Wow. So all those guys come out this one Wibberforce
white Man.
Speaker 5 (23:11):
Dude, he got that blacks and white had a right
to a sound music education growing up.
Speaker 6 (23:16):
So Ron you you thought, well, why not celebrate Jimmy Launceford. Yes,
that's what you've been doing and you've been doing with
your organization.
Speaker 5 (23:25):
How long Now, we started in two thousand and seven,
So we started a week for a matt in twenty seventeen,
so we've been doing it for that long. It's weird,
you know, like this the person nobody, no, heybody, he's
back by unpopular the man. It was a guy named
Preston Latter back, it was great music journalist. He's a
friend of mine. He lives in a Virginia, the Blue
(23:47):
Ridge mount He actually lived the mountains, and that's interesting.
But he did a article for the Memphis Flower Back
the summer of two thousand and seven. It had a
picture of Jimmy Launcer on the front saying, back by
unpopular man, like why is this man not better known
in the city that he got his start in? And
so you start reading that, it's like he said, it's
like you have no Baseball Hall of Fame with no
(24:09):
Willie Mays in it. That's what Jimmy Lunster because Jimmy Lunster,
like Glenn Miller said, Jimmy was great. Duke Ellington is remarkable.
I mean, Duke is great. Count is remarkable. But Lunsper
talks them both in terms of music presentation. Nobody was
doing what he was doing with the visuals as well
as with the music, because everybody wanted that sound. And
that's part of the Mythis music sound to me, like
(24:30):
you can't that two biggie head was very distinctive and instinctive,
so everybody wanted the sound. But how is it that
he's the most popular band personal mom. Black people in
America they call him Hallam Express, like Quincy Jones, Miles
Davis or Silva. They all talking about how Jimmy Lunsker
was their music hero growing up because he used to
listen to him on the radio broadcasting from the Cotton Club.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
Joe Lewis the Brown Bama. His favorite band was Jimmy Launsker.
Speaker 5 (24:56):
That's the Brown Buma, the our the greatest, you know,
people talking about our lead. Joe had it for twelve years,
the Brown Bomba. Come on, man, you know he said, Jimmy,
what's the best. That's Joe Lewis saying it. But if
we don't write our history and tell our stories, like
a lot of the people that loved Lunster, they gone that.
They didn't become scholars, they didn't write books about it,
(25:17):
they didn't do documentaries about it. They off the planet.
I think it ain't too many people around that heard Lunster.
I mean, I could be wrong, but not in lives.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
So are his recordings still around?
Speaker 8 (25:27):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Most definitely.
Speaker 8 (25:28):
You could give him.
Speaker 5 (25:28):
You could streame moms on YouTube and everything. He got
a song said, I've been through Memphis last night. That's
how much he loved Memphis. He loved Memphis enough to
be buried in Memphis, and he was here for this
or a short period of time in his life, but
it had such a profound impact on what he became
in his contribution.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
So why not remember that?
Speaker 5 (25:46):
Because my thing is, you know, you got people from
around the world come to Memphis, the most dangerous place. Man,
y'all hang around people. I don't hang around with me, Like,
why are you trying to find those people for? You
got brother Ron and doctor Caller Hard and it's sister
bad Jum doing positive stuff. Y'all just want to go
for the stink. I don't hang around those people because
the people you hang around, they they reflection of you.
(26:08):
Come on, brother, they your mirror, that's your tribes. I
don't hang around low vibrational, degenerate people.
Speaker 6 (26:14):
I told my my young folks, my niece and nephew,
you know, hang around people who are a reflection of you.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Yeah. So Lanceford, Jimmy Launceford, he's.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
Buried in m Wood Cemetery and m Wood Yeah wow,
I was locked in Mwood about for two hours a
couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
You were locked in there and locked inside up.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
But it was all.
Speaker 5 (26:36):
I like semmetaries. I love eating the cemeteries and acting
for your food. Y'all hang out there for hours to meditate.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
What yeah, yeah, Yeah. It's a beautiful place.
Speaker 5 (26:47):
It's a lot of black history. It's a lot of us.
It's buried that they need to be resurrected off the ground.
So I was actually there because the one I under
reads for this year's sister Theo Bowman. She's just singing
none she's one way of becoming the saint recognized by
the Captain Church. But she's actually the inspirational sister act.
Harry Bella Fonte saw her on Sixty Minutes with Mike
Wallace and he was so amazed because she told she
(27:09):
asked Mike, Mike say black is beautiful.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Oh of you know, Mike say black is beautiful? Well,
black is beautiful. And then Harry Bella, oh my god,
who is this woman? You know she's a saying, she's singing,
she's talking about black people. We God's people.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
So he actually hired, you know, he wanted to do
her biopic Hollywood against biopick. He got Whoopy Goldberg to
get interested in the project. Whoopy Goldberg was supposed to
play her in her biopic Wow, and that fell.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
Through after she died.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
She died in marsch thirty of nineteen ninety from complications
for cancer. But several years later, guess what came out
Sister Acts, which is based on her. But the reason
why they didn't do a story for her is because
she wasn't a foul person. She didn't have no degenerate background.
Now that she ain't have no drug problem. She wasn't
no you know, she was a child of God that
confessed her faith at the age of nine and dedicated
(27:59):
herself to certain help people do God.
Speaker 7 (28:01):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
We are talking with Ron Heard.
Speaker 6 (28:04):
Y'all know Ron Heard, this brother, he knows his jazz history,
he knows music history. When we come background, we're gonna
tell what's coming up the Jimmy Lunsford Legacy Awards program.
If you all have a question for mister Ron Heard,
we invite you to call now nine zero one five
three five nine three four two eight hundred five zero
(28:26):
three nine three four two eight three three five three
five nine three four two. If you haven't heard your
learning this morning about the man Jimmy luncefort right here
on w d I A.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
The BEV Just Say Show.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Whether you're in Memphis or in a sinkhole somewhere, thank
you for listening to the Bev Johnson Show on wid
I A Memphis. You're listening to the Bev Johnson Show.
(29:43):
Here's Bev Johnson.
Speaker 6 (29:45):
And I am talking with the amazing I love him,
Ronald Heard. We're talking about Jimmy Lunser when we're going
to our phone lines to talk with you.
Speaker 9 (29:53):
Hi, Eric, Hello, Hello, my beautiful by my favorite talk
show hosts Haull of Famer. Are you doing today, Queen?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
I'm doing well, Eric and yourself.
Speaker 9 (30:04):
I'm just making it. I ain't I'm hopping, but I
ain't stopping. And how you're doing life?
Speaker 8 (30:09):
For that? Ron Heard?
Speaker 3 (30:12):
We talked about.
Speaker 8 (30:16):
Oops.
Speaker 9 (30:18):
Good to have you, and you know, I like your
historical uh academia because I'm so much of a historian.
And just one before I called I heard that you
was you was? You said Louis Armstrong And I said
that right before you sit. And I know about W. C.
Handy too, and it's good to get enriched in that
jazz culture. You know, everybody talk about New Orleans, but
(30:39):
Memphis was one of the jazz, one of the jazz,
uh the new houses.
Speaker 6 (30:45):
You know.
Speaker 9 (30:45):
But let me ask you this. I know that you
said something about, uh, everybody talk about Muhammad I leave,
But you said Joe Louis was about Joe Louis.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Joe Lewis was amazing. He was a fighter for the
race too.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
I mean he stood up against UH Hitler and fascism
and all the wrong things at home. You know the
thing about Joe Lewis the people don't give him no
credit to is that. You know, he was I would say,
what functioning literate? But he had a lot of sense
and he was the guy that actually got Jackie Robinson
into Officers School. He was the one that recommended Jackie Robinson.
(31:19):
Joe Lewis did of the baseball player.
Speaker 9 (31:23):
Yeah yeah, okay, Well you don't think okay, so Joe Lewis,
you don't think that he was part of the europe
Masonic power struggle to be able to do that? Now,
my Joe Lewis, don't get me wrong.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Yeah, I think he was. He saw himself as a patriot.
Though America misused Joe Lewis, they disrespected him. He should
have never died the way he died on the irs
all his money. He may was donating, but he gave
back welfare money. Just say, I believe in pull myself
up about the bootstraps, and when I needed to help,
I received the help. Now I want to give it
back and pay it forward. He actually got in trouble
(31:56):
for doing work for Uncle Sam, like you know, giving
doing boxing exhibitions, doing them Warren stuff like that, and
not getting his tax situation take care of. And they
just they just took advantage of Joe. I think he
was a cash till war Yeah, okay, we.
Speaker 9 (32:10):
Had Bell Bay Bell, I love you and doing Hey
it's Bill Johnson. It's a good friend on w D
I A ten seventy.
Speaker 7 (32:19):
You have a good day, you too.
Speaker 8 (32:21):
Bye bye, Hi Carl, Good afternoon everyone. How are both
for you today?
Speaker 3 (32:27):
Doing well? Calling yourself?
Speaker 8 (32:30):
I am okay. Two questions, sir, who would be your
four people on Mount Rushmore? And if that's a place
in which you like to perform, which you have not
performed it yet, I would help me listen, thank you, okay, And.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
You're talking about jazz artists on Mount Rushmore?
Speaker 6 (32:49):
Yeah, con okay, okay, Carl, the I guess the four
he said you you would think wrong.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
That's funny, that's good. You know, you gotta put Louis
Armstrong on that.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
You gotta put Charlie Parker on that at leavest too,
And it's like, you know, why not Bill a Holiday.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
I love Bill Holliday, Oh.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Yeah, I love it. I love Billy Holiday. If I
had some women, I would do Billy Holliday, Sarah Vaughan.
Speaker 6 (33:21):
A little well, I like Ella yeah, and then I
would put that kind. I don't know if she's j
Phillis Hyman. Oh well, no, that's great, that's great. If women,
that's what I would do Rod Hey, yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (33:36):
See that's an interesting tape because I do love I
love Bill a Holiday as well.
Speaker 4 (33:41):
I love Sarah Ello. I love who I love.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Love is Dina Oh yeah, well yeah Dinah Yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:48):
I like versatility.
Speaker 5 (33:49):
Yeah, but I guess you had two guys. You had
two guys, had Louis char Parker, Bill Holliday.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Yeah, and Billy Howdie. One more.
Speaker 4 (33:59):
God is like, uh, because I like about jazz.
Speaker 5 (34:03):
Is just no right or wrong to it, Like, you know,
whatever your favorite is your favorite, you know, yeah, But
I'm thinking about if I look in terms of impact
and all that I have to say, John Cochrank, okay,
all right, no, roll it back.
Speaker 4 (34:17):
Oh no, I can't do that.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
You got so much.
Speaker 5 (34:20):
Yeah, I got to be right, you know, because okay,
I do it like this, I'll say Louis Austar, Charlie Parker,
Billy Holliday, and Duke Elton, got you.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
Okay, that's better.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
That's batter w d I a him, David.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Hey Man, Hey, right, but take my call. This is
an easy one for me because I've already picked I
got church.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
You element, aren't you, David?
Speaker 6 (34:49):
You know chasing tornado, sir? Yeah, that twist the wind
is kind of coming down. I don't know if you're
walking or you need to turn another way because.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
I know you're outside.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Yeah, that's better or not?
Speaker 3 (35:01):
That's a little better.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Yeah, I've had to pick
up his shooes like I told you from my yards.
But anyway, hold on, let's be here, okay. Yeah, mister
Lewis Armstrong, Miss Billy Holliday, mister John cole Trained, and
miss sillone as much, because as soon as I heard
him play, I said, what in the world, Wow, that
(35:24):
is something else. So that's my four on Rushmore car.
But let me thank you, first, brother, for what you're
doing for us. I had no idea. My my dass
began with mister Winton Marcella's and Kip Eric and Tell
and some of the stuff. He said that I, Stephen
wanted to piss me off. But I looked into the
music and my my first album was Hot House Flowers,
(35:46):
which I didn't really like. But I went over to
the public library and I got out a CD by
mister Lewis Armstrong in the Very series, which I can
no longer find because I've been looking for that, and
once here, mister Lewis, I'm strong. I got it. I
got it, and I've been and I've been a fan
ever since. So but let me ask you this brother,
(36:09):
and and and and and I never knew brother Molin,
he calls Bell educated me on how popular mister Lunsky
was in New York City. His mother was a pianist
pianist and she had basically all his records. Though it
is interesting to me that the only consistent thing and
profitable thing and and and and things that works the
(36:32):
messages of music, and yet we treat it so bad.
I don't understand that. Well, I do understand this, but
we'll go somewhere else. Let me let me say this, man,
let me ask you this, because this is a question
I had with Ron Wynn, who's a great writer in
music as well. Why do you think that more interpretation
by jazz dollars don't do more interpretation of most time
(36:54):
Philly international and sack back to the music catalog and
music That scares me? Yeah, because there's my good grand
DK used to say many times, not about music and
other things. They go to the heart of the man.
The ain't no plannitude. We're gonna deal with this. That's
the way it is. So why do you think that
there aren't more interpretations of those catalogs from the jazz perpective? Said,
(37:17):
you know, mister Gordy was a big jazz fan. Et
and I hang up and listen to your thank you David.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Bye bye.
Speaker 4 (37:25):
That's interesting.
Speaker 5 (37:26):
I'm thank you for that input, he said, DK, I
don't want it was DK Pope who just passed. Okay,
I knew, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's who he's talking about.
Many Yeah, you always support a real community guy. Yeah,
Like that's a good question, because you know it was funny,
It's not funny.
Speaker 4 (37:41):
A lot of those, Uh, the original.
Speaker 5 (37:43):
Recorders were done by jazz musicians as the studio musicians.
Speaker 4 (37:48):
You look at uh what they call it.
Speaker 5 (37:50):
The Motown documentary came out some years back, you know
in the Shadows Town. Yeah, look at the background. They
are low them more jazz musicians. You know Quincy Jones
talking about you know they ain't Ringo star on there.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
That's this jazz dude. Then we got it. He told
Ringo get a t or some crumpets or something.
Speaker 6 (38:06):
Right like in some of the folks and steps, I
think like my former Floyd Newman and all those people.
Speaker 5 (38:13):
You know, the jazz Yeah, they had the jazz blues background,
so Leggs, Miller Legs. But you know, I just like, uh,
I just think it's really it comes down to what
they pushing, you know what I'm saying, Because like I
look at even you look at the hip hop stuff
and rap. A lot of the rap music I like
is the ones when they sat up with the old
soul stuff. Yeah, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. You know,
(38:36):
you look at Keader Lamar, his big hit, Luther is
not him, it's Luther yeah, himself and then Luther Vangels
has been going forward twenty years.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
Was I find hard to believe?
Speaker 3 (38:44):
Yeah, but uh yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 4 (38:47):
Let me go to our phone w D.
Speaker 3 (38:48):
I a high caller.
Speaker 7 (38:51):
Good morning, good morning, good morning, I say morning because
I'm calling from Long Beach, California.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Morning there.
Speaker 7 (39:02):
Look here, crew, I haven't heard you mentioned my protege,
which I think should be on Mount Rushmore Malgrew Miller.
Speaker 8 (39:13):
Okay, are you familiar with the panel play right?
Speaker 7 (39:19):
Yes, yes, from the Mississippi Delta. He was very instrumental
in the during the Civil Rights movement because we're from,
like I say, from Greenwood, and he went on to
be just awesome. He played for the Duke Ellington Well,
(39:39):
matter of fact, he orchestra did did.
Speaker 9 (39:43):
The orchestra for.
Speaker 7 (39:47):
I'm just So, I'm So, I'm just just joy just
getting on the radio this morning from California. He was
just off and he passed away a few years ago,
but he's still being honored all over the world. He
was a renowned musician and I just hadn't heard you
(40:10):
mentioned him.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
But he was just awesome.
Speaker 7 (40:15):
Looking to him and speak on his grandeur as our
faith and a lot of young people can pick up
on some of the things he put out there because
he was just truly awesome. And you guys, I want
you to have a wonderful Easter.
Speaker 6 (40:34):
Thank you you too, Shirley, and thank you for calling
and listening in California.
Speaker 7 (40:39):
Oh we do, we do, we do. I have some
friends that are from the South and we all still
listen to w d I A. Me Me I promoted
because he I grew up on w d I A.
And you were talking about the guy that seeing uh
you know, Otis Redding. I was actually listening to w
(41:03):
d I A the night that they broadcast, you know,
when he passed away, and it was so emotional that
I still think about that today. But no, I can
go back in history on a lot of things. So
far as Harry bella frontee met him, he was on
our ports delivering the money. But Sidney Pitting at the
day that, you know, the morning that they arrived in Mississippi,
(41:26):
that was.
Speaker 9 (41:27):
My house, that.
Speaker 7 (41:31):
Was my mother's house, and we woke up to them
putting on the rally for that morning, but they had
just escaped the Kukus planned the night before. Now, Mississippi
is not a known for the jazz, but it is
known for a lot of the blues. I don't know
if you from Missish familiar with Mississippi.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
John Hurt.
Speaker 4 (41:56):
Yeah, yeah, Doug.
Speaker 7 (42:00):
Grandfather, the grandfather. And the reason I say this is
because we were going to parochial school and we had
to stand on the front porch every morning waiting on
the bus. But we listened to him singing and plucking
the guitar and it was amazing to think that we
(42:21):
grew up around that type of music and nobody really
really ever talks about it. But he looking to John
Hurt Mississippi John Hurt, Okay, he was way back from
maybe eighteen eighteen eighteen, yeah, eighteen nineties, but believe it
(42:42):
or not, I'm only seventy during that time. But anyway,
we believe it. But we'll go there again, but.
Speaker 6 (42:49):
I will have run back because he has a wealth
of knowledge on this music and jazz.
Speaker 3 (42:56):
And again, thank you Shirley for listening.
Speaker 7 (42:58):
And thank you so much, and have a wonderful holiday
weekend YouTube and.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
Happy easterity you Bye bye, Shirley. That was bye bye.
Speaker 4 (43:08):
That was nice.
Speaker 6 (43:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (43:10):
Yeah, yeah, Before we get out.
Speaker 6 (43:11):
Of here, we got to talk about what's coming up
the Jimmy Launch for Legacy Awards program.
Speaker 3 (43:17):
Come on, tell us about that brother.
Speaker 5 (43:18):
Well, basically, we're gonna have it on April twenty seventh
at Overton High School on Lanier.
Speaker 2 (43:25):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (43:25):
That the auditorium. It's gonna be from five to eight,
doors open at four.
Speaker 5 (43:29):
We're houndering people. Like I said Sister Theo Bowman. She's
our posthumous homecoming Queen. Also our posthumous homecoming king is
Clarence big Miller from out of Kansas City. He was
actually my father's mother's first cousin.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (43:43):
Yeah, but he's a big jazz. He grew up in Canada.
They got a big statue of him up in Edmonton. Okay, well,
I believe he's buried. And also a lively homecoming court
includes king a DJ Spanish Fly. He was one of
the fathers of the Memphis jukie culture back in the day,
the club No Name and stuff like that. Yeah, just
(44:04):
under him, because you know, everybody love a little sprinkle
little Memphis sprinkles, sprinkles, sprinkle a little bit of Memphis.
Speaker 4 (44:08):
Around the world.
Speaker 5 (44:09):
They get all these Grammys and accolades, but they got
to go back to the source the sauce people like
DJ Spanish Flowers, so we're going under him. And also
our Queen is Miss Deborah Sweeney, great you know, artist,
singer and also advocate for the music. You know, in
the Sunset what Sunset Jazz hit the Court Square he
does every year. So we're gonna underhears our queen like
(44:32):
you was our queen in twenty one. We appreciate this,
appreciate definitely our royalty. And also I guess Prince is
Donald Richard. He's a brilliant, a very inspirational middle school
band director and also another prince we have in his power.
He's a rapper entrepreneur, you know him and his wife
(44:53):
Future who's our princess. They run Nappy by Nature on
American Way and also the reggae artists, rappers and stuf
like that.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
And he's an actor.
Speaker 5 (45:01):
He was in a great movie, locally produced movie named
Troublesome that was producing directed by Jason Martin, and he
had a big leading part in that. So he got
some shine on that, so we're gonna keep on shining
on him, you know, wax on, wax off shine, right,
you know.
Speaker 4 (45:16):
And also some people I guess it's the homecoming court. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 5 (45:21):
So also some people were doing his people just doing
work in the community, or who have done work in
the community, like the late State Barbara Cooper. Under her contribution,
she actually was a rhythm bomber when Lunsfer used to
come through back in the day so she could recall
Jimmy Luncef coming through.
Speaker 4 (45:37):
Memphis last night. Whatever. But also.
Speaker 5 (45:42):
Very much alive Johnny Turner, my sister, you know, I
know her, great woman, great public servant.
Speaker 4 (45:49):
Some other people as well as some surprises.
Speaker 5 (45:52):
Also, we're gonna under Tom Lee because one hundred years
or made the April b one hundred years when.
Speaker 4 (45:57):
He saved all the white people from drowning.
Speaker 7 (45:59):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (46:00):
So that was that's a that's a mixed bed because
you know, I talked the old timers or elders. They
talked about how it was growing up. They used to
throw rocks at jump Tom Lee's home up in North
Memphis because you say, the white people that they got
black folks enslave and all that.
Speaker 4 (46:13):
But he was a humanitarian. I think he did something.
Speaker 5 (46:16):
The fact that he said that many people he didn't
know how to swim, you know, it's incrediblem so this
should be not And also when people call people Uncle Tom,
that's not a put down, that's a that's a that's
actually a respect because Uncle Tom, the actual Uncle Tom
was a it was a race man who saved black
people lives. Wow, So they used Uncle Tom to mean
bed with Uncle Tom is actually for good for black people.
Speaker 4 (46:40):
So you know, like you know, it's funny, it's not funny,
but you.
Speaker 5 (46:43):
Know, they had that eyebelisk whatever down on Tom Lee
Park that was dedicated with in fifty four he was
a worthy Negro and God said, hell, you know, we're
gonna strike the.
Speaker 4 (46:52):
Down and they put up this stuff with like the
live action Tom Lee.
Speaker 5 (46:56):
You remember when the flood happened back in the spring
of twenty eleven, and then while they crest right up
to the to the bottom of the boat, like he
was actually like you yeah, I remember that. Yeah, So
I mean that's God, you know what I'm saying. So
Tom Lee was you know, God was working through him
to do that for better for it.
Speaker 9 (47:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (47:11):
So again, Ron, it's gonna happen on April twenty.
Speaker 4 (47:15):
Seventh, April twenty seven over to High School.
Speaker 3 (47:18):
Overton High School is their cost No.
Speaker 4 (47:21):
It's it's free for y'all. It's a cost for me.
It's we're trying to get it.
Speaker 3 (47:26):
If you ask people for donation.
Speaker 4 (47:28):
Yeah, they could contact us. My phone number.
Speaker 5 (47:31):
You can phone call of Texas Nina zero one two
nine nine four three five five. That's Nina zero one
two nine nine four three five five. So you could
call to get more information and we'll help flyers and stuff.
But also we have we did the four Pillow Massacre
reflaying ceremony earlier this month and we got our show
using our art to tell our Stories Part four. It
(47:52):
could be viewed for free down at the Wooders Gallery
three three three Bill Street. When is that gonna happen?
It happened in now. But we start, we had the
open and then it opened on April fifth. It's April thirtieth,
and we had the opening reception on the anniversary of
the Fort Pillow masacot is April twelfth.
Speaker 4 (48:07):
And it's our people and go down there, look at
that great how the artist is out there.
Speaker 5 (48:12):
And like I said, you know, we're gonna have a
featured award winning over to the orchestra choir. The choir
brother Quinton Rafer, who was a classmate of Minds. He
was a student of doctor Lulu Hedgman who passed our
senior year. He has taken over that choir and now
they are just winning things everywhere. I mean they going
there on their way now. So we have a Maestro
(48:32):
Brandon Dogget of the band program. He's going to be
contributing as well as other people, the other local acts
and of the individuals and another person who know are
we going to under as well as so many people,
but Thudius Matthews.
Speaker 4 (48:45):
We gotta do the custom pastor.
Speaker 3 (48:47):
Okay, all right, all right, well sound you you're on
the road.
Speaker 6 (48:51):
Well, brother, but I love when you come and you
give us this history, this musical history, and brother Ron,
when you come back again, and I know you be
working and hard, but I want you to come back.
I'll come back you don't you know what I'm gonna
get you back in June?
Speaker 4 (49:05):
Is black it?
Speaker 3 (49:07):
So yeah, So we're gonna make a date that we're
gonna get you back in June.
Speaker 6 (49:12):
And because I could talk for you for two whole hours,
because you know, so listen, we're gonna promise.
Speaker 5 (49:16):
Well, I guess what you could do that I don't
know how your schedule is like we do an annual
reflame sermon morning for mister Lunsford at Mwood, So I
could probably could do it before then to get more
people come out.
Speaker 6 (49:26):
Yeah, well that's okay. Well stay in contact. Well I
got your contact and I know your mama.
Speaker 4 (49:33):
Y'all some deltas, yeah, a deltas.
Speaker 3 (49:36):
So again the awards program given that date and where
it's gonna be.
Speaker 5 (49:39):
Again, gonna be Sunday, April twenty seven from five to
a pm at Overton High School Auditorium that's on the
near over Town. It's free for y'all to come on
out and tell your friend.
Speaker 3 (49:51):
All right, thank you brother, I appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (49:53):
I love you madly.
Speaker 6 (49:54):
I love you madly too. Look good information. Thank y'all,
thank you so very much. Mister Runk heard in the house.
Speaker 3 (50:07):
I want to thank you callers.
Speaker 6 (50:09):
I want to thank you listeners for joining us this
day on the BEB Johnson Show. We do, we really
do appreciate you. So until tomorrow, please be safe. Cay
for cool head, y'all, don't let anyone steal your joy
until tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (50:29):
I'm BEB Johnson and y'all
Speaker 6 (50:30):
Keep the faith, the views and Opinions discussed on the
Bev Johnson Show are that of the hosts and callers,
and not those of the staff and sponsors of wd IA.
Whether you're in Arkansas, Tennessee, or Mississippi on Facebook, Twitter
or Instagram. Thank you for listening to the Bev Johnson
Show on w d I A Memphis.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Justin show, Bell johnpas mephis talkie at home Away.
Speaker 3 (00:53):
How you Go, You Go Son't get ready?
Speaker 4 (01:05):
Will make your day by herod.
Speaker 5 (01:14):
Listen to what today you know It's time for the
belt of show.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
Lucky.
Speaker 6 (01:24):
We are rocking and rolling on this Thursday, April seventeenth,
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 3 (01:30):
Enjoyed this fabulous day to day.
Speaker 6 (01:32):
Hold on y'all, getting ready to talk with my very
special guest. You remember I told you all that we'll
be talking with him in just a few minutes. But
let me tell you about my place here, the rock
and Cheer of Memphis, where we rock with the best
soul food in town, best entertainment. Around fifteen forty two
(01:53):
Elvis Presley will get you to the Rocking Chair in
South Memphis. Open on Mondays, Wednesday's, Thursday's, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
But this Sunday it's Easter, y'all, The Rocking Chair will
be closed this Easter Sunday so they can have time
to share with their their family and their friends. So
(02:15):
the Rocking Chair will be closed on Sunday. You can
dine in today or take out. It closes at five pm.
Call them at nine zero one four two five, five
two six four. Nine zero one four two five five
two six four will get you into the Rocking Chair
of Memphis. Get all those main courses, vegetables, desserts, and
(02:39):
a lot of good fun.
Speaker 3 (02:40):
And don't forget they love miss Anne's chitlings. Yes they do.
So dine in at the Rocking Chair today, tomorrow and Saturday.
Oh yeah, if you need some catering, they'll do that
for your Easter dinner.
Speaker 6 (02:53):
Yeah, So call the Rocking Chair nine zero one four
two five five two sixty four. Remember they're closed on Easter. Yeah,
but they're open today and tomorrow and Saturday. It's the
Rocking Chair of Memphis, where we rock with the best
entertainment in town, the best soul food around. Dine in
(03:14):
or take out, and when you go there, y'all tell
him Bev Johnson sent you to the rock and Chair
of Memphis. Fifteen forty two. Elvis Presley and once again
he's back in the house. I love talking to this
(03:34):
young man because he knows his musical history, especially jazz.
Once again, want to welcome in mister Ronald Heard who
is here to talk about again it's coming up again
the Jimmy Lumsford Legacy Awards program and other things going on,
and let me say good afternoon.
Speaker 3 (03:54):
Till you Rod, how are you?
Speaker 7 (03:56):
Brother?
Speaker 4 (03:56):
The jazz testically yours Queen's the star like that.
Speaker 3 (04:02):
I like that, jazz fantastic. I love that. I love that.
Speaker 6 (04:06):
But but before we talk about Jimmy Lunsford and people,
and still I'm finding ron that folks don't know about him,
don't know about him, don't know about him.
Speaker 3 (04:19):
So I know it's coming. We're gonna talk about.
Speaker 6 (04:22):
But let's tell folks because you spotlight that on this
and tell our listeners who is Jimmy Launcefort.
Speaker 5 (04:33):
Jimmy Lunsker was a very proud black man who loved
black people. He is credited with being the first person
in the history of the world to teach jazz.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Studies in a formal educational setting.
Speaker 5 (04:44):
He did it with kids in North Memphis at Manassa's
High School at the Manassa's High School back in the
nineteen twenties as a volunteer and he took his best
high school students form a pretty.
Speaker 4 (04:56):
Good popular dance band in the area.
Speaker 5 (04:58):
He actually used Race do local radio to promote the band,
and he ended up taking these guys on the road.
Left Bufics in nineteen thirty with his best school students
and also buddies from Fisk University where he graduated. It
was also a kappa, you know. He was a major
social work and stuff like that, so he was a
Fisk Man. So four years later in nineteen thirty four,
(05:20):
there was the house band at the Cotton Club up
in New York City in Harlem, USA after Duke Ellerton
and cav call Away and eventually it became the number
one attraction at the Apollo Theater for a whole decade.
And this is basically a jazz orchestra. Like Jimmy Lonsk
is credited with being one of the first people to
help Taylor made suits in his band. Like they always
(05:40):
dressed Taylor made suits. It was like the greatest show
on Earth. This is before it was made for social
media and TV.
Speaker 4 (05:47):
Whereas like you.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Hit the trumpet section with throw their trumpets in the
air and catch them where they played off, you know,
and catch them then played where they left off, you know, dancing,
singing and telling jokes.
Speaker 4 (05:57):
Very into active, very athletic.
Speaker 5 (05:59):
They will call the trained seals for their discipline as
well as for their infertaining way of being.
Speaker 4 (06:05):
And while I love about Jimmy Lunsford that he was
not only.
Speaker 5 (06:08):
A philanthropist, he was a hu Maine a Arrrian, and
I call him a Hugh Maine Aitarian. He would come
back to Memphis, sell out church auditory on Bill Street
and give free musician clinics and concerts for the.
Speaker 4 (06:21):
Kids at Manassas High School.
Speaker 5 (06:23):
One of the people in the Rhythm Bombers back in
the day who saw mister Lunsfer come back to Memphis
was mister Emerson Abele Jr. One of my good friends, Jagnalls.
He's a righteous anccess star. Now, uh, it'll be ten
years ago this summer. I can't believe it been ten
years almost wow. But he was amazed by Jimmy Lunster.
He liked the fact that he loved the tenor saxophonist
(06:44):
from Kansas City. They played for mister Lunsford, Joe Thomas's sounds,
so he kind of immolate that sound on his saxophone.
He ended up becoming one of the greatest music educators
in the city of Memphis or has ever known.
Speaker 2 (06:55):
Like.
Speaker 5 (06:55):
He actually was the band director at Manassas and he
kicked Isaac Hayes at the band.
Speaker 4 (07:00):
Oh No, working for.
Speaker 5 (07:03):
Moses and a working for Isaac and stacks and stuff,
the livey things. He loved Isaac Man, he loved them.
And he's also the co founder of the Southern Heritage
Classic that actually was found in his living room, him
and Fred Jones. But he had to connect you think
about it. He was a high school band director before
they had a college band director at HBCU's proud product
(07:23):
of Tennessee State. Uh he So he had a lot
of connections to make that happen. Also, he was a
gifted artist. He designed the first logo from my understanding
for the Southern Hritage classes. So mister Abe was definitely
renaissance man. And I always think about him when I
think about mister Lunsford because all the respect and priory
head about him. And I also think about Nat Dee Williams,
(07:43):
the great Na d Williams was a pioneering you know,
black radio was invented in Memphis, DA October twenty fifth,
nineteen forty eight.
Speaker 4 (07:53):
Williams was a teacher at.
Speaker 5 (07:56):
Memphis created these master teachers, like you know a master
teacher in religion or in education. We create some phenomenal
teaching prodigies and geniuses. But yet we always know him
for some negative stuff, which is crazy to me.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
But getting back to.
Speaker 5 (08:09):
That, Nadine Williams said, let his burial spot in Memphis
be a rallying point for black people. Let us not
forget about this man who too young, unsophisticated black boys
from North Memphis to the heights of musical eminence, you know,
to come around the world and everything and made them
to men because he used that music program as the
rights of passage to help young boys and girls become
(08:31):
responsible adults. I remember talking to Katherine Perry Thomas, who
was Manasa's class in nineteen.
Speaker 4 (08:37):
Thirty two, right before she passed.
Speaker 5 (08:39):
Her brother was Andrew Perry, who was in the band
with Jimmy LUNs For at high school and turned pro
with him. She said, run by the time they graduated,
you doctor them guys was twenty five or thirty years old.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
It was so mature. And that mister lunch For all,
he was a cool Talkdrick. He was tall, dog and handsome.
Mister Long.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
He was a good looking guy, very smart guy, a gemini,
very mysterio years in a way. But thinking about that,
I think about that. But also it was an aviation
pioneer where he owned and flew his own airplanes. This
back in the thirties. Wait a minute, Wait a minute,
a black man had his own airplane during a great depression. Yeah,
he flew his own airplane, brought his first airplane for
like a half a million dollars maybe in today's money.
(09:17):
And you know it, took flight lessons in nineteen thirty nine,
brought his first airplane nineteen forty, would actually fly himself
to concert gigs.
Speaker 4 (09:23):
So where's the movie about mister Launcher.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
He's an aga pioneer, a music pioneer, and a lover
of black people. By the time he died, he was
looking for a spot of real estate, the start of
retirement community for black musicians. So he was helping the
young people and also doing investing in music education programs
throughout the country to keep kids out of trouble, Black
(09:46):
kids out of trouble.
Speaker 4 (09:48):
He always was a social worker, but.
Speaker 5 (09:49):
He used music as the way to bring community, to
bring connectivity, to bring investment and love of people. And
it was contagious with him because he spread it all around.
But you know what's in tested by him in a
passing away July twelfth, nineteen forty seven, up in Oregon
and seaside Oregon, this beach resort town on the Pacific Ocean,
on the coastal line of Oregon. And legend has it
(10:12):
that he was arguing with the restaurant owner who did
not want to serve black people.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
And I always tell people that I love Oregon. It's
a beautiful place.
Speaker 3 (10:19):
I've never been there.
Speaker 5 (10:20):
Oh man, you got to go there. Why white folks
want to keep it white? Beautiful, pristine?
Speaker 4 (10:25):
It's just nice. It's amazing out there.
Speaker 5 (10:27):
But Oregon became a state in eighteen fifty nine, that's
two years before the Civil War. So you know it's
a constitution they had that black folks could not own work,
own property, work, or live in Oregon. That's in that
state constitution. This ain't Mississippi at.
Speaker 3 (10:44):
Whoa whoa whoa whoa wait wait wait wait a minute.
Speaker 7 (10:47):
Run.
Speaker 6 (10:47):
So the state of Oregon, in their constitution, they said
black people couldn't have property what.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
Else could not work there, could not live there.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
This is I wonder if it's still in their constitution.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
That's a good question because scholars talk about it.
Speaker 5 (11:02):
But there's a lot of things still around in our
laws and stuff that shouldn't be you know, Yeah, this
is Oregon. Yeah, this is like y'all can look this
up basic search. But that's you know, you go up
to Oregon. It's hardly any of us up there. But
it's beautiful up there. It's gorgeous, it's amazing geography. I mean,
it's cool.
Speaker 6 (11:20):
But you know, but I'm just going to ask this question.
Do you know in your research of James, why did
he choose Orgon to go?
Speaker 4 (11:29):
Well, because he was on a concert, it was touring
and it was very popular.
Speaker 5 (11:34):
But you know, allegedly the restaurant was located downtown Seaside.
Allegedly the owner said they didn't have any hamburgers. They
wanted hamburgers. They said we had best sandwiches. So they
end up allegedly serving Jimmy Lungs and his men. And
I think, I never get into what somebody fixing my food.
If I don't, I just leave. You know, I'm not
(11:55):
gonna eat it.
Speaker 4 (11:56):
I'm I love food, but it yeah, but he ate it, allegedly, and.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
He was signing auto graphs at the racket shop right
next to the venue called the Bungalow where they was
going to play.
Speaker 4 (12:07):
He dropped dead, allegedly signed.
Speaker 5 (12:09):
He was just forty five years young, so he allegedly
had fifteen hundred dollars for payroll on his person that disappeared.
It caut around me the oldest Redding store when they
found them on the plane up in Wisconsin. Allegen might
say he had like ten thousand dollars in a suitcase
from like a couple of nights work. Yeah, back then,
a salary back in sixty seven, the average solar five
(12:29):
thousand year.
Speaker 6 (12:33):
They kept they kept cash money. They wanted cash money
and they kept it in They kept it just like
you hear the stories about Aretha. Oh yeah, she was
about our business. Yea, they pay Hey, that's they kept
cash money and they had it right. They kept the case.
They don't want no chicks. I think I got that
(12:54):
from them. I tell people, don't give me no chick
cash money cash.
Speaker 5 (13:00):
They took that money though, like it disappeared. The oldest
read it and they said it was ten thousand dollars
to disappeared. The police say, don't know what happened to it. So, yeah,
well Jimmy Lunser had fifteen hundred dollars on him. That's
back in nineteen forty seven money, So that's a lot
of money.
Speaker 4 (13:13):
That's a yeah. So that was the payroll.
Speaker 5 (13:15):
But the band didn't know he was dead until halfway
through the concert, and allegedly people was coming off the
band standing and throwing up and doing combinations in the
restaurroom and stuff like that because it was food poisoning allegedly. Now,
I went up there on the seventy anniversary week up
the seaside. They did a story about me coming from
Memphis up there in the local paper and the guy
(13:37):
was actually a New York transplant who was a jazz musician.
He did the story about me coming there trying to
trace Jimmy Lunch was last moments in his town. And
think about that interview the town historian, who was a
white woman, but she was a young woman back then.
She just you know, she had a love for Jimmy Lunch.
You could tell her voice inflection, how she appreciate the
genies of the music and stuff like that, and she
(13:59):
was there that night that he allegedly died in the band,
just found out and she got a different perspective of
what happened versus what I read from different sources and
what went on. Allegedly they were denying black folks access
to the band or to the concert because you're black.
She said, she didn't see no problem with it. She
didn't encounter that, But that was like at the time
I spoke, it was like over seven years ago. Seven
(14:21):
years ago when.
Speaker 6 (14:22):
It happened, right, Wow, So I've always wanted I don't
know if I've ever asked you this, Ron, Why have
you been so interested?
Speaker 3 (14:31):
How did you get so interested in Jimmy Launceford.
Speaker 5 (14:34):
That's a great question because actually I started getting interested
in jazz my freshman year in college. One of my
most interesting professors I ever had of my life teachers
guy named Guseppe Paroni. He's an ancestor down but he
was like it was like he was an Italian American
dude from Boston.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I'm a black dude from the South. And it's like
a Spike Lee movie. Do the right thing part too,
you know what? You know, It's like you know. The
class was like eight o'clock in the morning Monday, Wednesdage
and something.
Speaker 5 (15:01):
I wasn't the best student, and I'm never I learned,
but I'm not the best student, but I know how
to learn. So one day, you know, but got me
to see things his way a little bit. He had
played a documentary featuring Sunraw. It's like Sonraw was his
care from. He said, he's from.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
Saturn, but he's from Alabama. But he's the guy.
Speaker 5 (15:19):
He's really the father of the guyfather of Funk in
a way, because he was doing things in the late
forties and fifties that ended up, you know, being part
of Earth Wind and Fire, probably being Funk, the delic
Prince and all that.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
I remember.
Speaker 5 (15:32):
Undred three thousand was on Rap City back in two
thousand and the host action when he was reading, he said,
I'm reading a biography about Sunrise.
Speaker 4 (15:39):
He said, man, what you know, boy? Some Sonraw.
Speaker 5 (15:41):
Well, three years later the Love Blow came out and
alten grammys. They want off that album. There was a
double album but Speaker Boxing Love Below. But you could
tell undred three thousand was under the influence of Son Raw,
who was a music mystic. I mean, he was a
red philosopher and everything. So when I started getting here
to son Raw, he saw my interests cause it was like,
(16:03):
it's only two black people in the class, Me and
this other guy. He was sleeping when he saw them
playing at the Pyramids and all this space galactic guard on.
Speaker 4 (16:12):
He's like, huh, he was about to sleep. I said, huh.
Like it was sparked something in my mind. So the
teacher started feeding my interest.
Speaker 5 (16:20):
He started sharing his jazz collection with me, like he'll
give me tapes from his jazz album collection, like, and
he introduced me to Cliff for Brown and Donald Washington,
Albert Island, Anthony Braxton's Duke Ellerton, Male Wildrome. He really
opened my ears up and opened my mind and my
brain to receive this information. So when I started getting
really deep into jazz, and my first jazz album I
(16:42):
think I brought was Giant Steps by John Coltrane. I
ain't looked back since, and but I started seeing everything
kept on coming back to Memphis, you know, like everything
kept on coming back to Memphis. You think about jazz,
people think about New Orleans right in New York and Chicago.
You don't think about Memphis. You think about blues, barbecue, yes, gospel,
prayers and spirituals. But everything runs through Memphis. It's like
(17:04):
what Charlie Parker said. He said, the four most important
words in jazz history is Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker.
Speaker 4 (17:11):
Well.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
Louis armstrong second wife is from Memphis, born and raised
Lil Harder Armstrong February third, eighteen ninety eight, off.
Speaker 4 (17:17):
Of Bill Street. She was the one that saw his
superstar potential.
Speaker 3 (17:21):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (17:21):
But she was the piano player for I called him Jagna's.
I don't say mentor I say Jagna. King Oliver called
Louis to Chicago, and Loeui, I went to come Chicago
play for me, all right, right, King.
Speaker 4 (17:30):
Alive, all right, Pops, I'll come up to Chicago.
Speaker 6 (17:32):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
Then Lil was saying, here, Kyle, this a little lower
that comes Chicago, and I saund a little LOWI I said,
ain't nothing little about him but his clothes Jesus. And
but what happened to her was her favorite musician was
a favorite trumpet player, was a guy from New Orleans
that I loved to Freddy Kepper. He was like the
second king of jazz, after Buddy Bowden, who was the
(17:55):
first king of jazz. Buddy Bowden was a cornet where
they they used to play cornets instead of trump is
a lot back in the day. But he was the
king of jazz and he actually went had a nervous breakdown.
Speaker 4 (18:05):
Back in nineteen oh seven.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
So his crown was passed to Freddie Kepper, who could
have been the first jazz musician in history to record,
but he was paranoid each from New Orleans about the voodoo. Said, man,
they're gonna steal my sound, They're gonna steal my style.
I don't want to record. So he could have been
the first person in the history of the world record
what they call jazz music, but he turned it down,
and so that was her favorite trumpet player. But what
(18:28):
got her to look at things a different way was
when King Oliver told us something that she didn't tell
Louis until decades later after King Oliver's past, and she
said he was very hurt about it, but.
Speaker 4 (18:39):
You know that's God.
Speaker 5 (18:40):
King Oliver told her, Look, lel that Lewis is a
better horn player than me, but he'll never be a
star because he don't have comfortence in himself. Like they'll
go into recording studios and they be recording like this
is primitive, not like this set up here at this
primitive recording equipment. Louis Armstrong was so demanding and loud
in his cornette. They forced him to stay fifty feet
(19:02):
away from the recording from everybody else. So he wanted overpower,
overwhelm everybody else's recording ability.
Speaker 4 (19:09):
So she started listening with King Oliver's saying, and she
started doing that.
Speaker 5 (19:12):
Beyonce, I'm an upbraide on an upbraiding little Loi he
gonna be the king, the king, So she actually did that.
She was married herself to another person. Lewis was married
to a person. His first wife was a prostitute named
Daisy Parker. Like you know, you talk about toxic. You know,
when she used to get mad at Louis, she used
to throw bricks at his head.
Speaker 3 (19:32):
Oh wow.
Speaker 4 (19:32):
But she defended his honor too.
Speaker 5 (19:34):
She'll fight about her Louis in the saloons, and so
she got stabbed. I think maybe a couple of times,
fighting over Lewis and putting respect.
Speaker 4 (19:41):
On his name.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
Wow, was that down in New Orleans?
Speaker 4 (19:43):
In New Orleans?
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Yeah, yeah, And so he and Lil they left their
first you know, wild husband thing, and they got married
and she set him on his way. She gave King
Oliver the walking papers for Louis, and she made sure
he went to New York where he become a star
with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, which was the biggest, most
popular orchestra in all the land back in the early twenties.
(20:05):
They used to have a residency at the Roseland Ballroom.
They closed down maybe a decade or so ago. I
think Lady Gaga was the last act there. So it
was a very prominent dance music venue. So well, my
thing about that is that Memphis is powerful because everywhere
Lewis went it was Memphis people that upgraded him, whether
(20:25):
it be his second wife, little Hard and Armstrong. Even
when he was in Chicago and he was playing at
the Vendome Theater, the orchestra was led by Erskine Tate,
who was a Myfian He was born and raised in
Myfian and he played for W. C.
Speaker 4 (20:40):
Handy, so he was on he like oh man like
Handy just and when de C. Handy heard he heard.
Speaker 5 (20:46):
Lewis played on the riverboats coming up and down the Mississippi.
But he said, it's when he heard him play in
the Vendome Theater on the one of his proteges that
really caught his eye about who he was.
Speaker 4 (20:57):
He could see or Lewis was a race band.
Speaker 5 (20:58):
He was a proud black man. He loved performing for
his people, giving his best. But he was playing for
a Memphis cat, you know what I'm saying. He used
to play for doub C. Handy, then we went to
New York. The top trumpet player in New York was
a guy named Johnny Dunn who was born and raised
in Memphis and played for w C. Handy, then went
with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. On the top early jazz
(21:20):
clarinettis was a guy named Buster Bailey who was born
and raised in Memphis and played for w C.
Speaker 4 (21:25):
Handy, who was from Florence, Alabama.
Speaker 5 (21:27):
But you know, also another cat from Florence, Alabama was
Sam Phillips, the guy who found.
Speaker 4 (21:32):
A song Records, Yeah, Sun Records.
Speaker 8 (21:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (21:34):
So something about Alabama, it's something about mississipp it's something
about Tennessee, something about us down here.
Speaker 6 (21:40):
Happened did and I was asking you your interested That's
how you got interested in Jimmy lunslerd It was.
Speaker 3 (21:48):
Lowis, Tomstrong around Jimmy and Lonster.
Speaker 5 (21:50):
Oh yeah, it was about yeah, because Jimmy Lunch was
born in June sixth, nineteen oh two. Lewis was born
August the fourth, nineteen on one. So they was around
and getting back. Luncher did not, you know, you look
at the Lunsford thing. Memphis was a jazz mecca in.
Speaker 4 (22:05):
His own right. Like I said, Louis Armstrong, wife's from here.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
Also Charlie Parker, the Great bird Before they had Patrick
Mahomes in Can's City, you had, you know, Charlie Parker,
the bird.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
Man, the real bird Man, who's dad is from Memphis.
Speaker 5 (22:17):
Okay, so you got these are two of the most
important musicians in jazz history. Arguably this is National Jazz
Appreciation Month. And they all got Memphis connections.
Speaker 4 (22:26):
So that's the thing.
Speaker 5 (22:27):
But with Lunsford, you know, he was here at the
same time, living in Memphis as Mary lou Williams, who's
really the godmother of a bebop of modern jazz. Mary
lell Williams was a child piano prodigy, born in Atlanta,
raised in Pittsburgh, but she was married to a Memphis cat.
They love you, they love these Memphis people. His name
was John Olverton Williams. John Overton Williams was the saxophonist
(22:48):
for Andy Kirk and she also did arrangements and stuff
for Andy Kirk. And I think Andy Kirk and Jimmy
Lunson actual were raised in Denver together. They had the
same music teacher, wibber Force white Man, who is the
file Paul white Man, who was the guy who was
the so called king of jazz because he was a
white man, who also commissioned George Gershwin to do rahpsty
in Blue.
Speaker 4 (23:07):
Wow. So all those guys come out this one Wibberforce
white Man.
Speaker 5 (23:11):
Dude, he got that blacks and white had a right
to a sound music education growing up.
Speaker 6 (23:16):
So Ron you you thought, well, why not celebrate Jimmy Launceford. Yes,
that's what you've been doing and you've been doing with
your organization.
Speaker 5 (23:25):
How long Now, we started in two thousand and seven,
So we started a week for a matt in twenty seventeen,
so we've been doing it for that long. It's weird,
you know, like this the person nobody, no, heybody, he's
back by unpopular the man. It was a guy named
Preston Latter back, it was great music journalist. He's a
friend of mine. He lives in a Virginia, the Blue
(23:47):
Ridge mount He actually lived the mountains, and that's interesting.
But he did a article for the Memphis Flower Back
the summer of two thousand and seven. It had a
picture of Jimmy Launcer on the front saying, back by
unpopular man, like why is this man not better known
in the city that he got his start in? And
so you start reading that, it's like he said, it's
like you have no Baseball Hall of Fame with no
(24:09):
Willie Mays in it. That's what Jimmy Lunster because Jimmy Lunster,
like Glenn Miller said, Jimmy was great. Duke Ellington is remarkable.
I mean, Duke is great. Count is remarkable. But Lunsper
talks them both in terms of music presentation. Nobody was
doing what he was doing with the visuals as well
as with the music, because everybody wanted that sound. And
that's part of the Mythis music sound to me, like
(24:30):
you can't that two biggie head was very distinctive and instinctive,
so everybody wanted the sound. But how is it that
he's the most popular band personal mom. Black people in
America they call him Hallam Express, like Quincy Jones, Miles
Davis or Silva. They all talking about how Jimmy Lunsker
was their music hero growing up because he used to
listen to him on the radio broadcasting from the Cotton Club.
Speaker 4 (24:52):
Joe Lewis the Brown Bama. His favorite band was Jimmy Launsker.
Speaker 5 (24:56):
That's the Brown Buma, the our the greatest, you know,
people talking about our lead. Joe had it for twelve years,
the Brown Bomba. Come on, man, you know he said, Jimmy,
what's the best. That's Joe Lewis saying it. But if
we don't write our history and tell our stories, like
a lot of the people that loved Lunster, they gone that.
They didn't become scholars, they didn't write books about it,
(25:17):
they didn't do documentaries about it. They off the planet.
I think it ain't too many people around that heard Lunster.
I mean, I could be wrong, but not in lives.
Speaker 3 (25:25):
So are his recordings still around?
Speaker 8 (25:27):
Oh?
Speaker 4 (25:27):
Most definitely.
Speaker 8 (25:28):
You could give him.
Speaker 5 (25:28):
You could streame moms on YouTube and everything. He got
a song said, I've been through Memphis last night. That's
how much he loved Memphis. He loved Memphis enough to
be buried in Memphis, and he was here for this
or a short period of time in his life, but
it had such a profound impact on what he became
in his contribution.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
So why not remember that?
Speaker 5 (25:46):
Because my thing is, you know, you got people from
around the world come to Memphis, the most dangerous place. Man,
y'all hang around people. I don't hang around with me, Like,
why are you trying to find those people for? You
got brother Ron and doctor Caller Hard and it's sister
bad Jum doing positive stuff. Y'all just want to go
for the stink. I don't hang around those people because
the people you hang around, they they reflection of you.
(26:08):
Come on, brother, they your mirror, that's your tribes. I
don't hang around low vibrational, degenerate people.
Speaker 6 (26:14):
I told my my young folks, my niece and nephew,
you know, hang around people who are a reflection of you.
Speaker 4 (26:20):
That's right.
Speaker 3 (26:21):
Yeah. So Lanceford, Jimmy Launceford, he's.
Speaker 5 (26:24):
Buried in m Wood Cemetery and m Wood Yeah wow,
I was locked in Mwood about for two hours a
couple of weeks ago.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
You were locked in there and locked inside up.
Speaker 1 (26:34):
But it was all.
Speaker 5 (26:36):
I like semmetaries. I love eating the cemeteries and acting
for your food. Y'all hang out there for hours to meditate.
Speaker 3 (26:43):
What yeah, yeah, Yeah. It's a beautiful place.
Speaker 5 (26:47):
It's a lot of black history. It's a lot of us.
It's buried that they need to be resurrected off the ground.
So I was actually there because the one I under
reads for this year's sister Theo Bowman. She's just singing
none she's one way of becoming the saint recognized by
the Captain Church. But she's actually the inspirational sister act.
Harry Bella Fonte saw her on Sixty Minutes with Mike
Wallace and he was so amazed because she told she
(27:09):
asked Mike, Mike say black is beautiful.
Speaker 4 (27:12):
Oh of you know, Mike say black is beautiful? Well,
black is beautiful. And then Harry Bella, oh my god,
who is this woman? You know she's a saying, she's singing,
she's talking about black people. We God's people.
Speaker 5 (27:24):
So he actually hired, you know, he wanted to do
her biopic Hollywood against biopick. He got Whoopy Goldberg to
get interested in the project. Whoopy Goldberg was supposed to
play her in her biopic Wow, and that fell.
Speaker 4 (27:37):
Through after she died.
Speaker 5 (27:39):
She died in marsch thirty of nineteen ninety from complications
for cancer. But several years later, guess what came out
Sister Acts, which is based on her. But the reason
why they didn't do a story for her is because
she wasn't a foul person. She didn't have no degenerate background.
Now that she ain't have no drug problem. She wasn't
no you know, she was a child of God that
confessed her faith at the age of nine and dedicated
(27:59):
herself to certain help people do God.
Speaker 7 (28:01):
Wow.
Speaker 3 (28:02):
We are talking with Ron Heard.
Speaker 6 (28:04):
Y'all know Ron Heard, this brother, he knows his jazz history,
he knows music history. When we come background, we're gonna
tell what's coming up the Jimmy Lunsford Legacy Awards program.
If you all have a question for mister Ron Heard,
we invite you to call now nine zero one five
three five nine three four two eight hundred five zero
(28:26):
three nine three four two eight three three five three
five nine three four two. If you haven't heard your
learning this morning about the man Jimmy luncefort right here
on w d I A.
Speaker 3 (28:40):
The BEV Just Say Show.
Speaker 1 (28:53):
Whether you're in Memphis or in a sinkhole somewhere, thank
you for listening to the Bev Johnson Show on wid
I A Memphis. You're listening to the Bev Johnson Show.
(29:43):
Here's Bev Johnson.
Speaker 6 (29:45):
And I am talking with the amazing I love him,
Ronald Heard. We're talking about Jimmy Lunser when we're going
to our phone lines to talk with you.
Speaker 9 (29:53):
Hi, Eric, Hello, Hello, my beautiful by my favorite talk
show hosts Haull of Famer. Are you doing today, Queen?
Speaker 3 (30:01):
I'm doing well, Eric and yourself.
Speaker 9 (30:04):
I'm just making it. I ain't I'm hopping, but I
ain't stopping. And how you're doing life?
Speaker 8 (30:09):
For that? Ron Heard?
Speaker 3 (30:12):
We talked about.
Speaker 8 (30:16):
Oops.
Speaker 9 (30:18):
Good to have you, and you know, I like your
historical uh academia because I'm so much of a historian.
And just one before I called I heard that you
was you was? You said Louis Armstrong And I said
that right before you sit. And I know about W. C.
Handy too, and it's good to get enriched in that
jazz culture. You know, everybody talk about New Orleans, but
(30:39):
Memphis was one of the jazz, one of the jazz,
uh the new houses.
Speaker 6 (30:45):
You know.
Speaker 9 (30:45):
But let me ask you this. I know that you
said something about, uh, everybody talk about Muhammad I leave,
But you said Joe Louis was about Joe Louis.
Speaker 4 (30:55):
Joe Lewis was amazing. He was a fighter for the
race too.
Speaker 5 (30:58):
I mean he stood up against UH Hitler and fascism
and all the wrong things at home. You know the
thing about Joe Lewis the people don't give him no
credit to is that. You know, he was I would say,
what functioning literate? But he had a lot of sense
and he was the guy that actually got Jackie Robinson
into Officers School. He was the one that recommended Jackie Robinson.
(31:19):
Joe Lewis did of the baseball player.
Speaker 9 (31:23):
Yeah yeah, okay, Well you don't think okay, so Joe Lewis,
you don't think that he was part of the europe
Masonic power struggle to be able to do that? Now,
my Joe Lewis, don't get me wrong.
Speaker 5 (31:34):
Yeah, I think he was. He saw himself as a patriot.
Though America misused Joe Lewis, they disrespected him. He should
have never died the way he died on the irs
all his money. He may was donating, but he gave
back welfare money. Just say, I believe in pull myself
up about the bootstraps, and when I needed to help,
I received the help. Now I want to give it
back and pay it forward. He actually got in trouble
(31:56):
for doing work for Uncle Sam, like you know, giving
doing boxing exhibitions, doing them Warren stuff like that, and
not getting his tax situation take care of. And they
just they just took advantage of Joe. I think he
was a cash till war Yeah, okay, we.
Speaker 9 (32:10):
Had Bell Bay Bell, I love you and doing Hey
it's Bill Johnson. It's a good friend on w D
I A ten seventy.
Speaker 7 (32:19):
You have a good day, you too.
Speaker 8 (32:21):
Bye bye, Hi Carl, Good afternoon everyone. How are both
for you today?
Speaker 3 (32:27):
Doing well? Calling yourself?
Speaker 8 (32:30):
I am okay. Two questions, sir, who would be your
four people on Mount Rushmore? And if that's a place
in which you like to perform, which you have not
performed it yet, I would help me listen, thank you, okay, And.
Speaker 3 (32:45):
You're talking about jazz artists on Mount Rushmore?
Speaker 6 (32:49):
Yeah, con okay, okay, Carl, the I guess the four
he said you you would think wrong.
Speaker 4 (32:56):
That's funny, that's good. You know, you gotta put Louis
Armstrong on that.
Speaker 5 (33:00):
You gotta put Charlie Parker on that at leavest too,
And it's like, you know, why not Bill a Holiday.
Speaker 4 (33:06):
I love Bill Holliday, Oh.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
Yeah, I love it. I love Billy Holiday. If I
had some women, I would do Billy Holliday, Sarah Vaughan.
Speaker 6 (33:21):
A little well, I like Ella yeah, and then I
would put that kind. I don't know if she's j
Phillis Hyman. Oh well, no, that's great, that's great. If women,
that's what I would do Rod Hey, yeah.
Speaker 2 (33:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (33:36):
See that's an interesting tape because I do love I
love Bill a Holiday as well.
Speaker 4 (33:41):
I love Sarah Ello. I love who I love.
Speaker 3 (33:44):
Love is Dina Oh yeah, well yeah Dinah Yeah.
Speaker 4 (33:48):
I like versatility.
Speaker 5 (33:49):
Yeah, but I guess you had two guys. You had
two guys, had Louis char Parker, Bill Holliday.
Speaker 3 (33:57):
Yeah, and Billy Howdie. One more.
Speaker 4 (33:59):
God is like, uh, because I like about jazz.
Speaker 5 (34:03):
Is just no right or wrong to it, Like, you know,
whatever your favorite is your favorite, you know, yeah, But
I'm thinking about if I look in terms of impact
and all that I have to say, John Cochrank, okay,
all right, no, roll it back.
Speaker 4 (34:17):
Oh no, I can't do that.
Speaker 3 (34:19):
You got so much.
Speaker 5 (34:20):
Yeah, I got to be right, you know, because okay,
I do it like this, I'll say Louis Austar, Charlie Parker,
Billy Holliday, and Duke Elton, got you.
Speaker 4 (34:28):
Okay, that's better.
Speaker 3 (34:29):
That's batter w d I a him, David.
Speaker 2 (34:35):
Hey Man, Hey, right, but take my call. This is
an easy one for me because I've already picked I
got church.
Speaker 3 (34:46):
You element, aren't you, David?
Speaker 6 (34:49):
You know chasing tornado, sir? Yeah, that twist the wind
is kind of coming down. I don't know if you're
walking or you need to turn another way because.
Speaker 3 (34:57):
I know you're outside.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Yeah, that's better or not?
Speaker 3 (35:01):
That's a little better.
Speaker 2 (35:02):
Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Yeah, I've had to pick
up his shooes like I told you from my yards.
But anyway, hold on, let's be here, okay. Yeah, mister
Lewis Armstrong, Miss Billy Holliday, mister John cole Trained, and
miss sillone as much, because as soon as I heard
him play, I said, what in the world, Wow, that
(35:24):
is something else. So that's my four on Rushmore car.
But let me thank you, first, brother, for what you're
doing for us. I had no idea. My my dass
began with mister Winton Marcella's and Kip Eric and Tell
and some of the stuff. He said that I, Stephen
wanted to piss me off. But I looked into the
music and my my first album was Hot House Flowers,
(35:46):
which I didn't really like. But I went over to
the public library and I got out a CD by
mister Lewis Armstrong in the Very series, which I can
no longer find because I've been looking for that, and
once here, mister Lewis, I'm strong. I got it. I
got it, and I've been and I've been a fan
ever since. So but let me ask you this brother,
(36:09):
and and and and and I never knew brother Molin,
he calls Bell educated me on how popular mister Lunsky
was in New York City. His mother was a pianist
pianist and she had basically all his records. Though it
is interesting to me that the only consistent thing and
profitable thing and and and and things that works the
(36:32):
messages of music, and yet we treat it so bad.
I don't understand that. Well, I do understand this, but
we'll go somewhere else. Let me let me say this, man,
let me ask you this, because this is a question
I had with Ron Wynn, who's a great writer in
music as well. Why do you think that more interpretation
by jazz dollars don't do more interpretation of most time
(36:54):
Philly international and sack back to the music catalog and
music That scares me? Yeah, because there's my good grand
DK used to say many times, not about music and
other things. They go to the heart of the man.
The ain't no plannitude. We're gonna deal with this. That's
the way it is. So why do you think that
there aren't more interpretations of those catalogs from the jazz perpective? Said,
(37:17):
you know, mister Gordy was a big jazz fan. Et
and I hang up and listen to your thank you David.
Speaker 3 (37:24):
Bye bye.
Speaker 4 (37:25):
That's interesting.
Speaker 5 (37:26):
I'm thank you for that input, he said, DK, I
don't want it was DK Pope who just passed. Okay,
I knew, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's who he's talking about.
Many Yeah, you always support a real community guy. Yeah,
Like that's a good question, because you know it was funny,
It's not funny.
Speaker 4 (37:41):
A lot of those, Uh, the original.
Speaker 5 (37:43):
Recorders were done by jazz musicians as the studio musicians.
Speaker 4 (37:48):
You look at uh what they call it.
Speaker 5 (37:50):
The Motown documentary came out some years back, you know
in the Shadows Town. Yeah, look at the background. They
are low them more jazz musicians. You know Quincy Jones
talking about you know they ain't Ringo star on there.
Speaker 4 (38:01):
That's this jazz dude. Then we got it. He told
Ringo get a t or some crumpets or something.
Speaker 6 (38:06):
Right like in some of the folks and steps, I
think like my former Floyd Newman and all those people.
Speaker 5 (38:13):
You know, the jazz Yeah, they had the jazz blues background,
so Leggs, Miller Legs. But you know, I just like, uh,
I just think it's really it comes down to what
they pushing, you know what I'm saying, Because like I
look at even you look at the hip hop stuff
and rap. A lot of the rap music I like
is the ones when they sat up with the old
soul stuff. Yeah, Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye. You know,
(38:36):
you look at Keader Lamar, his big hit, Luther is
not him, it's Luther yeah, himself and then Luther Vangels
has been going forward twenty years.
Speaker 4 (38:43):
Was I find hard to believe?
Speaker 3 (38:44):
Yeah, but uh yeah, yeah yeah.
Speaker 4 (38:47):
Let me go to our phone w D.
Speaker 3 (38:48):
I a high caller.
Speaker 7 (38:51):
Good morning, good morning, good morning, I say morning because
I'm calling from Long Beach, California.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
Morning there.
Speaker 7 (39:02):
Look here, crew, I haven't heard you mentioned my protege,
which I think should be on Mount Rushmore Malgrew Miller.
Speaker 8 (39:13):
Okay, are you familiar with the panel play right?
Speaker 7 (39:19):
Yes, yes, from the Mississippi Delta. He was very instrumental
in the during the Civil Rights movement because we're from,
like I say, from Greenwood, and he went on to
be just awesome. He played for the Duke Ellington Well,
(39:39):
matter of fact, he orchestra did did.
Speaker 9 (39:43):
The orchestra for.
Speaker 7 (39:47):
I'm just So, I'm So, I'm just just joy just
getting on the radio this morning from California. He was
just off and he passed away a few years ago,
but he's still being honored all over the world. He
was a renowned musician and I just hadn't heard you
(40:10):
mentioned him.
Speaker 2 (40:11):
But he was just awesome.
Speaker 7 (40:15):
Looking to him and speak on his grandeur as our
faith and a lot of young people can pick up
on some of the things he put out there because
he was just truly awesome. And you guys, I want
you to have a wonderful Easter.
Speaker 6 (40:34):
Thank you you too, Shirley, and thank you for calling
and listening in California.
Speaker 7 (40:39):
Oh we do, we do, we do. I have some
friends that are from the South and we all still
listen to w d I A. Me Me I promoted
because he I grew up on w d I A.
And you were talking about the guy that seeing uh
you know, Otis Redding. I was actually listening to w
(41:03):
d I A the night that they broadcast, you know,
when he passed away, and it was so emotional that
I still think about that today. But no, I can
go back in history on a lot of things. So
far as Harry bella frontee met him, he was on
our ports delivering the money. But Sidney Pitting at the
day that, you know, the morning that they arrived in Mississippi,
(41:26):
that was.
Speaker 9 (41:27):
My house, that.
Speaker 7 (41:31):
Was my mother's house, and we woke up to them
putting on the rally for that morning, but they had
just escaped the Kukus planned the night before. Now, Mississippi
is not a known for the jazz, but it is
known for a lot of the blues. I don't know
if you from Missish familiar with Mississippi.
Speaker 2 (41:54):
John Hurt.
Speaker 4 (41:56):
Yeah, yeah, Doug.
Speaker 7 (42:00):
Grandfather, the grandfather. And the reason I say this is
because we were going to parochial school and we had
to stand on the front porch every morning waiting on
the bus. But we listened to him singing and plucking
the guitar and it was amazing to think that we
(42:21):
grew up around that type of music and nobody really
really ever talks about it. But he looking to John
Hurt Mississippi John Hurt, Okay, he was way back from
maybe eighteen eighteen eighteen, yeah, eighteen nineties, but believe it
(42:42):
or not, I'm only seventy during that time. But anyway,
we believe it. But we'll go there again, but.
Speaker 6 (42:49):
I will have run back because he has a wealth
of knowledge on this music and jazz.
Speaker 3 (42:56):
And again, thank you Shirley for listening.
Speaker 7 (42:58):
And thank you so much, and have a wonderful holiday
weekend YouTube and.
Speaker 3 (43:05):
Happy easterity you Bye bye, Shirley. That was bye bye.
Speaker 4 (43:08):
That was nice.
Speaker 6 (43:09):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (43:10):
Yeah, yeah, Before we get out.
Speaker 6 (43:11):
Of here, we got to talk about what's coming up
the Jimmy Launch for Legacy Awards program.
Speaker 3 (43:17):
Come on, tell us about that brother.
Speaker 5 (43:18):
Well, basically, we're gonna have it on April twenty seventh
at Overton High School on Lanier.
Speaker 2 (43:25):
Oh.
Speaker 4 (43:25):
That the auditorium. It's gonna be from five to eight,
doors open at four.
Speaker 5 (43:29):
We're houndering people. Like I said Sister Theo Bowman. She's
our posthumous homecoming Queen. Also our posthumous homecoming king is
Clarence big Miller from out of Kansas City. He was
actually my father's mother's first cousin.
Speaker 3 (43:42):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (43:43):
Yeah, but he's a big jazz. He grew up in Canada.
They got a big statue of him up in Edmonton. Okay, well,
I believe he's buried. And also a lively homecoming court
includes king a DJ Spanish Fly. He was one of
the fathers of the Memphis jukie culture back in the day,
the club No Name and stuff like that. Yeah, just
(44:04):
under him, because you know, everybody love a little sprinkle
little Memphis sprinkles, sprinkles, sprinkle a little bit of Memphis.
Speaker 4 (44:08):
Around the world.
Speaker 5 (44:09):
They get all these Grammys and accolades, but they got
to go back to the source the sauce people like
DJ Spanish Flowers, so we're going under him. And also
our Queen is Miss Deborah Sweeney, great you know, artist,
singer and also advocate for the music. You know, in
the Sunset what Sunset Jazz hit the Court Square he
does every year. So we're gonna underhears our queen like
(44:32):
you was our queen in twenty one. We appreciate this,
appreciate definitely our royalty. And also I guess Prince is
Donald Richard. He's a brilliant, a very inspirational middle school
band director and also another prince we have in his power.
He's a rapper entrepreneur, you know him and his wife
(44:53):
Future who's our princess. They run Nappy by Nature on
American Way and also the reggae artists, rappers and stuf
like that.
Speaker 4 (45:00):
And he's an actor.
Speaker 5 (45:01):
He was in a great movie, locally produced movie named
Troublesome that was producing directed by Jason Martin, and he
had a big leading part in that. So he got
some shine on that, so we're gonna keep on shining
on him, you know, wax on, wax off shine, right,
you know.
Speaker 4 (45:16):
And also some people I guess it's the homecoming court. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 5 (45:21):
So also some people were doing his people just doing
work in the community, or who have done work in
the community, like the late State Barbara Cooper. Under her contribution,
she actually was a rhythm bomber when Lunsfer used to
come through back in the day so she could recall
Jimmy Luncef coming through.
Speaker 4 (45:37):
Memphis last night. Whatever. But also.
Speaker 5 (45:42):
Very much alive Johnny Turner, my sister, you know, I
know her, great woman, great public servant.
Speaker 4 (45:49):
Some other people as well as some surprises.
Speaker 5 (45:52):
Also, we're gonna under Tom Lee because one hundred years
or made the April b one hundred years when.
Speaker 4 (45:57):
He saved all the white people from drowning.
Speaker 7 (45:59):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (46:00):
So that was that's a that's a mixed bed because
you know, I talked the old timers or elders. They
talked about how it was growing up. They used to
throw rocks at jump Tom Lee's home up in North
Memphis because you say, the white people that they got
black folks enslave and all that.
Speaker 4 (46:13):
But he was a humanitarian. I think he did something.
Speaker 5 (46:16):
The fact that he said that many people he didn't
know how to swim, you know, it's incrediblem so this
should be not And also when people call people Uncle Tom,
that's not a put down, that's a that's a that's
actually a respect because Uncle Tom, the actual Uncle Tom
was a it was a race man who saved black
people lives. Wow, So they used Uncle Tom to mean
bed with Uncle Tom is actually for good for black people.
Speaker 4 (46:40):
So you know, like you know, it's funny, it's not funny,
but you.
Speaker 5 (46:43):
Know, they had that eyebelisk whatever down on Tom Lee
Park that was dedicated with in fifty four he was
a worthy Negro and God said, hell, you know, we're
gonna strike the.
Speaker 4 (46:52):
Down and they put up this stuff with like the
live action Tom Lee.
Speaker 5 (46:56):
You remember when the flood happened back in the spring
of twenty eleven, and then while they crest right up
to the to the bottom of the boat, like he
was actually like you yeah, I remember that. Yeah, So
I mean that's God, you know what I'm saying. So
Tom Lee was you know, God was working through him
to do that for better for it.
Speaker 9 (47:11):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (47:11):
So again, Ron, it's gonna happen on April twenty.
Speaker 4 (47:15):
Seventh, April twenty seven over to High School.
Speaker 3 (47:18):
Overton High School is their cost No.
Speaker 4 (47:21):
It's it's free for y'all. It's a cost for me.
It's we're trying to get it.
Speaker 3 (47:26):
If you ask people for donation.
Speaker 4 (47:28):
Yeah, they could contact us. My phone number.
Speaker 5 (47:31):
You can phone call of Texas Nina zero one two
nine nine four three five five. That's Nina zero one
two nine nine four three five five. So you could
call to get more information and we'll help flyers and stuff.
But also we have we did the four Pillow Massacre
reflaying ceremony earlier this month and we got our show
using our art to tell our Stories Part four. It
(47:52):
could be viewed for free down at the Wooders Gallery
three three three Bill Street. When is that gonna happen?
It happened in now. But we start, we had the
open and then it opened on April fifth. It's April thirtieth,
and we had the opening reception on the anniversary of
the Fort Pillow masacot is April twelfth.
Speaker 4 (48:07):
And it's our people and go down there, look at
that great how the artist is out there.
Speaker 5 (48:12):
And like I said, you know, we're gonna have a
featured award winning over to the orchestra choir. The choir
brother Quinton Rafer, who was a classmate of Minds. He
was a student of doctor Lulu Hedgman who passed our
senior year. He has taken over that choir and now
they are just winning things everywhere. I mean they going
there on their way now. So we have a Maestro
(48:32):
Brandon Dogget of the band program. He's going to be
contributing as well as other people, the other local acts
and of the individuals and another person who know are
we going to under as well as so many people,
but Thudius Matthews.
Speaker 4 (48:45):
We gotta do the custom pastor.
Speaker 3 (48:47):
Okay, all right, all right, well sound you you're on
the road.
Speaker 6 (48:51):
Well, brother, but I love when you come and you
give us this history, this musical history, and brother Ron,
when you come back again, and I know you be
working and hard, but I want you to come back.
I'll come back you don't you know what I'm gonna
get you back in June?
Speaker 4 (49:05):
Is black it?
Speaker 3 (49:07):
So yeah, So we're gonna make a date that we're
gonna get you back in June.
Speaker 6 (49:12):
And because I could talk for you for two whole hours,
because you know, so listen, we're gonna promise.
Speaker 5 (49:16):
Well, I guess what you could do that I don't
know how your schedule is like we do an annual
reflame sermon morning for mister Lunsford at Mwood, So I
could probably could do it before then to get more
people come out.
Speaker 6 (49:26):
Yeah, well that's okay. Well stay in contact. Well I
got your contact and I know your mama.
Speaker 4 (49:33):
Y'all some deltas, yeah, a deltas.
Speaker 3 (49:36):
So again the awards program given that date and where
it's gonna be.
Speaker 5 (49:39):
Again, gonna be Sunday, April twenty seven from five to
a pm at Overton High School Auditorium that's on the
near over Town. It's free for y'all to come on
out and tell your friend.
Speaker 3 (49:51):
All right, thank you brother, I appreciate you.
Speaker 4 (49:53):
I love you madly.
Speaker 6 (49:54):
I love you madly too. Look good information. Thank y'all,
thank you so very much. Mister Runk heard in the house.
Speaker 3 (50:07):
I want to thank you callers.
Speaker 6 (50:09):
I want to thank you listeners for joining us this
day on the BEB Johnson Show. We do, we really
do appreciate you. So until tomorrow, please be safe. Cay
for cool head, y'all, don't let anyone steal your joy
until tomorrow.
Speaker 3 (50:29):
I'm BEB Johnson and y'all
Speaker 6 (50:30):
Keep the faith, the views and Opinions discussed on the
Bev Johnson Show are that of the hosts and callers,
and not those of the staff and sponsors of wd IA.
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