Tag: Beale Street Caravan

Starlite Revue Returns

Post author By Joshua Cannon
Post date April 7, 2016

A vision came to Reverend John Wilkins in a dream. He was playing at the Starlite Revue, a prominent charity-driven gospel and blues concert hosted by WDIA through the 1960s. Unique, however, was that rising Midtown Memphis musicians joined him onstage. The idea shook Wilkins from bed, and he called Kevin Cubbins, executive producer of the Beale Street Caravan public radio show. Inspired, they rebirthed the festival last year. Now, as Beale Street Caravan celebrates its 20th anniversary, the Revue will return April 8th to the Orpheum’s Halloran Centre. With performances from co-headliners Wilkins and Jimbo Mathus, as well as contemporary artists like the Bell Singers, the Revue will merge Delta veterans with up-and-coming musicians. The Flyer spoke with Cubbins about what he calls “the most infectious music on earth” and his plans for Beale Street Caravan’s future.

Rev. John Wilkins headlines the Starlite Revue this Friday.

The Memphis Flyer: How is preparing for the second annual Starlite Revue different from when you prepared for the first one?

Kevin Cubbins: I guess the biggest difference is that last year, me and Rev. Wilkins got inspired, winged it, and pulled it off by the seat of our pants. This year, it’s better organized, and WDIA has come on as a supporter.

How has the Beale Street Caravan grown over the past 20 years?

Public radio, overall, has been a pretty exciting and innovative space in the last decade. Our growth lately is more about catching up and getting plugged in to where we need to be and continuing to deliver high-quality content that focuses on the amazing music that flows from Memphis and the Delta region.

BSC is unique and extremely lucky in that while there’s plenty of programming dedicated to Americana, or whatever it’s called these days, and indie-type stuff, we’re basically the sole proprietors (on public radio) of gospel, blues, and soul. Which is fine by me because it’s the greatest, most infectious, most evergreen music on earth. So I feel like we have a responsibility. It’s our mission to evolve as the landscape evolves and get this stuff out there.

This will be Rev. John Wilkins’ second time headlining. Why? And how did you decide who else would play?

The Starlite Revue is Rev. Wilkins’ party. This is his vision. He called me one morning and said that he’d had a dream that night. A crystal clear dream. In that dream he was at the Starlite Revue, and he was playing with all of his friends just like he did back in the day. There were bands from Midtown playing, too. “White” bands.

He asked me to help him do this, and he said, “I know you know all those white kids in Midtown, and I know they probably don’t go to church much anymore, but I bet they did when they were little, and they probably remember the songs. Get some of them involved and let’s make this happen.”

So I did. And that’s why the Reverend is headlining — it’s his vision. The other acts are longtime stalwarts of this absolutely unique, traditional gospel scene that thrives here and in North Mississippi and goes largely unnoticed by the mainstream. And we have some local Midtown favorites thrown into the mix, too, to bring their take to the show.

Where did the name Starlite Revue originate?

There was an annual concert in Memphis, put on by WDIA, that featured the best in local blues and gospel. It was amazing, by all accounts. What JazzFest is to New Orleans in this day and age, the Starlite Revue was to Memphis back in the day. WDIA played a very, very special role in the social fabric of this city in the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. That station is an irreplaceable part of Memphis history, and I wish more people understood that.

Of all that Beale Street Caravan has accomplished, what are you most proud of?

That’s tough. I mean, surviving for 20 years is a major accomplishment in public radio, and I have to credit our founders, who included Sid Selvidge, of course, for that. I’m always excited about what’s next.

Heck, I’m super excited about [an upcoming] radio show featuring the Walker Family Singers that we recorded on the front porch of Shangri-La Records. We have some new productions and initiatives we’ll be launching in the months to come — things that are pretty big steps for us. I’m definitely proud of that.

The Starlite Revue featuring Rev. John Wilkins, Friday, April 8th at the Orpheum Halloran Centre, 7 p.m. $23.

Tags Beale Street Caravan, Memphis Music, Star Lite Revue, The Halloran Centre

Music Music Features

Bringing Memphis to the Masses

Post author By Chris Shaw
Post date June 18, 2015

CREDIT: Courtesy of Beale Street Caravan

For the past 19 seasons, Beale Street Caravan has broadcast a commercial-free hour of Memphis-centric music to 2.4 million listeners worldwide, on more than 400 radio stations. Hosted by Pat Mitchell Worley, the show covers local artists ranging from the Reigning Sound to Rev. John Wilkins, in addition to favorites from New Orleans, Chicago, and everywhere in between. Their annual fund-raiser always packs a punch, and this year cuisine by Chef Michael Patrick of Rizzo’s Diner will be paired with wine and beer and the music of Marcella & Her Lovers. The blowout — at Memphis Made Brewing on June 18th — also includes a silent auction featuring regional treasures of music, art, dining, and vacation getaways, in addition to vinyl grab bags and more. We sat down with Worley to learn more about the most widely distributed blues radio program in the world. — Chris Shaw

Flyer: How long has Beale Street Caravan been around and when did you become host of the show?

Pat Mitchell Worley: The show is about to enter its 20th season. I’ve worked on the show since the very beginning. Originally, I was hired to be Sid Selvidge’s assistant, and I had already been working in radio. At the time, I was the blues director at a radio station, but my role at Beale Street Caravan was just to get artist clearances for Sid and things like that. After six months, I moved on to the Blues Foundation and started working on things there, but I was still doing stuff for the Caravan, and the hosts were the Memphis Horns. They did two seasons telling stories, and the whole thing was scripted.

After the Horns left, Joyce Cobb and Sam the Sham took over, and they were around for a while, but when they left, we didn’t know what we were going to do next. So Sid put me on for a season just to try it out. Daren Dortin joined me for a while, but once he left and we got a new producer, we wanted to change things up and so we brought Kevin Cubbins on board. Having Kevin was really refreshing, because it didn’t just feel like I was talking at people. Since then, I’ve been hosting for the past 16 years.

Where did the name Beale Street Caravan come from?

I always thought it was a combination of things. We have always featured blues musicians, and when it first started, we didn’t have hosts. It was just guys performing. Now we air pre-recorded sets and famous sets from festivals, but we started out live at B.B. King’s club. We’d also go to blues festivals in Chicago and festivals like King Biscuit and the Waterfront in Portland. That was the precursor to what we do now. We’ve had shows that have taken place everywhere. We even have a show from Venezuela that we air. When we first started, we were able to capture stuff from Rufus Thomas, because some of the greats were still with us.

How has the audience reach grown since the show started?

It’s always been sporadically picked up all over the world, but it’s been picked up by a lot more networks as we’ve grown, like Armed Forces Radio, for example. Having them air our show puts us anyplace that American troops are, which is everywhere if you think about it. We are in so many places now. We didn’t used to have such a big presence in the Middle East, and we also have a lot of sessions recorded online for people to hear all over the world.

What are the criteria for the types of music you play on your show? Does it ever venture out of blues? Do you ever record in-studio?

Kevin Cubbins will record things live sometimes, depending on where he is. One of our engineers, Matt Brown, might get sent somewhere to record something. But some shows that we play are older and were recorded long ago. Other times, people just submit something they recorded themselves. New Orleans Jazz Fest also records their festival and sends it to us. Kevin lets our audience and contributors know what he’s looking for, but most of the stuff we air stays within the region.

How is Beale Street Caravan different from something like Rocket Science Audio, Ditty TV, or the now-defunct Live From Memphis?

I think we are a little more focused than the shows you mentioned. We promote the brand of Memphis, and we want people to listen to our show and decide to make a move to Memphis or at least come here and track down an artist. We have a focus on the region, but we’ll have acts from all over on the station. The center of [Beale Street Caravan] is always the blues-roots sound that made Memphis famous, and we like to have fun on air and show the reach that Memphis music has across the world and on other musicians. That’s why we fit within the NPR format. Our message takes people behind the scenes.

How big is the annual fund-raiser in terms of keeping Beale Street Caravan in business?

It’s our only fund-raiser. It’s changed over the years, and we’ve become bigger and bigger, but we only do one thing in terms of raising money.

Tags Beale Street Caravan, Blues Foundation, Marcella Simien, Memphis Music, New Orleans Jazz Fest, NPR

Music Music Blog

Reigning Sound Live on Beale Street Caravan

Post author By Chris Shaw
Post date January 28, 2015

Reigning Sound played the Hi-Tone Cafe last fall, and the fine people at Beale Street Caravan recorded the whole thing! Check out the hour long set below, and let Greg Cartwright’s amazing songwriting help you through the mid-week slump. The music starts around the 5 minute mark.

Reigning Sound Live on Beale Street Caravan

Reigning Sound Live on Beale Street Caravan (2)

Tags Beale Street Caravan, Greg Cartwright, Reigning Sound

Music Music Features

Beale Street Caravan Blowout at A. Schwab

Post author By Joe Boone
Post date June 19, 2014

On Thursday night, Beale Street Caravan hosts its Beale Street Caravan Blowout at A. Schwab on Beale. It’s a fund-raiser for the locally produced radio program, but it’s also a value. For $75, Reverend John Wilkins will perform with the Bluff City Backsliders. Chef Michael Patrick of Rizzo’s Diner will serve victuals. The bar is wide open. And most importantly, there’s a silent auction that will not be surpassed in cool factor:

Reverend John Wilkins

How about a Hi Records Experience, which includes the entire catalog (Al Green, Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles, and more) and a VIP tour of Royal Studios with Boo Mitchell, son of producer Willie Mitchell? Ardent Studios is offering the Big Star Experience, which includes the band’s three albums on vinyl, a tour of the studio, and a listening session with the original master tracks. You can bid on a VIP tour of Stax led by Bar-Kays bassist James Alexander. Here’s the opportunity of a lifetime: a VIP tour of the Civil Rights Museum led by Al Bell. There are other travel and art items that reflect the focus of this great program.

The loss of founding producer Sid Selvidge was a scary time for people who appreciate the history and culture of Memphis music. Selvidge’s background in anthropology, his curiosity, and his wit placed him directly in the mix of our sounds: Whether it was Furry Lewis or Chilton at his most insolent, Sid was in the middle of it. So who better to produce a radio show based on the musical currents that run through Memphis? Sid’s legacy endures in this show. Under Pat Mitchell and Kevin Cubbins, Beale Street Caravan carries the standard around the globe. It keeps the conversation going between us and people around the world who know what we do. The show is syndicated in more than 400 cities around the world.

So … PARTY! I wonder how many people can fit in those overalls.

Tags Beale Street Caravan

Sing All Kinds We Recommend

Remembering Sid Selvidge

Post author By Chris Herrington
Post date May 3, 2013

CREDIT: Justin Fox Burks

Justin Fox Burks
The late Sid Selvidge, with son, Steve.

A bittersweet accompaniment to having so many great artists in your city is the pain of losing them, and Memphis lost a major one yesterday with the passing of Sid Selvidge, who lost a lengthy battle with cancer on Thursday morning.

I didn’t really know Selvidge well, but had crossed paths with him several times over the past decade, first for a Flyer cover story on Beale Street Caravan, the made-in-Memphis but broadcast worldwide radio show Selvidge presided over. More recently for a Father’s Day-themed story in Memphis magazine, where I had the privilege of sitting with Selvidge and his musician son, Steve, and talking about his life — as a musician and as a father.

From that piece:

Sid Selvidge was raised in Greenville, Mississippi, the son of a laundry business operator. (“Greenville Steam Laundry, Sid says. “I always thought that would be a nice band name.”)

“There was no encouragement,” Sid says of his family’s view of a musical career. “If you got to be musical in my family, it was said to be a fine avocation. They were very practical people. They didn’t like the music business.”

Like so many in his generation, Selvidge wanted to be Elvis, and played around Greenville in a rock-and-roll cover band (go-to song: Sonny Burgess’ “Red-Headed Woman”).

It was after moving to Memphis to attend Rhodes College (then Southwestern) that Selvidge began to turn toward folk music.

“They made me take my Danelectro guitar and put it in the student center so I wouldn’t play electric guitar in my dorm room and bother everybody,” Selvidge remembers. “That’s how I got into acoustic guitar.”

For a while, Selvidge pursued a career in academia, doing graduate work in anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis and returning to Rhodes as an instructor. But, eventually, Selvidge devoted himself full-time to music.

“I was a better musician than I was an anthropology teacher,” he says.

Beyond his enormous musical talents and varied imprint on several decades of Memphis music — and the Commercial Appeal‘s Bob Mehr does a terrific job of recounting Selvidge’s career in his obituary today — I was always struck by what an exceedingly intelligent and decent man Selvidge was.

Selvidge leaves behind his wife of 47 years, Shirley Selvidge, and five children. In that Memphis magazine interview, he spoke with gratitude about his family:

“It’s difficult to be a musician without [a partner] that is solid and secure and has a lot of self-confidence, that can let somebody go out on the road for a long period of time,” Sid says. “I realize that now. I was a lucky guy. A great wife, a great family, and I got to go out and play music. I just thought it was great fun. Which it was.”

Tags Beale Street Caravan, Sid Selvidge, Steve Selvidge