Tag: George Klein

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Blurb Books

Picture Perfect: James L. Dickerson Releases Coffee Table Photo Collection

I write this from the Flyer’s offices in Downtown Memphis, surrounded by stacks of books. Novels, short story collections, works of nonfiction, and even a few comic books — all Advance Reading Copies, or ARCs, in the parlance of book reviewers, literary agents, and booksellers — line my bookshelf, sit atop it, and sometimes even linger on my window ledge. It’s pure heaven for a bibliophile such a myself. It does mean, however, that sometimes a really excellent book will get lost in the shuffle. I hope, fellow readers, that for this sin, I can be forgiven. Such is the case with journalist and photographer James L. Dickerson’s coffee table photo collection Mississippi on My Mind: Random Life Through the Eyes of a Journalist (Sartoris Literary Group), released at the tail-end of 2019, when this reviewer had his mind on the holidays.

The book collects some of the many photographs taken by Dickerson over the course of his career as a journalist — and a lover of the arts, music in particular. The photos are often accompanied by excerpts from interviews with the subjects, poetry, or touching or humorous anecdotes. On the page opposite a photo of late Texas guitarist and singer Stevie Ray Vaughan, Dickerson remembers allowing the legendary bluesman to break a strict no-smoking policy the journalist had and light up in his car. Dickerson recalls, upon hearing the news of Vaughan’s untimely death in a helicopter crash, rushing out to his car to look at the half-smoked cigarette, alone in an otherwise-pristine ashtray.
James L. Dickerson

Stevie Ray Vaughan

One of my favorite series of photos in the book is a delightful six-page spread of glam-pop, power-pop band The Bangles, looking decidedly ’80s and L.A. when placed next to Dickerson’s other, mostly Southern subjects. Next to a photo of bassist Michael Steele, Dickerson prints an excerpt from a phone interview — one in which every member of the band is in a separate bathroom in a “cavernous house in the heart of Los Angeles.” My particular favorite photo is one of Susanna Hoffs playing a solid-body Rickenbacker guitar slung low over a purple-white blouse with enormous shoulder pads. It is excellent.

Mississippi on My Mind includes photos of Estelle Axton (co-founder of Stax Records), Bobby Womack, Waylon Jennings, Tom T. Hall (who penned the lyrics to “Harper Valley P.T.A.”), George Klein, and Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley’s legendary original guitarist. It’s no surprise that Moore is numbered within the volume’s subjects; my first encounter with Dickerson’s work was his biography of Moore, That’s Alright, Elvis. There are also photos from beloved local landmarks such as the Memphis Zoo and the Levitt Shell.

James L. Dickerson

For the most part, Mississippi on My Mind can be broken down into three sections — Memphis, Mississippi, and Nashville. It’s a true trinity of Southern arts and music, and Dickerson knows his subject matter well. All in all, the book is a fun read, and it seems ample evidence of the truism that, in photography and journalism, there is no substitute for being there at the right time. For those who weren’t, though, Dickerson’s book makes a worthy passport. 

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We Recommend We Saw You

Elvis is Everywhere!

CREDIT: Amanda Smith

Amanda Smith

I kicked off Elvis Week by eating a Doughburger and sitting in the ‘Elvis’ booth at Johnnie’s Drive-In in Tupelo. The restaurant, apparently, was one of the King’s haunts.

My first 45 rpm record was “Don’t Be Cruel” by Elvis. I got it when it came out in 1956. I saw his first movie, Love Me Tender on the big screen when it was released the same year. I saw Elvis in 1957 on stage at Russwood Park.

But I never ate at Johnnie’s Drive-In in Tupelo until a few days ago.

Johnnie’s, apparently, was one of Elvis’s haunts. A photograph of the King in one of Johnnie’s wooden booths hangs above a booth, which, supposedly, is the one Elvis was photographed in.

Christi Wade’s parents – Don and Barbara Knight – bought Johnnie’s in 1981, she says. “I’m just managing,” she says. “Whenever they retire, I’m buying it from them.”

John and Margaret Chism were the original owners of Johnnie’s, which opened October 17, 1945, White says. It’s billed as “Tupelo’s Oldest Restaurant.”

I overheard a customer order the “Johnnie Burger.” He told me it was the Doughburger, which White says is their best seller. Doughburgers “started during the Depression when they added flour into the meat because meat was being rationed. To make it go further. Oh, my gosh. We cook so many of those a day. That’s one of our most popular items.”

It’s especially popular during Elvis tributes, she says. “The week of his birth and the week Tupelo does its Elvis festival in June and in August when people are making a pilgrimage to Tupelo and back to Memphis to commemorate his death.”

People want to eat Doughburgers because Elvis supposedly ate them, White says. “We have to rely on what we are told from his friends that are still with us.”

Paul Cramer, who was a traveling salesman, took the photo in the mid 1950s. According to his account, Cramer heard a teenager scream, “Elvis is next door!” He didn’t know who Elvis was, but he found the King at Johnnie’s and asked if he could take his photo. Cramer didn’t think any more about the photo until he discovered it in a photo album in 1997.

White and her family also have to rely on Elvis’ friends, who told them the booth in the photo is the same booth beneath the photograph, she says. “We just have to go by what we’re told. We don’t really have 100 percent proof.”

People like to have their photograph taken in the “Elvis” booth.

Johnnie’s was packed the week I visited the restaurant with my sister. People kept walking through the door. When we left, we saw a long line of people who traveled by bus waiting to get in. “It’s a crazy week, but we love it,” White says.

And Johnnie’s is an actual drive-in; you can order from a carhop. “We try our best to stay a lot like we were in 1945.”

They added items to the menu, but, White says, “We don’t accept credit cards or debit cards. Cash only.”

They like to “stay with the feel of old school” at Johnnie’s, White says.

The prices seem old school, too. The Doughburger sells for $1.35. You also can get an “All-Meat Burger” for just $2.50.

MIchael Donahue

Kelly Laing, Pat Kerr Tigrett, and T. G. Sheppard at ‘Moonshine at Sunset.’

Pat Kerr Tigrett helped kick off Elvis Week with her “Moonshine at Sunset” soiree, which was held August 9th at her downtown penthouse.

The party celebrated T. G. Sheppard’s birthday. He and his wife, Kelly Laing, were among the star-studded group who attended.

Sheppard and Laing performed at the “George Klein Tribute Show,” which was held August 11th at Lafayette’s Music Room. Merrilee Rush and William Bell, who performed at the show, were among the guests at Tigrett’s party.

Jerry Williams, who attended with Cindy Bailey, put the Klein show together. Williams and Klein were friends for 71 years.

Days later, Williams shared his thoughts about the tribute show, which also featured Carla Thomas, Joyce Cobb, Wendy Moten, Ronnie McDowell, Jason D. Williams, and the Royal Blues Band. “The Sunday show probably is one of those shows that Memphis won’t see again for a long, long time,” he says.

Ten performers “all appearing and all doing what they felt for George. It was incredible.”

The show was sold out, Williams says. “Then we had Lafayette’s decide to do a standing room only. It was jam packed. People were standing outside in a line. Everybody who came had to love George.”

What struck him the most were “the people who came to Memphis to perform for George and the love they all showed for him.”

And, he says, “Those 10 acts that were there, those were the people George would have called. He had a history of love and affection for every one of them. He was integral to everyone of them early in their careers.”

What would Klein have thought about the show? “He would have turned his head and probably cried. He was so humble. It would be hard for him to grasp that these people were there for him.”


Michael Donahue

William Bell and Lawrence ‘Boo’ Mitchell at ‘Moonshine at Sunset.’

Michael Donahue

Cindy Bailey, Jerry Williams, Larry Moss. and Merrilee Rush at ‘Moonshine at Sunset.’

                                       WE SAW YOU AROUND TOWN

MIchael Donahue

Mary Pat Van Epps. Lydia Cox, and Gina Dear at Gibson’s Donuts.

Michael Donahue

Eldrick Wilkins, Moriah Oliver, and Nature Hendricks at Crosstown Concourse.

Michael Donahue

Darnell Henderson and Cameron Bethany at Blind Bear


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Music Music Blog

“The George Klein Tribute Show” to be Held August 11th

Jerry Williams and George Klein

George Klein will be honored at “The George Klein Tribute Show” on August 11th at 4 p.m. at Lafayette’s Music Room.

It’s fitting that Klein will be honored during “Elvis Week.” He and The King were close friends from the 1950s until Elvis’ death in 1977.

Klein, who died February 5th at the age of 83, was a radio and TV personality. He was a deejay, had his own TV shows, made personal appearances seemingly everywhere, and was in Elvis movies, including “Jailhouse Rock.”

Jerry Williams, a friend of Klein’s for 71 years, put the show together. “He’s a Memphis icon,” Williams says. “He deserves it.”

The lineup includes Carla Thomas, Joyce Cobb, Merrilee Rush, T. G. Sheppard, Ronnie McDowell, Kelly Laing, Wendy Moten, William Bell, Royal Blues Band, and Jason D. Williams. “I didn’t get one ‘no.’ When I would call them, literally every one of them had their stories about George and what he meant to their career – from playing their first record to putting them on the TV show. No conversation was without tears.”

Williams says he could have had 100 people perform, but he stopped at 10.

He specifically picked the date for the show. “It’s on August 11th, the first Sunday of Elvis Week. And, you remember, George always had his events on the first Sunday of Elvis Week. That was sort of George’s day.”

Klein did 37 “George Klein and the Elvis Mafia” shows and 42 “George Klein Christmas Charity Shows,” Williams says.

Williams met Klein in the spring of 1948 “because of the Memphis Chicks baseball team.”

Klein was 11 and Williams was 8. “When the Chicks would start spring practice for the season, we would make 30, 35 cents a day. We would shag balls. We were batboys. We got to know all the guys.”

Their friendship continued after Williams moved to California in 1964 to manage Paul Revere & the Raiders.

And it continued after Williams returned to Memphis. “I came back in ‘69 and built Trans Maximus (TMI) Studios. And from that we had TMI Records.”

TMI was a success. “We stayed on charts at TMI for seven years without coming off. Steve Cropper was in charge of production.”

They cut records for Poco and Charlie Rich, among others. They also cut Jeff Beck’s Going Down album, which was Beck’s signature album with the title song written by Don Nix.

Klein played those albums on his radio show, Williams said. “Absolutely. He played every one of them. George was fabulous about playing anybody local. Anything recorded by local artists and by international artists who recorded in Memphis.”

He and Klein would talk daily after Williams permanently moved back to Memphis in 1971, Williams says.

“Somebody asked me, ‘What do you miss most about George Klein?’ I said, ‘George Klein.’ The reason is very simple. He was always a what-you-see-what-you-get kind of guy. No airs to George Klein.”

Klein “didn’t really know he was important to the world-wide music industry. Did you know he was the first person with a live broadcast show to put an African-American on live in Memphis? Fats Domino.”

He also invited African-American couples to dance along with the white couples on his TV show, Williams says.

“George Klein was a special guy because he did things he thought were right at the time that the world thought was wrong. And he went across the grain.”

Williams will host the “The George Klein Tribute Show,” which will be a first for him. “This is not a wailing wall kind of thing. This is entertainment.”

And, he says, “This is not a sad occasion. This is 10 acts who loved George.”

Tickets to “The George Klein Tribute Show” are $50. VIP tickets, which includes a “swag bag,” are $100. Tickets may be purchased at Lafayette’s Music Room. For more information, call (901) 207-5097 or go to lafayettes.com/mwmphs/event-tickets/

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Opinion The Last Word

Thanks to The Geeker

Editor’s note: The legendary George Klein passed away Tuesday night. Here’s Randy’s Haspel’s tribute from last August. It seems a fitting farewell — BV

One of my favorite shows on local television is Memphis Sounds with George Klein on the Library Station, WYPL Channel 18. The “Geeker (pronounced jeeker) in Your Speaker” does pretty much what he always has: interview artists and musicians, both famous and non-famous, that figure into this thing we call Memphis music.

The only problem is that for the last several weeks, George has taken a leave of absence because of health reasons. His substitutes, Leon Griffin, Dave Brown, and William Bell, have all been great, but nobody does it like GK. Now in its 12th year, George has interviewed everyone from Isaac Hayes to Justin Timberlake, along with scores of other musicians, while treating disc jockeys from small stations with the same respect reserved for superstars. His encyclopedic knowledge of rock-and-roll and radio give Klein decades of anecdotes to call upon — from being part of the original “Memphis Mafia” to the list of musical giants who Klein has promoted over the years. Always entertaining, Memphis Sounds is dedicated to the promotion and preservation of Memphis music, something that Klein has been squarely in the middle of for his entire professional life.

George Klein

Klein has been a fixture in Memphis radio and television since he was an assistant to Dewey Phillips on WHBQ back in the 1950s. Dewey may have been the first disc jockey to play an Elvis record, but George was the second. Beginning his radio career in Osceola, Arkansas, George worked several small stations before landing a job in Memphis at powerhouse WMC, which wanted to experiment with this new rock-and-roll thing.

After a year or so, the station’s management told George that this rock-and-roll stuff was just a passing fad and let him go. Fortunately, George’s Humes High School classmate, Elvis Presley, hired him on the spot — beginning with a whirlwind year traveling with The King and culminating with a bit part in Jailhouse Rock and, subsequently, seven other Elvis movies.

The friendship between Klein and Presley has become legendary, from George’s book, Elvis: My Best Man, to his radio program, “George Klein’s Original Elvis Hour,” now in its 34th year. His syndicated, “The GK Show,” on Sirius XM, broadcast from Graceland, is in its 10th year. Priscilla Presley even asked George to accept the award for Elvis’ induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

But this is not about what George did for Elvis; it’s what GK has done for the city of Memphis.

I first became aware of George when he was the afternoon disc jockey on WHBQ. He was a rhyming DJ who spoke “hep talk” and could go on a five-minute rhyming patter without missing a beat.

George enjoys the story of how we met when I was 13. Hitchhiking was forbidden in my family … so, I was standing on the corner with my thumb out when a shiny Cadillac pulled over. It was George. He encouraged me when I told him I had started a little band, and when he found out I was heading for Poplar Tunes Downtown, he drove me the entire way and dropped me off at the front door.

That’s the kind of guy George is — generous to a fault. In 1964, GK’s radio popularity led to his hosting a weekly television show called Talent Party. He brought in the finest artists around to lip-sync their latest hits, but most importantly, GK hosted every ambitious, young garage band in town. If they didn’t have a recording, George sent them to Roland Janes at Sonic Recording to cut songs, which they could then perform on Talent Party.

Being the beneficiary of several of GK’s invitations, I can testify that every time we appeared on Talent Party the bookings flooded in. In essence, GK was responsible for the whole ’60s garage-band scene which ultimately produced some of Memphis’ most notable entertainers. Scores of local musicians owe their start to George’s generosity.

Klein also arranged for the first African American to perform live on local TV. Fats Domino not only sang live, he recorded several songs to be broadcast on future shows. After George booked Fats, it was no problem for him to get James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke. Talent Party was on every Saturday afternoon for 12 years.

I recently spoke with artist manager and music entrepreneur Jerry Williams, George’s friend of nearly 70 years. Jerry said the annual George Klein Christmas Charity Show was the longest running charity in Memphis. The first one was held in a wrestling ring at the Mid-South Coliseum. While the grapplers took a breather, GK featured Charlie Rich, The Bill Black Combo, and Ace Cannon. The next year, the show was moved to the National Guard Armory and then to the Fairgrounds to accommodate the crowds. Major artists donated their talents. Donated items were auctioned with a professional auctioneer, who flew to Memphis at his own expense. In fact, everyone worked for free — the bands, the promoters, the building owners, and the concessionaires. One hundred percent of the profits went to local charities.

After 42 years and hundreds of thousands of dollars raised, the yearly gala ended, but the event’s “Rainy Day Fund” produced enough revenue to establish the George Klein Broadcasting Scholarship at the University of Memphis. Williams said that he knows of no other person who has dedicated more of his life to the betterment of this city than Klein.

Now it’s time to say thank you. Thank you, George, for convincing Elvis that recording at American Studios was a good idea. Thank you, George, for naming the Guilloteens. Thank you, George, for the nights at Fridays or Alfred’s where you spun records and donated the proceeds. Thank you, George, for being the first to play Johnny Cash on the radio and for introducing the Beatles at their Memphis show. Thank you, George, for hosting the Memphis Mafia program during Elvis Week every year from 1978 to 2017 and donating the funds to the U of M. Thank you, George, for all the years of entertainment. And thank you, George, for a lifetime of promoting the great music and artists that come from your home town. We love ya’ madly.

Randy Haspel writes the Recycled Hippies blog.

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Music Music Blog

RIP Ace: Diving Deep Into the Ace Cannon Style

Ace Cannon

This Thursday, at the age of 84, the legendary saxophonist Johnny “Ace” Cannon, Jr. passed away in Calhoun City, Mississippi, where he settled in his fifties and very near his place of birth. But he grew up and defined his style in Memphis, and both the man and his distinctive playing on records for the Hi and Fernwood labels will be forever associated with this city.

Cannon, backed by Bill Black’s Combo, catapulted to fame in 1961 with “Tuff,” his first single on Hi Records, which peaked at #17 on the U.S. pop charts, #3 on the R&B charts. With that first shot across the bow, he defined a style that served him well for over half a century. He continued playing sax (and golfing) right up to the end.

RIP Ace: Diving Deep Into the Ace Cannon Style (4)

Local reed man extraordinaire Jim Spake has a few thoughts on Cannon’s influence and sound. “My mom had the Tuff album. She had that and the Boots Randolph record with ‘Yakety Sax’ on it. I guess ‘Yakety Sax’ was her John Coltrane, and ‘Tuff’ was her Cannonball. But Ace Cannon was seriously the first saxophone I probably ever heard on the old hi-fi at home. I think simplicity was his thing. He wasn’t trying to be something he wasn’t. He just played the song. That’s what people liked about him, you know? And he came out of that whole Bill Black thing.”

Indeed, it was Hi co-founder and Bill Black’s Combo producer Joe Cuoghi who nicknamed Cannon “Ace,” but his influence didn’t stop there. As detailed in Jimmy McDonough’s Soul Survivor: A Biography of Al Green (still the best source on Hi’s pre-Green history), Cuoghi played a large role in defining the style of the combo, Hi’s first hit makers. Sometimes against the band’s better judgement, he would strip the arrangement down to the basics, and slow the tempo so plenty of space hung in the mix. You can hear his influence for yourself on this hit from 1960. 

RIP Ace: Diving Deep Into the Ace Cannon Style (5)

This was the sound of the combo and Hi Records just before Johnny Cannon, Jr showed up and replaced saxophonist Martin Wills. Bare bones and more than a little wacky, the combo’s sound was a perfect match for the player they’d come to call Ace.  But while Bill Black’s Combo reigned on both the pop and the R&B charts for a time, Cannon’s own musical upbringing was decidedly more country.

Speaking to George Klein on WYPL TV-18 about his early days, Cannon recalled his first experiences as a performer. “I started playing when I was ten years old. With my father [Johnny Cannon, Sr.]. He played guitar and fiddle. Remember [renowned local DJ] Joe Manuel? They used to have a group called “Joe, Slim & Johnny – the Yodeling Cabbies”. They were all cab drivers. And I was singing at the time instead of playing the horn. And then [my father] picked me up and told me, ‘Anything you wanna play at school, I’ll get ya one.’ … The only saxophone they had was an old baritone saxophone that was twice the size that I was. Then I found out they made different sizes! I told him I wanted to play alto, and we took it out in the back seat of the car, and I played “Beer Barrel Polka.”

Playing with various groups, including (according to this anonymous bio) Buck ‘Sniffy’ Turner & his Buckaroos, Clyde Leoppard and the Snearly Ranch Boys, and Billy Lee Riley’s Little Green Men, Cannon’s tastes and influences expanded. “Earl Bostic was my favorite,” he told Klein. Yet, to create what would become an R&B hit, he reached way back to a country blues his father had likely played, “Columbus Stockade Blues.”

RIP Ace: Diving Deep Into the Ace Cannon Style (3)

 As Cannon recalls, “Me and Johnny [Bernero] was messing around with a tune called ‘Cattywampus.’ It was the old ‘Columbus Stockade Blues,’ and we changed it to ‘Cattywampus,’ and we got Bill Justis to do it. After they had a hit on ‘Raunchy,’ he put out ‘Cattywampus.'” 

RIP Ace: Diving Deep Into the Ace Cannon Style (2)

Just hearing the Bill Justis record is an object lesson on the Hi Records sound, and its perfect fit with Cannon’s style. Whereas “Cattywampus” is crowded with band members all playing full-on, that same song, as “Tuff,” became a study in restraint. Describing Cuoghi’s production methods at Hi’s Royal Studios, Cannon told McDonough, “He’d be right there in that engineerin’ room, and if I got off the track just a little bit, tryin’ to play Earl Bostic, a little jazz, he’d say, ‘Stop the tape, stop the tape — tell him to stick to the melody!’ I was his favorite artist, and he wasn’t afraid to tell nobody, either.” 

As Spake explains, the simplicity is the key. “They didn’t dress things up, Bill Black. When I play ‘Tuff’ live, I like to play it like the record. I ain’t trying to bring nothin’ new to ‘Tuff.’ If you listen to it, it’s the dumbest song in the world, but it’s great. Much Memphis shit is like that, you know? Like ‘Last Night.'”

He explains further, “They just play the melody, AABA BA. Done. You know, it’s probably two and a half minutes long, if that. And there’s no solos, you know? There’s no improvisation. It’s just playing the melody with feel. I think more people could learn from that.” 

Brilliant as “Tuff” and his many other Hi Records tracks were, many now know the name Ace Cannon from another source. As Klein remarks, “I remember I used to see those TV commercials for you and Al Hirt late at night.” Spake, too, remembers them with some amusement.

“There were these TV commercials for Ace Cannon,” he recalls. “Gee, I wish I could see one now. Ace Cannon Plays the Hits, or whatever. You know those cheesy local commercials, where the titles are scrolling by? And you hear him play six beats of any given song. I remember one was ‘The Beautiful Blue Danube.’ And he would go da da dee da dahhh, dut dut, dut dut. You’re supposed to go up an octave at the end. And he wouldn’t make the octave. Like, why go to the extra trouble? Keep it simple.”   

RIP Ace: Diving Deep Into the Ace Cannon Style (6)

They say television and radio signals from decades ago were beamed into space and will continue into the cosmos indefinitely. If so, let’s close by imagining both “Tuff” and those latter-day commercials speeding along through the galaxy, scrolling into infinity, carrying Ace’s message to any who will listen: “Keep it simple.”

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Music Music Blog

Memphis Music Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees

Eddie Floyd


The Memphis Music Hall of Fame just announced this year’s inductees, who officially enter the ranks of honorees at the induction ceremony this November. The Hall of Fame, a nonprofit set up in 2012 and administered by the  Memphis Rock N’ Soul Museum, now celebrates the works of over seventy artists or groups, and shows no signs of lacking local talent for future recognition.

This year’s inductees are, as usual, giants in their respective genres. We pay tribute to them here with clips of them working their magic onstage. Towering over them all is the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, who died just last month. She will be paid a special tribute in November’s ceremony, as the Hall of Fame honors a legend who called Memphis her birthplace.

Memphis Music Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees (2)

Another soul giant, Eddie Floyd, will also be inducted this year. The writer and hit performer behind “Knock on Wood” and many other Stax hits, Floyd’s songs were interpreted by nearly every Stax artist. Naturally, not a year has gone by without at least one artist from the label being inducted.

Memphis Music Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees (3)


O’Landa Draper, the Grammy Award-winning gospel singer and director of the Associates Choir, was considered one of the top gospel artists of the 1990s. He too will join the ranks of honorees this year. Though not born in Memphis, Draper moved to Memphis at the age of 13 and attended Overton High School and the University of Memphis.

Memphis Music Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees (4)

At today’s announcement event, there was some light-hearted discussion of whether Draper could be honored in the same program as fellow 2018 inductees, 8 Ball & MJG. They will be, we were assured, but the musical numbers won’t be juxtaposed. The rap duo are on a roll lately, ramping up their live appearances and continuing to drop new albums. (See our recent profile of them below).

Memphis Music Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees (6)

In keeping with the Hall of Fame’s tradition of inducting groups as well as solo artists, the Box Tops were also added this year. With Big Star having been inducted in 2014, this makes for two groups associated with Alex Chilton getting the nod. Could he be recognized as a solo artist in his own right one day? In any case, the announcement also named checked original members Danny Smythe, Bill Cunningham, and Gary Talley, as well as 1968 additions Rick Allen and Thomas Boggs. The fabulous guitar in this video clip was not mentioned by name.

Memphis Music Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees

Another group, arguably far more groundbreaking than the Box Tops, was also recognized: The Rock and Roll Trio, responsible for the groundbreaking “Train Kept A-Rollin'” and other rockabilly masterpieces. Driven by the savvy guitar attack of Paul Burlison, brothers and Memphis natives Dorsey and Johnny Burnette took the world by storm, once upon a time. Here they are from 1956.

Memphis Music Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees (7)

And finally, another legend from the first days of Elvis, who most certainly has not left the building, is George Klein, the pioneering DJ and rock ‘n’ roll television host who was critical to giving regional bands exposure via his programming. He was also an early friend to the King, and had the honor of inducting Elvis into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He’ll be honored with the other performers above (for he, in his own way, was an artist as well) at the induction ceremony, scheduled for November 1st at the Cannon Center. Here’s George sharing a strange moment with the great Sam Phillips.

Memphis Music Hall of Fame Announces 2018 Inductees (5)

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Music Music Blog

WYPL brings you the Memphis Sound

I recently stopped by the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library to see a local legend at work. No, it wasn’t some superhero librarian working the stacks. I was down in the basement, where George Klein was celebrating the taping of his 150th episode of Memphis Sounds on WYPL, the library’s broadcast wing (channel 18 on local cable, 89.3 on your FM dial, and streaming on the internet).

Klein was every bit the professional and in very fine fettle as he wrapped up the broadcast. Of course, he’s an old hand at such things, having started in television with 1964’s Talent Party, not to mention his years of DJ’ing before that. He recounted to me how he first persuaded Talent Party‘s producers to integrate the show. “They said, ‘Okay, we’ll do it. But you’ve got to get a big star to start with. I called Fats Domino, who was an old friend, and he agreed. He insisted that I personally pick him up at the airport. So as we were on our way to the station, he tells me to stop at a liquor store. I told him, ‘Fats, you know that’s against FCC rules to drink on the show.’ He said, ‘I know George, but here’s what we’ll do. You get me a little paper cup and I’ll keep it down on the floor while I’m playing, and then I can take a little sip now and then’.”

Once he’d hosted Fats, it was an easy matter to get James Brown and many other great African-American artists on the show, which was on the air until 1973.

But while Klein was one of the first to take the Memphis Sound to the airwaves via WYPL, he’s now being joined by other DJ’s on the station’s radio channel. Every night of the week is dedicated to a different aspect of Memphis music, drawing on the library’s deep archive of local artists’ output. There are shows on Memphis music of the 60s, the 70s, gospel, soul, Sun Records, and current sounds. And with the radio programs live-streamed online, WYPL is taking these sounds around the globe.

“Honestly it all comes from the upgrades we’ve done in the last two years,” says station manager Tommy Warren. “The city of Memphis has put in a lot of upgrades. You can do so much more with the latest computer software; we’re actually able to do more with the same amount of staff.

“The Memphis music programming promotes the Memphis music collection that we have here in the library. Over the last few years while we’ve been doing that, I’ve had my two radio producers working on those shows, but with all the equipment upgrades and reevaluating what we do, we decided that the Memphis music programming is now what we need to focus on as far as building up. And that’s where we’ve started having people come in and start volunteer hosting these shows. And we’ve gotten really good feedback in the short amount of time we’ve been doing it. And I think the streaming of the shows has a lot to do with it. Everybody knows how much people love Memphis music. We look at ourselves as a marketing branch for both the library and the city of Memphis.”

But Warren adds that the daytime programming of live readings of current magazines and newspapers, a public service for the vision and reading impaired, is still important to the station. “We have readings 365 days a year. People overlook the significance of that program, until you need that program. The audience that we have for that depends on our programming more than other radio audiences do.”

WYPL brings you the Memphis Sound

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Special Sections

Miss McKellar Lake — 1973

MissMcKellarLake1973.jpg

Since everyone seemed to enjoy the photo I posted below, showing the 1964 finalists for the coveted title of Miss McKellar Lake, you must indulge me while I share a photo of the 1973 contestants.

From left to right, they are: Tommy Hooker (Miss McKellar Lake of 1963), Tori Petty, Elaine Henderson, Paige Petty, Donna Hodges, Susan Harris, Diane Long, Pam Parrish, Margaretta O’Neill, Cheri Phelps, Barbara Clemons, and Judy Joe.

Hmmm. Some of these names sound familiar to me, so it’s very possible I’ve written about them before. The newspaper clipping that accompanied the photo explained that the pageant itself would be moved to WHBQ-TV and broadcast on the George Klein show, though they weren’t very specific about which show, exactly. Talent Party, perhaps?

I wonder where some of these women are today?

Sorry that the 1973 photo doesn’t include a shot of an old Chris-Craft boat, or Cypress Garden water skis, which fascinated some of you who studied the 1964 version. I’ll do better next time.

PHOTO COURTESY SPECIAL COLLECTIONS, UNIVERSITY OF MEMPHIS LIBRARIES

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Does Anyone Remember This TV Show?

Jeanna Hartzog has written me from Silver Creek, Mississippi, inquiring about a local TV show that she and her sister appeared on in the early 1960s. I immediately thought she was talking about “Dance Party” hosted by Wink Martindale, or the later “Talent Party” hosted by George Klein, but apparently not. Does anyone have any other suggestions?

Here’s the letter:

I hope someone there can help me by providing some information.

My parents moved to Memphis in 1957 and I was born there in 1959. Around 1962, I only know at three years old, my sister and I appeared on a local children’s show. We were the featured quests, coming out of the audience to do the new dance, The Twist.

I began to think about this when my sister died several years ago. My parents can no longer remember the station or the name of the show. They mistakenly thought Wink Martindale was the host, but a very nice email from him said that was not so.

Do you have any knowledge of this show, the station, or the host? I know there are certainly people in the Memphis community who would have this knowledge, but I don’t know how to find them. I have made phone calls and wrote a columnist with no success.

Thank you for your time.
Jeanna McManus Hartzog
medbsw@yahoo.com
P.O. Box 124
Silver Creek, Mississippi 39663
601-660-5720

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The WHBQties – Wow!

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Where, oh where, is Debbie Haggard today, I wonder?

Years ago, when I was weary of wandering the lonely halls of the Lauderdale Mansion, I cheered myself up by fiddling with the broken aerial on our only working television, and tuning in to the coolest show in town, namely Talent Party, hosted by longtime disk jockey and tv/radio personality George Klein. But I didn’t stare at the TV to watch George, or even to see (and hear) some of the newest bands in town.

Nope, it was to gape at the gorgeous go-go dancers they called the WHBQties. They were called that since the show was aired on WHBQ Channel 13, you see.

The half-hour program premiered in 1964, and many years ago, Klein told me that he got the idea for the dancers from the old Shindig television series. It was a simple enough concept: Pretty go-go dancers in miniskirts and boots — recruited from local high schools — would dance with the local bands showcased on each program.