legends january/february 2013

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Contributing writers: Stephen Corbett, Kara Martinez Bachman, James Duke Denton, Joe Lee, Nathan Culpepper, Allison Winstead,

Pat Murphy, Van Gower

Contributing photographers: James Edward Bates, Ken Flynt, Jamie Morton, Joe Worthem

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ABOUT OUR COVERPhiladelphia native Marty Stuart is the embodi-ment of country music, past and present, of all things music and all things Mississippi� He’s also one fine photographer� Cover photo by James Edward Bates�

CONTENTS JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2013

MUSIC

12 Bay St. Louis’ 100 Men D.B.A. HallThe Return of the Magical, Mystical Place

18 The Superlative Marty StuartMississippi’s Country Music Legend

32 Bennie’s BooM BooM RooMMusic Comes Alive at the Room Made for Boomin’

56 A Night to RememberThe Gulf Coast Symphony Rolls out the Red Carpet

FEATURES

6 Three Hundred Years of France’s Most Important ArtThe Mississippi Museum of Art Plays Host to the Masters

26 Jermaine Jackson and the Nehi ThreeThe Jackson Five Star and the New McComb Venture

44 Freedom to FlyThe Tupelo Artist Who Painted Against All Odds

50 Greenwood’s WABGHome of the Awesome AM 960

60 Growing Mississippi’s Creative EconomyLooking to the Future of Our State

CULINARY

38 Dining at The HollywoodSavor the Flavor at the Original Hollywood


MY BRUSH WITH GREATNESS ...

Dear Readers, Everyone has a house fire item … the last beloved thing one grabs while fleeing flames and smoke. In my house, that item is a book. It’s not of wedding photographs, or even a subject to which my heart holds dear. It goes much deeper than that. It is a book of vision, of generosity, of preservation. And it was created by a kindred soul. A few years ago I was in attendance at the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Tupelo. The special guest that year was country music legend Marty Stuart. I had met this amazing man a year or so before at a Grammy event at the Mississippi Governor’s Mansion. “Hello, my name is Marty,” said the voice behind me. My husband and I turned around, and standing before us was the kind face of Marty Stuart, hand extended, humble and honest. We talked briefly. His performance that night was amazing, electric, pure energy. It had been an honor. But what endeared me to this man from Philadelphia is what happened a year later nearly 200 miles away in Tupelo. There at the Governor’s Conference, Marty’s autographed book, “Country Music: The Masters,” was listed as item in the silent auction. I opened the cover and began turning the pages. There was an instantaneous connection, an immediate understanding and an unspeakable gratitude for this incredible body of work. This book had to be mine. Before the day was over, it was. A few years later when Marty came to Meridian with his Sparkle and Twang collection of the country music relics he’s gathered through the years, I was there to greet him. I waited in line, thinking of the things I wanted to say. “I’m a seasoned photojournalist with National Geographic and Time and Life contracts,” I thought. “I know good photojournalism,” I thought. I had my speech planned. I would tell him of my strong photographic background so that he would understand my appreciation for his work. And when it was my turn to speak to him, I only remember that he held my hand in both of his as I awkwardly and nervously expressed, “I love your book. It’s beautiful. I have a degree in photojournalism. It’s

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LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER

amazing. It’s …” Until this day I have no idea exactly what I said. I only know he responded kindly. And if I had the chance to say it all over again, it would go something like this: “Marty, I know you started your photographic journey with a camera given to you by your mother. There are photojournalists who spend a lifetime trying to achieve and learn what you already knew the first time you pushed that shutter. You know photography isn’t about making a pretty picture. You know it’s about revealing the soul of a subject. And you understood that early on, in a way that few photojournalists will ever understand. The images in your book speak to me. You’ve preserved this piece of Americana. And you’ve done this amazingly well. I thank you for letting me see your world, and I will cherish your work for a lifetime.” And so now I invite you to share in the Marty Stuart adventure. As Legends’ writer Stephen Corbett so well explains, Marty is the embodiment of all things country, both past and present, of all things music and of all things Mississippi. It is our honor and privilege to feature Country Music Legend Marty Stuart as this edition’s cover story.

Enjoy,

Marianne


MMA one of five museums to host The French Masters

Three-hundred years of

FRANCE’S MOST IMPORTANT ART

BY KARA MARTINEZ BACHMAN

OPPOSITE: William Adolphe Bouguereau (1825–1905), Idyll: Family from Antiquity, 1860� Oil on canvas� Collection of Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Conn� Gift of Charles E� Gross in memory of his brother W� H� Gross, 1913� ABOVE: Elisabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755–1842), The Duchesse de Polignac Wearing a Straw Hat, 1782� Oil on canvas�

rom the classically inspired work of the 17th Century to the dramatic Romanticists of the 19th Century to the widely recognized greats of Impressionism, French art has left its influential stamp on the world. There is no better way to see this unfurling of European ideas than to attend an exhibit that spans several centuries of works by French masters. This spring, the opportunity to do just that arrives in Jackson with the Mississippi Museum of Art’s upcoming exhibition, Old Masters to Monet: Three Centuries of French Painting from the Wadsworth Atheneum. The MMA has had its share of significant touring exhibits over the years. However, this is no ordinary event; it is unusual for a museum the size of the MMA to have works by so many recognizable artists shown in one place and at one time. According to Jenny Tate, director of marketing for the museum, “It provides a wonderful opportunity to engage individuals, students and various groups with our museum, and it also helps us achieve our mission of ‘engaging Mississippians in the visual arts.’” Old Masters to Monet will provide for an unparalleled opportunity to view 50 pieces of the finest of French art and,

as one of only five museums to host the exhibit, is expected to draw art fans and students from across Mississippi and the Southeast. The display features work from the Wadsworth Atheneum collection, located in Hartford, Conn. The Atheneum, founded in 1843, is the oldest public art museum in America. This is the first time the Atheneum has toured a full-scale sampling of its collection of French masterpieces. “The Mississippi Museum

of Art is proud to be one of the select venues to host this important exhibition … this exhibition provides a rare opportunity for our visitors to come face to face with some of the most historically valued French paintings held in any museum collection,” said Betsy Bradley, MMA Director, remarking her appreciation for the value of such an exhibit in Mississippi. The tour of three centuries of French painting begins in the 17th Century with work by Poussin, Lorrain and others who were influenced by the world of Italian Classicism. Included is Poussin’s renowned Crucifixion, an enormous work considered one of the most important pieces of French art housed in the United States.

ART FEATURE


The exhibit enters the 18th Century with the lushness of the Rococo Period in works by Greuze, Boucher and others. Towards the end of this century, French painting begins to take on a strident tone of change and revolution; it reflects the attitudes that inspired the ideals of the French Revolution. Among those featured are two artists who are most commonly associated with this period: Jacques Louis David and Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres. Visitors to the Louvre in Paris often remark upon the breathtaking drama found in rooms devoted to the Romantic era; huge paintings infused with emotion and idealism are a thing to behold. Those who appreciate these influential French works and ideas are sure to get at least a taste of something that borders on the spiritual while touring the Old Masters to Monet exhibit. A survey of the 19th Century begins with the dramatic romanticism of Theodore Gericault and Eugene Delacroix, two greats who stand at the pinnacle of Romantic art, be it French or otherwise.

“A highlight of the Post-Impressionism of the late 19th Century is the 1887

Self-Portrait of Vincent van Gogh.”

TOP: Claude Gellée, called Claude Lorrain (1600–1682), Saint George and the Dragon, c� 1641� Oil on canvas� CENTER: Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), Self-Portrait, c� 1887� Oil on canvas� BOTTOM: Claude Monet (1840–1926), The Beach at Trouville, 1870� Oil on canvas�


Perhaps the most interesting part of the exhibit for American audiences comes with the rounding out of the 19th Century and entrance into the 20th Century: the Impressionist and Post-Impressionist schools. Here, we see a renowned portrait by Pierre-August Renoir, depicting his friend and colleague Claude Monet while at work. On display is a 1904 Monet painting of his renowned “Water Lillies” series, which may be the biggest highlight for many Mississippians. Curator Robin C. Dietrick, explains: “The Impressionist’s pastel colors, images of Paris, and dappled landscapes are pervasive in popular culture, from reproductions on umbrellas, calendars, posters and more. The paintings from his own garden are among his most recognizable, with the water lily images, in particular, standing out amongst the group.” Viewers will also delight in the colorful and easy to experience works by other greats of the time, such as Manet, Pissarro, Degas and others. A highlight of the Post-Impressionism of the late 19th Century is the 1887 Self-Portrait of Vincent van Gogh. The exhibit is expected to prove a useful teaching tool for classrooms in Mississippi and beyond. To enable students to come face-to-face with great French masterworks they would otherwise only see in textbooks, the museum is offering free admission to students on Tuesdays and Thursdays. According to Tate, the free admission schedule is made possible through the support of Trustmark Bank and BlueCross and BlueShield of Mississippi. Old Masters to Monet: Three Centuries of French Painting from the Wadsworth Atheneum is the 13th presentation in The Annie Laurie Swaim Hearin Memorial Exhibition Series. It will be on display at the Mississippi Museum of Art from March 23 through September 8. L

WANT TO VISIT? Old Masters to Monet: Three Centuries of French Painting from the

Wadsworth Atheneum opens Saturday, March 23, and is on view through Sunday, September 8, at the Mississippi Museum of Art,

380 South Lamar St., Jackson.

Admission to the exhibition is $12 adults, $10 seniors, $6 students. Free for Museum members and children under 5. To schedule a

group tour, visit www.msmuseumart.org or phone (601) 960-1515. Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and

Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Museum is closed Monday.

This exhibition is organized by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

in Hartford, Conn., and is supported by an indemnity from the Federal

Council on the Arts and the Humanities. The Mississippi Museum of

Art and its programs are sponsored in part by the city of Jackson and the

Jackson Convention & Visitors Bureau. Support is also provided in part

by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency, and in

part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.


By Van Gower

Few have succeeded in the Mugshots Challenge, the contest in which daring contestants endeavor to devour the signature Mugshot burger: A gargantuan sandwich made of three patties and one-and-a-half pounds of jaw-breaking intimidation. If a contestant can down it in 12 minutes or less, it’s free. Not many who dare actually can do it. Still, it’s all in keeping with the Mugshots motto, “Having a good time,” says owner Chris McDonald.

Mugshots was born in the minds of McDonald and friend Ron Savell, who had garnered experience as servers and bartenders while students at the University of Southern Mississippi. After graduating, they decompressed from their collegiate careers on

the sunny beaches of Hawaii. It was there that the seeds for Mugshots were planted and their shared dream of opening their own restaurant grew. The college friends and

budding business partners returned home to Hattiesburg with a plan and Mugshots Grill & Bar No. 1 opened there in 2004.

“We started out as college town bars and evolved into family friendly restaurants known for our gourmet burgers,” McDonald says.

The most popular burger to date is the restaurant’s namesake McDonald Burger. This dynamo features a half-pound beef patty,

hickory bacon, cheddar cheese, red onions, lettuce, tomato and both spicy barbecue sauce and house-made ranch dressing.

Mugshots was lauded by Mississippi magazine for “Best Burger” from 2007 to 2010. The Starkville Daily News declared it

“Best Burger in Starkville” from 2006 to 2011.

The pace of Mugshots’ growth since its humble Hattiesburg launch has been strong and steady with nine locations and three more planned for 2013, McDonald

says. They hope to expand to 50 locations in 23 Southeastern states within the next ten years.

Under the auspices of their holding company, Ain’t Life Grand Investments – which also operates Topher’s Rock ‘N Roll Grill

and Glory Bound Gyro Company – the partners founded Making Life Grand, a non-profit organization that gives back to the communities in which its stores are located. For every burger and gyro purchased at their restaurants, a portion of each sale goes into a fund providing music education opportunities for local and underprivileged

children. The non-profit also sponsors local events, provides scholarships for restaurant employees and helps local needy families. L


MUSIC FEATURE

The return of the magical, mystical place

BY PAT MURPHYPHOTOGRAPHS BY KEN FLYNT

In my 45-year musical career there aren’t many clubs, halls or juke joints in which I haven’t performed. Living and playing based in Hancock County, it would be impossible to not know of The 100 Men D.B.A. Hall. It’s the local stuff of legend, a magical, mystical place. As a youngster, I would hear the steamy stories of Fats Domino and Etta James at the Hall. In fact, when I was just a kid, the teenager tending the yard next door would tell me of his band, the Claudettes, who worked at the Hall. In high school I would stand at the side door and watch the bands onstage. If fortune smiled on me, one of the bartenders or patrons who knew me might bring me inside and stand me somewhere out of the way where I couldn’t get into trouble. It seems that tales of the Hall were always drifting around my life, although its history dates to the 1890s. It was during that decade that a group of black male residents from the City of


Bay St. Louis incorporated with the state of Mississippi to form an organization called The One Hundred Members Debating Benevolent Association. This organization was essentially a social aid and pleasure club like so many others. The name would eventually morph into The 100 Men D.B.A. Hall. Through the organization, members and their families had access to medical care, and there were provisions for decent burials and care for widows, children and the sick. Later, the organization would even loan money to its members. In 1922, the current wood-framed building was constructed, morphing the original open-air structure with screening for a roof. It had often been

referred to by the elderly of the community as “The Pavilion,” although later the building was weatherproofed with windows replacing the screen. The Hall was the center of African-American social life in Bay St. Louis. Families flocked to it for everything from wedding receptions and dances to roller skating and basketball. From the beginning, the Hall was

rented to outside parties, including promoters who presented musical shows. As far back as the 1940s a steady stream of great entertainment performed at dances and shows. These events were staged by both the 100 Men organization as well as independent promoters such as Joe Patrick, a mason and plasterer who lived nearby. Another booking agent, Frank Painia, was also the proprietor of New Orleans’ famed Dew Drop Inn. Painia was responsible for booking many of the bigger Chitlin’ Circuit performers – Big Joe Turner, Guitar Slim, Solomon Burke, Bobby Blue Bland and Etta James. Painia would buy two weeks of dates on Etta James, headline her at his Dew Drop Inn one weekend, then book her in small towns for other nights, playing African-American clubs and dance halls all over Mississippi and Louisiana. Virtually every great New Orleans act performed at the Hall. The list is long but includes Fats Domino, Earl King, Ernie K-Doe, The Nevilles, Irma Thomas, Deacon John & The Ivories, James Booker and Professor Longhair, to name a few. Local Gulf Coast bands like The Claudettes, The Kings of Soul, Carl Gates & The Decks, Skin Williams & The Dominoes as well as The Sounds of Soul often performed during its heyday beginning in 1945. The 1970s saw the occasional performance by the likes of Tyrone Davis or The Meters but by the end of the decade, the Hall lay vacant and unused. In the mid-1980s the building was purchased by a local

TOP: Jesse Loya

BOTTOM: Charles Fairley

Virtually every great New Orleans act performed at the Hall� The list is long but includes Fats Domino, Earl King, Ernie K-Doe, The Nevilles,

Irma Thomas, Deacon John & The Ivories, James Booker and Professor Longhair, to name a few�


DAV chapter and renovated as a bingo hall and bar. Within ten years the building was again vacant and remained so until 2004 when it was purchased by a mill worker. That was when Jesse and Kerrie Loya arrived in Bay St. Louis with their young children, fell in love with the community and made the decision to put down roots. The couple had formerly been involved in the Los Angeles music business. They had also renovated homes. One day while riding his bike, Jesse happened past the empty building and made inquiries to purchase the property. Thinking it was a cool old dance hall, they had no idea of its rich history. Despite attempts, negotiations to purchase were unsuccessful and the Hall remained vacant. A year later, Hurricane Katrina blew the roof off the Hall and flooded its interior, further crippling the ailing building. It seemed the Hall was down for the count. Several weeks later, Jesse discovered to his horror that the Hall was scheduled for demolition. He frantically searched through old paperwork, located the owner’s phone number and pleaded to save the Hall from demolition. Nearly a year later, the two had reached an agreement. A grant from the Mississippi Department of Archives and History aided the renovation, a process which began to surface stories of the building’s past. With a newly renovated dance hall, the couple searched for a suitable use. Then, in 2010, Gulf Coast Tourism Director Beth

Carriere initiated a movement to have the Hall placed on The Mississippi Blues Trail. Shortly after, the Loyas learned that the original 100 Men D.B.A. organization was still a registered non-profit organization in good standing. By early 2011, a new board of directors was formed and on June 17 of that year, the Hall’s historic Mississippi Blues Trail marker was unveiled with emotional speeches. The marker dedication was followed by a concert featuring Mississippi’s Homemade Jamz Blues Band and the Hall that had sat in silence for so long once again brimmed with music. Today, the Hall’s foundation is eagerly anticipating a documentary film on its history and revival. And on the second Saturday of each month, locals and those making a pilgrimage to see its humble beginnings can still hear the ensuing melodies of music, the past made present, at the 100 Men D.B.A. Hall. L

WANT TO GO?

For musical lineups or upcoming events, call the 100 Men D.B.A. Hall at (228) 342-5770 or visit the Hall at www.100menhall.org or www.facebook.com/the100menhall.

Left to right, Pat Murphy, Jesse Loya and Willie Willis follow suit in the tradition of the 100 Men D�B�A� Hall - incredible music and superb performances�


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WORDS BY STEPHEN CORBETTPHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES EDWARD BATES

The superlative

MARTY STUARTCOVER STORY

MARTY STUART IS A COUNTRY MUSIC ANOMALY. Since hitting the Billboard Top Ten for the first time in 1989, he has been the epitome of the “walking contradiction” Kris Kristofferson wrote about more than twenty years prior. Few artists of any genre have juggled the preservation of country music’s bygone era while remaining a contemporary force in the music industry as ably as Stuart. He is a singer, a songwriter, a musician, a historian, a producer, a photographer and a former president of the Country Music Foundation. Oddly, his formative education didn’t encourage the boy who would one day become a country music legend. “I got called down by my history teacher for reading a country music magazine in class,” Stuart remembers. “She knocked it out of my hand and told me that if I ever wanted to be anything in life, I needed to keep my mind off of ‘that trash’ and pay attention to my history lesson. Being the smart ass that I was, I told her that I’d rather make history than learn about it.” Stuart couldn’t have possibly known how prophetic those words would be. Music has always stirred something in his soul. “My first memory is me being in my mom’s arms,” Stuart says. “Church bells were ringing in the distance, and I started crying. I didn’t know why I was crying and neither did she. My next memory is this ragged backwoods circus coming down the streets of Philadelphia. I was standing on the edge of the porch and watching it go past. A high school marching

band was part of the parade, and when it passed, I started crying. There was just something about music that I felt and was moved by.” Since his birth on September 30, 1958, in Philadelphia, Stuart says he cannot remember a time in his life that he wasn’t obsessed with music, particularly country music. “I was 5 years old when I got my first records. They were ‘Meet the Beatles,’ ‘The Fabulous Johnny Cash’ and ‘Flatt & Scruggs’ Greatest Hits.’ I gave away the Beatles album to a friend and kept the Cash and Flatt & Scruggs.” He taught himself how to play guitar and mandolin by mimicking sounds from the record player. His biggest influences were Lester Flatt, Johnny Cash, Howlin’ Wolf, Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers and Pops Staples. By age 12, Stuart was performing on the road with the bluegrass band, The Sullivans, playing during summer months then returning to Philadelphia for school. “When it was over, it felt like the circus dropped me off and forgot about me,” he says. “I was back in school and bored to tears.” Then, he received an invitation to spend the Labor Day weekend with Roland White, whom Stuart had met on the road with The Sullivans. At the time, White played guitar and mandolin in Flatt’s backing band, The Nashville Grass. “So I took the bus from Philadelphia, Miss., to Nashville, Tenn. They let me sit in with them at a gig in Delaware.” After hearing me play, Lester Flatt asked if I’d like to join the band permanently. That weekend visit turned into several


The superlative

MARTY STUART


years.” White took a 14-year-old Stuart under his wing and served as one of his mentors for the next six years. While on the road with Flatt, Stuart found himself having access to musicians he had previously only read about in magazines. “They were all very open people who shared their music with me. I was very fortunate to be surrounded by the masters and to be able to learn from them,” he says. “It’s something that I’ve always tried to do myself whenever I meet young musicians. That’s part of the beauty of Southern musicians. If you go to a bluegrass festival, there is so much camaraderie between the older and younger musicians. It’s beautiful. It happens a lot at Mississippi blues festivals as well. And gospel shows. A lot of times, there’s as much magic in the parking lot as there is on the stage.” It was during this time that Stuart became interested in photography and began the collection that would comprise his two books, “Pilgrims: Sinners, Saints, and Prophets” and “Country Music: The Masters.” Stuart’s skill as a photographer might

“That’s part of the beauty of Southern musicians. If you go to a bluegrass festival, there is so much camaraderie between the older and younger musicians … A lot of times, there’s as much magic in the parking lot as there is on the stage.”


MASTERS

have been learned from his mother, Hilda Stuart, who in September released her critically acclaimed book of photos “Choctaw Gardens.” “My mom has always been my favorite photographer,” he says. “I used to study her photos. I first became interested in taking pictures in ’74. I was on tour with Lester Flatt, and we were in New York City for a gig at New York University. I went to a bookstore in the village, and at the top of the wall there were framed photographs taken by Milt Hinton, who was a jazz musician from Mississippi. They were fantastic pictures: Billie Holiday, Dizzie Gillespie, Cab Calloway, Sarah Vaughan. They reminded me of my mom’s pictures. They were important in documenting an important part of our culture. They say whenever you saw Milt, he had a camera in one hand and his bass case in the other. This got me thinking about my new life and everything that I was experiencing. So I called my mom and asked her if she would send me a camera. She sent me a Kodak Instamatic, and I terrorized everyone who would stand still long enough for me to take a picture. I took pictures on tour, backstage, at truck stops, playing cards. It was history in motion.” In 1978, a year before his death, Flatt disbanded The Nashville Grass. Stuart spent a few years doing session work and playing with Vassar Clements and Doc Watson before he got his next big gig playing in Johnny Cash’s band. In 1982, he released his first major solo album on Sugar Hill Records, “Busy Bee Café.” The bluegrass album had the feel of an informal jam session. “I just called up Gary Paczosa one day. He was the head of Sugar Hill Records. I called him up and told him that I had a lot of ideas and that I wanted to make a record. He told me that he was into it and that they would put the record out. When I hung up the phone, I immediately thought ‘Uh-oh, now I’ve got to come up with something.’ I didn’t know what I was doing, and I didn’t have any ideas. I didn’t even have a band. Because I was playing with Cash at the time, I knew that I didn’t even have a way to tour behind the album. So I called up a bunch of my picking buddies: Johnny Cash, Doc Watson, Merle Watson, Jerry Douglas, Carl Jackson. We just went in there and knocked it out.” The album was a critical success but a commercial failure. The following year, Stuart married Johnny Cash’s daughter, Cindy, to whom he stayed married until 1988. Three years earlier, Stuart had decided to pursue a solo career and left Cash’s band. He signed with Columbia Records, Cash’s label, and released a self-titled album. The album contained one Top 20 Billboard Country hit with “Arlene,” but was otherwise relatively unsuccessful, despite containing performances from rockabilly legend Duane Eddy. Stuart recorded the follow-up “Let There Be Country,” which featured performances by Emmylou Harris, Warren Haynes and Ralph Mooney, but Columbia refused to release the album and Stuart was subsequently dropped from the label. Without a record and now divorced, Stuart left Nashville and returned to Mississippi, where he rejoined the Sullivans. In 1989, he was offered a contract from MCA Records and decided to give Nashville another try, where his release “Hillbilly Rock” was a commercial breakthrough. The title track became Stuart’s first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Country Charts, and the album got rave reviews from critics, eventually going gold. “I had to find my own identity; a new sound and a new look. It was about emerging from the shadows of the giants that I had been playing with. In finding myself, I found out that I was different. Country music was at a point where it was trying to figure out what to do. My goal was to


get young people interested in country music, so I mixed traditional country with half-assed rock ‘n’ roll. I found a happy compromise between that heart, soul and spirit and something commercial.” Stuart also began working on his image. “I was at an event once, and a limo pulls up next to me. The headlights went out and the chauffeur gets out of the car and stands outside of the back door. He stands there until the marquee lights come up, and then he opens the door and Little Richard steps out. I was mesmerized. He looked like a star. The way he was dressed, his hair, the way he made his entrance. It put me in the mind of Porter Wagoner and all of the rhinestone cowboys from country music’s past. It’s a form of art, and it should not be forgotten. I just told myself, ‘If you’re going to be in show business, then you have to be in show business. And that’s more than just the music. You need to be the entire package.’” Stuart released “Tempted,” his second album on MCA, in 1991. Reaching even bigger success, the release spawned three Top 10 singles: “Tempted,” “Burn Me Down,” and “Little Things.” He also released the first of many collaborations with Travis Tritt with the No. 2 hit “The Whiskey Ain’t Working.” The following year, Stuart and Tritt released another Top 10 single with “This One’s Gonna Hurt You (For a Long, Long Time).” In 1991, Stuart and Tritt went on the road together for the “No Hats” tour, which was a slight jab at the current crop of mainstream country artists who had been referred to collectively as “hat acts.” The Stuart/Tritt teaming was similar to the pairing of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in the 1970s in

a number of ways. Not only was their music and image different from their contemporaries but also from each other, which made the pairing even more interesting. While Stuart’s image and sound owed a lot to the glittery country stars of the ‘50s and ‘60s, Tritt had more in common with bluesy Southern rockers like Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr. In 1994, Stuart released “Love and Luck,” which contained almost exclusively material written or co-written by Stuart along with covers of songs by Slim Harpo, Billy Joe Shaver and the Flying Burrito Brothers, revealing the artist’s diversity. That same year, he participated in the Rhythm, Country and Blues project which paired country artists like George Jones, Tanya Tucker and Lyle Lovett with blues and R&B artists like B.B. King, Little Richard and Al Green. For the project, Stuart was paired with his heroes, The Staple Singers. The album peaked at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart and No. 15 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. “I don’t know who came up with the idea for that project, but it was a stroke of genius. It really illustrated that these two art forms come from the same place. Listen to Hank Williams and George Jones and then listen to Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters – there isn’t a nickel’s worth of difference. A couple of years later, I recorded ‘Confessin’ the Blues’ with B.B. for his ‘Deuces Wild’ album, and it was the same thing. Even though it might seem like we’re coming from different musical spectrums, the moment we sat down and started playing guitar, it was like we’d been playing together all our lives.” The collaboration with the Staple

TOP: Stuart met met Connie Smith as a teenager at one of her concerts, where he later told his mother he would marry her one day� In 1997, he did just that�

BOTTOM: Stuart said Pops Staples what his mentor and friend� “Pops and I talked on a regular basis until the day he died �� I never did anything major without calling him and consulting him first� When he died, Mavis and Yvonne gave me that rosewood Telecaster he always played� I call it Excalibur� That thing is like a staff� It doesn’t want to play rock, and it doesn’t want to play country� It won’t play anything but gospel music�”


Singers also sparked what would become a lifelong friendship between Stuart and the Staples family. “I had never met them before that, but I immediately fell in love with them. It was like we became instant family. Pops and I talked on a regular basis until the day he died. Johnny Cash was a mentor to me in many ways, but Pops was the one I would always go to. I never did anything major without calling him and consulting him

first. When he died, Mavis and Yvonne gave me that rosewood Telecaster he always played. I call it Excalibur. That thing is like a staff. It doesn’t want to play rock, and it doesn’t want to play country. It won’t play anything but gospel music.” Stuart married country music legend Connie Smith in 1997 and the following year he produced Smith’s first album since her having gone into semi-retirement 20 years earlier. In

addition to producing the self-titled release, he also co-wrote eight of the 10 songs on the album with Smith. “Connie came to me one day and said, ‘All of my kids are out the door and have found their own place in the world. I think I’m ready to sing again and make a record.’ I was honored that she asked me to produce it. She knew that I understood her sound, and I knew that she wouldn’t be willing to compromise it. We just

“Connie came to me one day and said, ‘All of my kids are out the door and have found

their own place in the world. I think I’m ready to sing again and make a record.’ I was

honored that she asked me to produce it. She knew that I understood her sound, and

I knew that she wouldn’t be willing to compromise it.”


started writing songs, and the whole thing just came together perfectly. Warner Brothers offered her a contract without us even trying. After that record, it was 13 years before she would record another one. She doesn’t move until all of the stars are lined up. She’s a rebel that way. Connie doesn’t have to play by anyone else’s rules. She’s one of the masters. You have Connie, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly, Tammy Wynette - and then everyone else.” Stuart closed out the decade by releasing his final album for MCA, “The Pilgrim,” a departure from his norm. Written entirely by Stuart, it is a concept album that tells the story of a man from Philadelphia and his love for a woman named Rita. Stuart plays the title character. The album also features a number of notable guests, including Emmylou Harris, Pam Tillis, George Jones, Ralph Stanley, Earl Scruggs and Johnny Cash. For the first time in his career, Stuart wasn’t concerned with having a hit single. “That album was where I drew the line. It was self-produced. I didn’t listen to what anybody else thought. I just listened to my heart,” he says. “It truly is amazing what can happen when you stop following the charts and you start following your heart. You’ll always end up at the right place. I felt like it was my responsibility as a musical artist to put out music that really meant something to me.” The album was a critical success, with many reviewers calling it his best work. Despite receiving almost universal acclaim, “The Pilgrim” failed to produce a hit single. It would be four years before Stuart released another album, 2003’s “Country Music.” For that album he assembled a new band dubbed The Fabulous Superlatives, with whom he is still recording and touring. “I’ve been in bands since I was 9 years old, so when I say that this is the band of a lifetime, I know what I’m talking about. You can throw anything at this band. Not only is everyone a great musician, but everybody in the group can also take charge and sing. It really is an amazing band.” For the 2005 release of “Souls’ Chapel,” Stuart formed his own imprint, Superlatone Records. The album, Stuart’s exploration of Southern gospel music, was another critical masterpiece. With The Fabulous Superlatives receiving equal billing on this and subsequent releases, Stuart has made it clear he is no longer concerned with playing the chart game. Stuart stepped into the role of producer once again in 2007, when he went into the studio to work with Porter Wagoner on what turned out to be his final album, “Wagonmaster.” “This is one of my favorites. I knew that Porter needed one more great record. He needed to make one more classic album to end his career with to take him into the next world with dignity. I got together The Superlatives, we went into the studio with Porter, and it was just magic. We got turned down by every record label in Nashville. Eventually ANTI-Records in Los Angeles picked the record

up, and suddenly Porter was a star again. It restored his place as a cultural icon of traditional country music. One of the most amazing moments for us was acting as Porter’s backing band when he opened for the White Stripes in a sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden. The crowd loved him. And he did it without compromising who he was or his musical approach.” “Wagonmaster” received massively popular critical reception, with many noting the sympathetic backing of The Fabulous Superlatives and the no-nonsense production style of Stuart. Critics compared it to the brilliant series of American Recordings albums that Rick Rubin produced with Johnny Cash. Unlike those albums, however, Stuart didn’t have Wagoner perform covers of alternative rock songs or superstar duets. In 2008, Stuart became the host of his own country music-based variety show, The Marty Stuart Show. Sponsored by Mississippi Tourism, the show is a throwback to the country music variety shows of the 1960s. “The show has become a theater for me. I have 20,000 pieces in my treasure collection of country music artifacts. Guitars, outfits, you name it. It’s the largest collection of country music memorabilia in the world. The show provides me with a vehicle to share some of those items with the world. It also helps me keep traditional country music alive. For a while now, this music has been in danger. It needs to be loved and championed. It is a true American art form, and it needs be revered. My goal is to further the genre well into the 21st Century.” The Marty Stuart Show is currently in its fifth season covering 108 episodes. The new season began in January featuring artists like Ricky Scaggs, Charley Pride, Sheryl Crow, Merle Haggard and Ramblin’ Jack Elliot. Stuart’s career came to a full-circle of sorts when he moved his Superlatone label to Sugar Hill Records. “I felt like I owed them a good record because the first one I recorded for them was so bad,” Stuart jokes. “So far I’ve given them two good ones. I used to have a checklist of musicians that I wanted to work with. I woke up one day and realized that the checklist was full. I’ve been surrounded by so many masters.” Despite having lived in Tennessee for the better portion of his career, Stuart returns to Mississippi regularly and has never failed to sing its praises. “No other state has done what Mississippi has done. It is truly unparalleled in what has come from that state artistically. Country music, rock ‘n’ roll, blues, gospel. So much has started there. One of my missions has been to tell the story. There’s a quote that Mississippi always ends up at the bottom of the right lists and at the top of the wrong lists. It does not deserve that reputation. Mississippi has the nicest people you will ever find on the planet. I’m proud to be a Mississippian.” L


JERMAINE JACKSON and the NEHI THREEBY JOE LEEPHOTOGRAPHS BY JAMES EDWARD BATES


McComb to see new nightclub, concert venue, restaurant and motorcycle museum

JERMAINE JACKSON

Music legend Jermaine Jackson enjoyed Nehi soft drinks as a youngster,

back in the days when he and his world-famous siblings topped the music charts with classics like “ABC” and “I’ll Be There.” Now, at age 58, the oldest Jackson brother is an investor in the Nehi Three, a group that will bring an outdoor concert venue, a music club, a restaurant and a motorcycle museum to McComb. “I love classic cars, and I was in a showroom in Los Angeles last summer when I met Jim Gilmore,” Jackson said. “We were both looking at a Ferrari 599, and we struck up a conversation. Talked about cars, sports, music, restaurants—he talked about his ideas, I talked about mine—we

Jermaine Jackson


were instant friends.” Originally from Livermore, Calif., Gilmore, 48, divides his time between McComb and Lakeland, Fla. A self-described internet entrepreneur, he runs an insurance business from his Mississippi home but has worked in the music business much of his life. “In high school I had created somewhat of a name for myself when throwing large concerts in the Livermore Valley,” Gilmore said. “This was the same area that had hosted the 1969 Rolling Stones ‘Altamont’ concert. In fact, the area I used for my concerts and parties was located at the very foot of the Altamont Hills in Livermore and just a few miles from the speedway that held that infamous concert. “Having had such incredible turnout (sometimes as many as 5,000 attendees), it remained a dream to create a music venue again sometime in my lifetime.” Gilmore bought the old Nehi bottling plant in McComb in November 2011. Nearly a year later, concept drawings for all aspects of the property

were complete, and development was underway when Gilmore, on his way out of the country for a short time, stopped in Calabasas, Calif., to meet with a subcontractor who works with his company. With a few minutes to kill before the meeting, Gilmore stopped at the local Ferrari dealership to look around. “A very well-dressed man, his two kids, and a salesperson walked by, and the gentleman asked what I thought of the car I was standing in front of,” Gilmore said. “After I told him I loved it and we talked for a minute, he stuck out his hand and said, ‘Hi, I’m Jermaine Jackson.’ We wound up having a long talk, and he gave me his contact information.” Jackson, at the time, was on a break from the long-running Unity tour, which included a stop at Beau Rivage on the Mississippi Gulf Coast before eventually taking the Brothers Jackson to countries like Singapore, Malaysia, Germany and Austria. The tour wraps up in Auckland, New Zealand at Vector Arena on March 26. “My family is originally from the Southeast, and I

Acts such as B.B. King, Faith Hill, Heart, Styx

and REO Speedwagon will perform for the

‘Nehi Concert Series’ that will be held during

the months of May through September of each year. Some of the

first acts slated to appear include Bobby Lounge, The Jacksons, Jermaine

Jackson (a great one-man show) and Jimmy Van Zant, just to name

a few.”

“Jim Gilmore bought the old McComb Nehi Bottling Plant in 2011 and began developing the property into a nightclub when he met his new partner, Jermaine Jackson�


remember playing in Mobile and Jackson (Mississippi) with the Jackson Five,” Jackson said. “I remember great food and great hospitality in that part of the country. “I was able to get to McComb when the Unity tour came to Mississippi. Jim and I drove the neighborhoods, and I said I wanted to walk some of the streets and meet people. I walked right up to them on their porches and introduced myself, told them what Jim and I were doing, and sat and talked. Yes, they were surprised to see me, but all of them were very excited and the reception was wonderful. We took a lot of pictures.” McComb Mayor Whitney Rawlings said he has known Gilmore for several years. “He came to my office in mid-September and presented his vision for his Nehi property, and he invited me to attend a business meeting with his business partner. “Jermaine was very pleasant and easy to meet. While in town, he made several stops, including visiting a school campus. We met in the office of a local architect and went over how Jim and Jermaine met and what they wanted to accomplish together. They talked of naming the restaurant Jermaine’s and even spoke of franchise opportunities that may come for the restaurant. “They are extremely focused on the entertainment side and their ability to draw big-name entertainment because of the I-55 corridor,” Rawlings said. “Jim and Jermaine predicted that they would draw from a 200-mile radius of McComb for their concert events, and Jermaine

said he was committed to the project and indicated that it will take two years to complete. The Nehi property is the perfect match for their business plan.” Rawlings said the Nehi project will bring jobs, retail sales and additional ad valorem as property values increase in the McComb area. Malcolm White, Director of Tourism for the Mississippi Development Authority and the co-owner of Hal & Mal’s in Jackson, was in Gilmore’s shoes to a certain degree when he and his brother, Hal, thought through a long-term business plan while designing what became the Jackson landmark. “We opened Hal & Mal’s in phases,” White said. “We went first with live music concerts, benefits and parties, then food. We only served lunch at first, then later added dinner and a catering menu for large groups and affairs. We opened it out of our pockets and did not borrow any money. “The building was not functional when we started renting it in 1983, and we tried several things before settling on the Hal & Mal’s concept,” White said. “Approximately $500,000 was spent on the building over the years to bring it up to code and function as a public space. “I think any new venture will know within three years if they are going to make it or not. We knew in the first six months of full food and beverage and music that we would succeed. That is very unusual.” Not everything White tried over the years has been successful and, like

The current building is being refurbished into what will become an outdoor concert venue, a music club, a restaurant and a motorcycle museum� The Nehi Three hopes to draw from a 200-mile radius�


The Nehi project will bring jobs, retail sales and additional ad valorem as property values increase in the McComb area.”“

More than $500,000 has already been spent on the Nehi project and as much as $3 million could be spent before renovations are complete� When complete, the venue will boast both indoor and outdoor music stages, a restaurant called Jermaine’s and a swanky motorcycle museum and event center�


any business owner/investor, he (and his brother) adapted to changing business models and economic times. “We opened a brew pub ten years too early and closed it three years too soon,” White said. “The casino industry completely changed our live music model when Mississippi entered that arena. We did not intend to serve food at night when we first began, but the market dictated a more detailed menu and evening food service hours. “I do not know the McComb market well, but sometimes being the only game in town is a good thing and sometimes it can be bad. I like the idea of entertainment and restaurant clusters and would not encourage a stand-alone model. I wish there were 20 restaurants and live music venues surrounding Hal & Mal’s. I like the three-year plan to know if you are on the right track or not. And then there is the bank balance plan, that says when you are making money and there is money in your account, you are on the right track, and conversely, when you run out of money, you close.” Gilmore said more than $500,000 has already been spent on the Nehi project. As much as $3 million could be spent before the project is complete. The recently-installed Nehi entrance gate will lead to the Nehi outdoor event center, the motorcycle club, the restaurant (named for Jermaine Jackson), and the music club. “The Nehi outdoor event center will house a full, professional stadium stage and lighting facility for every form of music available,” Gilmore said. “Acts such as B.B. King, Faith Hill, Heart, Styx and REO Speedwagon will perform for the ‘Nehi Concert Series’ that will be held during the months of May through September of each year. Some of the first acts slated to appear include Bobby Lounge, The Jacksons, Jermaine Jackson (a great one-man show) and Jimmy Van Zant, just to name a few.” Jackson, in addition to having plans to perform in McComb when the concert venue is ready, also promises new music from his famous family. “My new album, ‘I Wish You Love,’ is a collection of timeless standards from Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Andy Williams and many others. It was recorded in Paris with an orchestra,” Jackson said. “The Brothers and I will have an album of new music sometime in 2013. “And I’m especially excited about my two sons, Jaafar, who’s 12, and Jermajesty, who’s 16—they’re two handsome boys who sing and dance and sound a lot like Michael and I did when we were that age. They’re performing Jackson Five material with some current touches, and we hope to do some recording in the late spring.” As the Unity tour rolls on many miles from McComb, both Jackson and Gilmore can thank their love of fine automobiles for the chance meeting that changed their lives. If all goes well, the partnership known as Nehi Three will bring a steady stream of visitors to South Mississippi for great music and substantial economic growth for that area of the state. “Jim is a warm human being who really cares about other people,” Jackson said. “That’s why we’re working together. It’s good for McComb, and it’s just the start of many things.” L


BY NATHAN CULPEPPERPHOTOGRAPHS BY MARIANNE TODD

I n the heart of Hattiesburg’s downtown resurgence an unlikely concert venue attracts a standing-room-only crowd.

The facade is not much to look at. Smokers take a break on the sidewalk under the bluesy-lit sign announcing Benny’s Boom Boom Room. Near the front door an antiquated organ gathers dust and rain and a finished drink can or two. But inside this music venue, housed in a small building that once served as a laundry and cleaners on East Front Street, well-known and respected musicians ply their trade. The packed house is there for one thing - superb music. Benny’s Boom Boom Room was born when owner Ben Shemper saw the potential of downtown Hattiesburg and purchased the building in 2005. It began as a hangout for Shemper and his friends. Local musicians would hangout with them, pulling out guitars and other instruments for impromptu jam sessions. “There are so many bars and restaurants in Hattiesburg doing live music, I knew I had to raise the bar. Also, it was self-indulgent,” Shemper said. “Most of the bands I work with I’m a huge fan of. Hattiesburg is in a perfect spot for bands on their way down to New Orleans, Baton Rouge or going the opposite direction on their way up to Jackson, Starkville or Oxford.” He renovated the old building, creating yet another character from the personalities it has carried through the years. He gutted the interior and tore off the facade to reveal its original glory. In 2007 his friend built a functional, full service bar and they decided to open to the public for a Halloween party; the crowds came and continue to do so. “I started the Boom Boom Room with $380 bucks. It was enough to buy enough beer to get me almost half way through


OUR MISSION IS TO CREATE A SYNERGY between the crowd, the music, the lights, incense, projector, food, fish tanks and make everything come together to create the Boom Boom vibe … There’s a sense of unity and acceptance when you can step out of your comfort zone, throw your hands up and shake your booty, sweating all over strangers, stepping on each other’s toes as you get down.”

“


my first night open until I ran out and had to make a run to Wal-Mart to buy more,” he said. “The first night open, the late, great Chance Fisher was performing. It was Halloween in 2007 and we were packed. Our house PA was an 8-channel Peavey mixer a buddy loaned me. It wasn’t suitable for most garage bands much less a bar. Only six of the eight channels actually worked. The next week we packed it out again when Flow Tribe played their first gig outside of New Orleans (now they’re selling out Tipitinas). A few months later, I quit my 9 to 5 job at Alter Trading. I decided I would rather be broke and happy than have a steady paycheck and be miserable. Luckily for me, it panned out.” Benny’s doesn’t cater to any particular genre of music but keeps its scene fresh by having artists with a wide range of talents and musical disciplines. It attracts a myriad of well-known musical acts from The Flaming Lips, George Porter Jr. and Shannon McNally to the All-Star Trio consisting of Dave Dreiwitz of Ween, Marco Benevento and Billy Martin of Medeski, Martin and Wood. Well-known blues artists like Jimbo Mathis and Lightnin’ Malcolm have also graced the stage with

their sensational guitar skills. “Most of the bands we book are from New Orleans,” Shemper said. “It all started with Papa Grows Funk. They became a regular at the Boom Boom Room very early on. This opened the flood gate for other great New Orleans talent with such bands as Johnny Sketch and The Dirty Notes, Walter Wolfman Washington, George Porter Jr. of The Meters, Soul Rebels Brass Band, Hot 8 Brass Band, Rebirth Brass Band, Lagniappe Brass Band, The Revivalists, Gravity A, Flow Tribe, The Iguanas, Big Sam’s Funky Nation and Eric Lindell.” His most popular show to date: The Flaming Lips featuring Jackson Browne. “Last summer I got a phone call from Arden Barnett, a Jackson promoter,” Shemper said. “MTV was shooting a traveling music awards show that would travel from Memphis to New Orleans and make stops on the way to perform at eight different venues. Producers came down to scope out my place and, after a few Bloody Mary’s, they decided to make the Boom Boom Room the stop where The Flaming Lips would

It all started with Papa Grows Funk. They became

a regular at the Boom Boom Room very early on. This

opened the flood gate for other great New Orleans talent with such bands as

Johnny Sketch and The Dirty Notes, Walter Wolfman

Washington, George Porter Jr. of The Meters, Soul Rebels Brass Band,

Hot 8 Brass Band, Rebirth Brass Band, Lagniappe

Brass Band, The Revivalists, Gravity A, Flow Tribe, The Iguanas, Big Sam’s Funky Nation and Eric Lindell.”

“


perform with rock ‘n’ roll hall of famer Jackson Browne and Hunter Hayes. Seriously, was I dreaming? We sold 400 tickets in 16 seconds. “Music has always been a staple in my life. There have been times when the only thing that pulled me through was my guitar and maybe a little Otis Redding. If you can tap into that feeling in a room full of people it’s transcendental. Our mission is to create a synergy between the crowd, the music, the lights, incense, projector, food, fish tanks and make everything come together to create the Boom Boom vibe – as crazy as it sounds. It’s an assault on your senses. That feeling is magnified in a group when everyone shuts their mouths, opens their ears and bobs their heads. There’s a sense of unity and acceptance when you can step out of your comfort zone, throw your hands up and shake your booty, sweating all over strangers, stepping on each other’s toes as you get down.” His love for nostalgia is evident. Videos of go-go and burlesque dancers -- even original Soul Train – plays on the big screen over the bar.

“At first folks don’t know how to take the choice of movies I play on the projectors -- Roadhouse, burlesque, Cutie’s, Howdy Doody, atomic war propaganda, spaghetti westerns or sci-fi flops. It may be a little eclectic, but we don’t have a dress code or cater to certain types. Everyone has the same status. We’re all family.” His plans call for the inclusion of a full-service kitchen, an eclectic menu and expanded hours of operation. The weekly lineup includes open mic night on Wednesdays, “Hub Step” dance party on Thursdays and live music on Fridays and Saturdays. “It’s a late-night slacker sanctuary, so bring your boom boom to my room and let’s get weird.” L

WANT TO GO?

Benny’s Boom Boom Room is located at 142 East Front Street in downtown Hattiesburg. Visit Benny’s on Facebook for times and musical lineups.


A little bit of history with your fried pickles

DINING at the

HOLLYWOOD CAFÉ

BY JAMES DUKE DENTONPHOTOGRAPHS BY JOE WORTHEM

CUISINE

The Hollywood Café in Tunica County is world famous. The sign on the side of the building says just that, “The World Famous Hollywood Cafe.” Ask anyone who works there and they will say this little white brick building is known worldwide. Its brochure claims to be the, “Home of the Fried Dill Pickle.” The staff says the place was the first to fry pickles. Apparently, they aren’t too bashful at the Hollywood, and with good reason. In the pecking order of self-promotions, the “Greatest of All Time,” was Muhammad Ali. The heavyweight champion was not shy about that. Neither are the employees at The Hollywood, who say they can back up their claims of great food, authentic fried pickles and impeccable service. And, they’re not the only ones with bragging rights to the restaurant nestled in the township of Robinsonville in the heart of the Hollywood community … Hollywood, Miss., that is. The Marc Cohn song, “Walking in Memphis,” immortalizes the restaurant and its longtime piano player, Muriel Wilkens, who played there until the early 1990s with “Now Muriel plays piano Every Friday at the Hollywood.” Then there was the television spotlight. The Travel Channel featured The Hollywood in a special called, “Deep Fried Paradise.” John Grisham mentioned the Café several times in his bestseller, “A Time to Kill.” Cohn, Grisham - even B.B. King – were not one-time visitors to the Hollywood. Before her death, Cohn played with Muriel on the worn piano that still sits near the

The Marc Cohn song, “Walking in Memphis,” immortalizes the restaurant and its longtime piano player, Muriel Wilkens, who played there until the early 1990s with “Now Muriel plays piano Every Friday at the Hollywood�” The restaurant, located in the Hollywood community of Robinsonville, also lays claim to being the first to offer deep fried pickles�


entrance. Visitors who tarry long enough to require the use of its facilities will see two maps on the wall. One, a United States map, is adorned with push-pins that touch every state in the union. The other is a world map, which is adorned with an enormous number of pins stuck in various places as well. Vickie Hegwood of Florence was in Tunica County on a business trip for her Waffle House company and wanted a place to eat. “I called my boss and asked him, and he told me about this place,” she said one early winter evening. “I had the shrimp platter, and it was fabulous. If I came back to Tunica or this area, I would absolutely come back. It is neat. I love how the old walls are.” Minnesota resident Buck Gronberg also asked around before landing at the Café. “We are down here all week eating casino food,” he said. “We asked a bunch of people where we should go eat … they told us there was a little place up the road. The food is fantastic. We are going to be down here again later this year, so now I know I have a place to go.” The Hollywood Café is owned by John Almond and Mike Young. The two men frequented the place while they were students at Ole

Miss and decided to keep it open because they enjoyed the place so much. The formation of the little community of Hollywood pre-dated the California and Florida cities named Hollywood, according to Bard Selden, who lives in Tunica and practices law in the area. “My great grandfather, Robert F. Tate and his brother Simpson Tate, bought the section of land for the Hollywood Plantation in the town in the late 1850s,” he said. “It was all Cypress. It was said a squirrel could run from one end of Tunica County to the other end without touching the ground.” His house was on the bank of the Mississippi River before an 1812 earthquake altered the path of the mighty river, moving it to the west. “My house was built as an overseer’s house, because no one that owned land here lived here because of the malaria. They lived in the hills of Tate County, which was founded by my great grandfather.” The commissary for that plantation was the first Hollywood Restaurant. Selden later ran the restaurant for a while. He claims his family was the first to fry pickles. He said he had dropped out of school and did not have anything to do at night, so he took over the


At the world famous Hollywood Café, maps with push pins from all 50 states and around the globe tell visitors who has eaten there�

“I decided I

would do what I do

best, and that is drink and

sell beer. The place was

a fabulous success.

It was a big place and it

was an awful lot of fun

and an awful lot of hard

work.”


TM

place. “I decided I would do what I do best, and that is drink and sell beer,” he said of the venture. “The place was a fabulous success. It was a big place and it was an awful lot of fun and an awful lot of hard work.” Family members took over the restaurant and expanded the food offerings and made the place into a steakhouse. The additions, though, took their toll on the restaurant when a subsequent fire destroyed the place and necessitated a move. Another former commissary is where the Hollywood Café resides today in Robinsonville. Today, the Hollywood is run by Andy Guynes and his staff. On the nights she works, server Megan Bollet will enthusiastically greet visitors as they enter the Café. Her love for the place bubbles over as she talks about it. “People come from everywhere to eat here,” she said. “I love this place and my job.” Stanley Jordan is the lead chef. “Our seafood and the 16 ounce (steak) is really popular,” he said. Lakisha Peaches has worked there for nearly three years. “People come for both the food and the history of the place, just because it is The Hollywood,” she said. The food is, indeed, unique. And the atmosphere is friendly. As a sampler tray was served to a group of guests one Thursday night at the Hollywood, Diane Stehle of Drew stopped by and sampled some of the fried pickles from the tray. She said she loves the place and brings friends as often as she can. Folks like her help keep the Hollywood Café on the map for old and new visitors to come and enjoy the great food and a bit of history as well. L

WANT TO GO?The Hollywood Cafe resides at 1585 Old Commerce Road in Robinsonville. Hours are Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m to 2 p.m.; Tuesday through Thursday, 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m.For more information, call The Hollywood Café at (662) 363-1225 or visit them at www.thehollywoodcafe.com.

TOP: The piano immortalized in Marc Cohn’s song, “Walking in Memphis,” played by the

restaurant’s longtime piano player, Muriel Wilkins�

CENTER: Memorabilia dots the restaurant, mostly of people who have graced its tables�

BOTTOM: Fried catfish and onion rings are staples at the popular restaurant as are the deep

fried pickles�“The formation of the little community

of Hollywood pre-dated the California and Florida cities named Hollywood,

according to Bard Selden, who lives in Tunica and practices law in the area.”


TM


Mississippi artist pursues love of painting despite all odds

FREEDOM TO FLY

BY JAMES DUKE DENTONPHOTOGRAPHS BY JOE WORTHEM

Butterfly

I’m free in the sun on the flowers I can run

My arms are my legs As far as I can spread

Guides me through the wind It’s the call of my course

Finding the answers Questioning remorse

The beauty of the beast grows inside a cocoon Fighting a way out to the moon

The journey is a long, endless ride With all my wings I challenge the sky

~William Flewellen Heard

ARTIST PROFILE

After losing the use of his arms and legs in a 2000 car accident, William Flewellen Heard found himself staring at a proverbial fork in the road.

The then Mississippi State University student and Army National Guard medical specialist could choose self-pity, wallowing in bitterness over becoming a quadriplegic. Or, he could emerge from the confines of his new prison, reborn like a butterfly, even if only figuratively. “I wasn’t wearing my seat belt and I flew through the windshield,” Heard said about the accident. “I broke my neck, and I got the worst part of it (of the four people in the car). I was furious. It was a crazy time. My mind was scatterbrained. I was mad at everybody. I hated God. I hated my family. I hated my friends. It was the worst of times. I was in such a dire state in the beginning that I was ready to give up and die. I thought, ‘I can’t take this. This is not how I want to live.’” Recovery and rehabilitation were to be slow processes. He would have ample time to think. Like a caterpillar leaving a cocoon, he would have to emerge from the tragedy as a different person. “I can remember learning how to put my shirt on the first time by myself,” said Heard, whose high school soccer team had taken the state championship only a few years earlier. “I needed somebody to help me. So, I worked out a little bit more, and I practiced getting my shirt on. And then, I began putting my shoes on. It was like a stepping stone, like crossing another hill. Putting my socks on was a big turning point. For a while, I didn’t think I would ever be able to do that. But by working out and getting stronger, I could reach up and grab my foot, bite my sock and put it into my mouth, and then get it on my foot.”


FREEDOM TO FLY

William Flewellen Heard in the sanctuary that is

his art studio.


He spent his first three months of recovery at the North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo before being transferred to Shepherd Center in Atlanta. There, despite his physical limitations, he found a number of activities to pursue – computer work, gun shooting, four-wheeling and scuba diving. “What interested me the most, though, was the painting. I spent most of my time painting.” When he returned home to Tupelo, he worked to find a way to continue his new passion. “I came home and set up a painting area outside,” he said, his wheelchair now bathed in a rainbow of dripped paint. “At first I taped the paintbrush to my wrist, and I painted like that. I got frustrated withthat because I did not have very much control, so I stopped painting for a while.” During the next two years, Heard made other attempts at painting, none of which were successful. “Then one night a special came on about Jackson Pollock, and I was amazed at how he took paint and flung it,” he said. “I thought that looked like fun. That year I spent most of the time in bed, so I had a lot of time to think and take in things and figure out a way that I could

paint.” Heard, who cannot move his fingers, tried to hold a paint brush with a Styrofoam ball. The process was messy, and paint dripped into bowls creating an unintended mixture of colors. He then tried to dump the whole bowl of mixed paint on to the canvas. That also was unsuccessful. He spent a year or two experimenting before discovering his current technique. “I put paint in a cup and drip it on to the canvas,” said Heard, 37, who now spends his nights in the tranquility of his studio, laboring over canvases and painting until he is exhausted. “I just kind of stumbled upon it. I guess I found a loophole in painting. There is a trick to how you drip the paint. You could drip one color at a time. I am dripping up to ten colors at the same time. I can get it exactly where I want it to go. I may only use a drop of paint to do an eye. I will scoot the paint around and wheel my chair around. I may spend ten minutes just on that little eye.” Unable to grasp a pen or pencil, the cup fits perfectly into his hand. “It is called Abstract Representational, where it is something that won’t look just like you, but I can paint something that looks similar to

Heard buys gallons of paints that were tint mistakes, taking any colors he can find to create his art� His paintings sell both online and at Tupelo’s Cafe 212� Below is his painting, A Mediterranean Town, acrylic on canvas, 53 x 53 inches�


Our menu of art and artists is as varied and satisfying

as the food that makes Mississippi famous. Using

local ingredients, our artists create one-of-a-kind

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So come in today and savor the flavor of the best of

Mississippi art.

Our menu of art and artists is as varied and satisfying as the food that makes Mississippi famous. Using local ingredients, our artists create one-of-a-kind pieces that reflect our rich culture. Whatever your taste, we

can satisfy it with prices to fit any budget.

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Caron -Prince Gallery ad 3.875x9.875.indd 1 12/7/12 2:09:57 PM

you,” he explained. “I also do animals and landscapes that don’tlook just like them, but it represents how it looks to me. [The process is] drip art using acrylic paint. Oil-based takes forever to dry, and it has a smell. The acrylic latex paint washes easily and dries fast, and it doesn’t have that flammable smell.” His first successful painting resembled a butterfly, the insect that became the metaphor for Heard’s life. “After I had painted several butterflies, I said, ‘Now wait a minute. A butterfly represents being reborn.’ I was pretty much reborn from my car accident,” he said. To afford paint, Heard purchases paint from paint stores that were tint errors. “They are often one-sixth of the cost of a full price gallon of paint. I have been in every paint store in Mississippi. When I go on vacation, wherever I go and I pass a paint store, I stop and I ask what they have. Whatever color they have, I am going to take it.” To date, Heard has sold about 40 paintings through his website and through Tupelo’s Cafe 212. He also has begun to share his story with other students with disabilities through counseling sessions and art classes funded by the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services. “If I have the opportunity to help other people with art, I will. I know God put me here for a reason. I will take one day at a


“time, and do the best that I can with what I’ve got, every second of every day.” Life has become active again for the working artist, who is a board member for L.I.F.E. (Living Independence for Everyone), a non-profit referral service for people living with disabilities. That task takes Heard into hospitals, where he helps injured patients with everything from obtaining wheelchair ramps to transportation and bathroom renovations. “I try to let them know it is not the end of the world to have a disability. Things are going to be different. There is a way to do everything, but you have to adapt to do it. With exercise and getting stronger, you just have to push yourself,” he said. Through a grant from the Mississippi Department of Rehabilitation Services, Heard has developed his own organization, Ourartworks. “I travel to the local schools and I do art programs with the kids. I talk to them about art, my disability and how important it is to wear a safety belt,” he said. Out of bad comes good, and there is light at the end of the tunnel.” L

WANT TO SEE HIS WORK?

Visit www.WilliamFlewellenHeard.com or visit Tupelo’s Cafe 212 at 212 West Main St. Heard can be reached at [email protected] or by phoning (662) 321-2727.

Heard has developed

his own organization,

Ourartworks, as an

outreach art program

for children that takes

the artist into schools,

where he shares his

art and his disability�

To the right is his

painting, Haycart,

acrylic on canvas,

53 x 39 inches�

After I had painted several butterflies, I said, ‘Now wait a minute. A butterfly represents being reborn.’ I was pretty much reborn from my car accident.”


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WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHS BY MARIANNE TODD

News, blues and interviews

James Poe spearheads news, blues and interviews round the clock, seven days a week on WABG, the home of the Awesome AM 960 in Greenwood�

FEATURE

James Poe sits down, puts on his headphones and pulls the mic close.

As he begins his radio broadcast from the little building on Money Road in Greenwood, his listeners are tuning their AM dials to the 960 frequency. Just a little taste of the Awesome AM and any listener will know, they’ve reached the home of the blues. But Poe, 59, said it wasn’t always so. In a land rich with blues history, legend and lore, it wasn’t until Poe moved to the Mississippi Delta from Minnesota that blues hit the airwaves 24-7. “As a consultant, my philosophy has always been that you don’t implant a radio station into a market,” Poe said. “You go into the market and survey the market and listen to other stations and find the void. Then you plug the void. And the void in the Mississippi Delta was that no one was mixing the blues with the classic rock. People come here from all over the world, and when they come, they’re looking for one thing – the blues. They came for Robert Johnson, but they couldn’t hear Robert Johnson on the radio unless it was at a given time. There was no Sonny Boy Williamson, unless it was at a given time. Well, that’s what WABG is, 24-hours-a-day of blues, news and interviews.” The retired Air Force air traffic controller said he got into radio through a bizarre twist of fate. He had always loved listening to radio, and as a boy growing up in Jackson, would tune in to

THE AWESOME

AM 960


WOKJ. “Back in those days the AM stations were more potent than FM,” he said. “They had all the best personalities. They did all the soul music, and they had the best deejays. I’d sit on the back steps of our shotgun house and listen to personalities like Bruce Payne the Soul Ranger, and I fell in love with it. “One day after playing in the park with three or four friends we were walking past the station on Lynch Street, and there through the glass pained window was a deejay. We stood and watched him for 30 minutes. He had an Afro and a turtleneck, and he was playing ‘Disco Lady’ by Johnny Taylor. He was spinning around and writing on his log, and we said, ‘Man, that’s cool.’ So I went back home and tried to imitate all that. Then when I was twelve my mother gave me a tape recorder, and it stuck with me.” But the pivotal moment -- the one that took Poe from air traffic controller to airwaves controller – came from sheer tragedy. Poe had been assigned to the air traffic control tower at Buckley Air National

Guard Base and worked base flights around flights to and from the congested Stapleton International Airport in Denver. He had given instructions to an awaiting B-66 for a northerly departure. But then there was a sudden wind shift that favored a southerly departure, and instead of taking a delay for a southerly departure in the burgeoning snow storm, the pilot elected to depart on a northerly take off course. “The plane crashed and killed everyone on board,” he said. “They suspended our ratings and ordered psychological evaluations. Just after 11:30 that night they released us. I went home that night, and I was so shaken all I could do was drink. I drank, and I drank until I blacked out. I woke up at 4 a.m., and my television was on. And on television was a guy named Thom Brent. He said, ‘If you would like to change your life and start a new and exciting career in broadcasting, come to the Columbia School of Broadcasting.’ That guy on TV would be my mentor.” The next day after passing his psychological evaluation, he went to the school and signed up. Poe said the training program led to


another for FCC licensing because, “that was a prime possession back then. If you had a first class FCC license, you could do just about anything in radio.” By the early 90s, Poe was ready to retire. Having worked 18 years as an air traffic controller with a part-time gig in radio, he was ready to devote all his time to his prime passion – radio. A station in Minnesota would be the first to offer the now Columbus resident a full-time position. Six years later, Poe was offered the chance to return to Mississippi – this time to the Delta. “I had sent down a blues show I had compiled over the years with interviews of Tyrone Davis, Albert King, Z.Z. Hill, just peddling this five-minute radio show,” Poe said. “And a great radio personality by the name of Steve Ladd called and said, ‘You’ve got to come down to Clarksdale and see what’s going on in the Mississippi Delta.’ So I came down, and the radio station was located on the back side of Ground Zero. I walked in and there was Morgan Freeman shooting pool. Steve Ladd was on stage, and they had a band there. I thought

I was in heaven.” Poe resigned from his position in Minnesota and headed back to Clarksdale, where he helped Ladd get WROX up and running with old time blues favorites like Muddy Waters, Howin’ Wolf and T-Bone Walker, “... the music that came out of that region. No one was playing that kind of music around the clock, everything Mississippi, everything blues. But they had some internal problems, and for some reason they decided to do hip-hop.” By that time, Poe had formed a close friendship with Clarksdale attorney Bill Luckett, who had interests in Ground Zero with Freeman. “Bill asked me not to leave. He said, ‘Hang around town, and when you get a radio station, I’ll advertise with you.’” Poe remained, doing radio consulting and freelance work. The work wasn’t a bad living, but proved inconsistent, so Poe gave up and headed back to Columbus, where he still owned property. “Then one day I received this email that said, ‘How would you like to own your own radio station?’” Poe said. “I learned it was a station

OPPOSITE PAGE: The Awesome AM 960 at its present day location on

Money Road in Greenwood�

TOP: Poe talks with co-owner Attorney Bill Luckett on the airwaves�

CENTER: Poe is no stranger to celebrity, interviewing everyone from

John Grisham to actor Morgan Freeman�


in Greenwood, so I took an engineer who told me it was a good deal at the right price with low overhead. I saw an opportunity where I could really do some good in the bedrock of the blues. So, with another investor, I called Bill Luckett and asked him if he wanted to partner with me, and he said, ‘Yes.’” Luckett said the move seemed like a natural fit. “I’m getting ready to teach a course at Ole Miss called Lawyers as Entrepreneurs,” Luckett said, citing the number of businesses in which he is involved. “ A lot of people like the sound of my voice, so I do voice-overs and ads. I work as an actor, too. At Ground Zero Blues Club the other day I was a commentator (or maybe an agitator) on Bubba’s Best Bets. He’d say who he thought would win a bowl game, and I would add some colorful comment. We provoked some call-ins to the station because of that.” Operations of the new Awesome AM 960 began in 2008 after moving WABG radio station from its former location on Highway

82 to its current location on Money Road under its transmitter towers. “The first thing we had to do was to come up with a format for the station,” Poe said. Everyone has a niche, and we like to do what we call People Radio. People radio is for black, white, Hispanic, Japanese, Chinese – for the majority of the people. Our generic format serves the people and the void that was in the Mississippi Delta. We’re a non-stop dose of Mississippi Delta blues, classic rock … everything from Muddy Waters to Led Zeppelin – the music that kept Muddy Waters alive after Chess closed its doors. We’re on air 24-hours-a-day with news, blues and interviews, everyone from John Grisham to Bobbly Blue Bland, Morgan Freeman, Ruby Dee, Bobby Rush, Charles Evers, James Meredith, Gov. Haley Barbour, doctors, lawyers, mayors – even the mayor of Meridian, the mayor of Greenville and the mayor of Alligator, Mississippi.” Broadcasting to an estimated 100,000 people in the Mississippi

“We’re on air 24-hours-a-day with news, blues and interviews, everyone from John Grisham to Bobbly Blue

Bland, Morgan Freeman, Ruby Dee, Bobby Rush, Charles Evers, James Meredith, Gov. Haley Barbour, doctors,

lawyers, mayors – even the mayor of Meridian, the mayor of Greenville and the mayor of Alligator, Mississippi.”


Delta and even more on WABG’s Internet access, Poe said the station has come along way, but they still have more work to do. “The first four years I slept at the station,” Poe said. “I was Poe the deejay, Poe the secretary, Poe the grass cutter. We want to be in a position where we can make a positive contribution to the community – the community being the State of Mississippi, and it’s rough sailing for us right now. We’ve paid our dues, but we still haven’t gotten the recognition or notoriety we deserve for our hard work. It’s going to take consistency – doing what we’re doing relentlessly.” In 2011, WABG hosted the Robert Johnson 100th Anniversary Remembrance Festival with headliners Rory Block and Maria Muldaur. The festival concluded with a prayer vigil at Johnson’s grave site. Although the turnout wasn’t as large as expected, Poe hopes to grow festivals like this and others, offering regular live music in Greenwood’s home of the blues, where there is essentially none currently offered.

And he’s getting a little help. Apprentices like Beth Cook of Hernando, Fla., came to sharpen her skills in advertising and sales. Bruce Falconer of Forest Ontario, Canada, came to learn the ropes as a radio personality, and Tomoni Hoshina of Yokohama, Japan, also came to learn the deejay trade. “She spoke broken English and Japanese, and the people loved her,” Poe said. “She was an overwhelming success. “I think we’re an important asset to the community. I’ve never been in radio to make money. I’m in it to make a difference. I know the power of radio – to educate, to inform and to entertain. Making people laugh and think have always been important to me.” L

WANT TO LISTEN?Visit the Awesome AM 960 at www.awesomeam.com. To advertise on WABG’s airwaves, contact Poe at (662) 455-1688 or email him at [email protected].


A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

MUSIC FEATURE

Members of the Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra entertained an ample audience recently at Biloxi’s Beau Rivage, which offered their theater for the charity event. Guests gathered

for the gala engagement with all proceeds benefiting the American Cancer Society and the orchestra. The evening included a performance by Emmy-nominated actor Ben Vereen. GCSO President John Folding said the orchestra was

delighted to perform with Vereen in order to raise money for Breast Cancer Awareness Month. The 2013 season includes performances on Jan. 26 featuring John Craig Barker, March 2 featuring Andrew Sords and April 6 featuring Madeleine Kabat, all at the Saenger. For more information, visit the GCSO at www.gulfcoastsymphony.net.


A NIGHT TO REMEMBER

The Halloween-themed performance included a performance by Emmy-nominated actor Ben Vereen and raised awareness, as well as

money, for Breast Cancer Awareness Month.


Suzanne and James Core

Josie Dollesin and Nicole Gilbert

Whitney Sumrall, John Folding and Marge Harra

Jeannie and Danny Cook

Felix Rankin, Toresh Tate, Angel Gary Ladner and Donna Gary

Mary Cracchiolo Spain and Lori Beth Susma

Tom Yarnell and Mary Edelen Sandy Habbaz and Tim Breaux

Christina Del Vescovo, Sheila Alexander, Tamara Moody and Charissa Borries

Jane and Martin Reeves

Michael and Yvonne McCade and Michael and Kay Hewes


By Allison Winstead

G r o w i n g M i s s i s s i p p i ’ s

CREATIVE ECONOMYM

ississippi has long acknowledged its agricultural history and the role it has played in shaping the state’s economic development, culture and societal environment. Those roots extend throughout the state intertwined in its

people, its products and its story. But the very same alluvial soil that brought forth so many bountiful crops also gave birth to a resource Mississippi is only now beginning to understand. It is a renewable resource impacting the state’s people, communities and industries with as much depth that could compare to its agrarian heritage. In 2009, the Mississippi Development Authority, the state’s economic development agency, entered into an unprecedented partnership with the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state agency dedicated to supporting the arts and culture of Mississippi.

Their mission was to study and quantify how creativity, arts and innovation impact the economy. Together, they explored what portion of the state’s overall economy is in the creative sector, and how to support, encourage and grow this emerging business model. In short, Mississippi’s Creative Economy is the sum of all wealth generated by the state’s cultural and creative enterprises, institutions, people and places. It adds value to traditional economic sectors like manufacturing, agriculture, service and tourism, while influencing where people choose to live, work and learn. The study, Realizing the Economic Potential of Creativity in Mississippi, revealed that nearly 64,000 Mississippi jobs are based in the creative sector, accounting for almost 3.5% of the state’s


G r o w i n g M i s s i s s i p p i ’ s

CREATIVE ECONOMYeconomy. Although this may not seem like a significant amount, when compared with other clusters, the creative sector is responsible for more jobs than apparel and textiles, information technology and communications and defense and security, while competitively gaining on such state strongholds as forest and wood products and agribusiness, food processing and technology. This study’s snapshot is totally organic. Imagine the result if it was watered, tended and fertilized. This new economy is evergreen, authentic and local. New ideas, not money or machinery, are the source of success today. Every Mississippi community has a story, and it is time to tell those stories, invite guests to visit and build civic pride around the process. Creativity and innovation are the new currency in this global economy, and Mississippi has a rich and diverse inventory

of assets, entrepreneurs and storytellers. Every day another chapter is added to the book; through music, literature, architecture, food, the Civil War, Civil Rights, our sacred spaces and the arts. The creative economy is revitalizing manufacturing, service, retailing and entertainment industries. It is changing where people want to live, work and learn and where they think, invent and produce. “Creativity is not new, and neither is economics, but what is new is the nature and extent of the relationship between them, and how they combine to create extraordinary value and wealth,” said John Howkins, a pioneer of the creative economy movement. Communities of every size can take part and benefit from nurturing this aspect of economic development. The creative landscape and its abundant opportunities are available to any city, town or crossroad that wishes to tap into its unique character and creativity.

The same soil that sustained the cotton industry for so many years also birthed the soul that created the foundation for American music as we know it today. To utter Elvis Presley, Jimmie Rodgers and Robert Johnson in one breath clearly makes the state’s claim as the “Birthplace of American Music” easily understandable, and the potential of using this resource to revitalize communities has never been more apparent. Clarksdale was a once prosperous Delta town that had been in decline as the traditional economic channels of manufacturing and farming were phased out, exported or transformed by technology to be less dependent on a human workforce. This community looked inward to their story to find the path to a prosperous tomorrow. Some have called it ‘banking on the Blues,’ but most just call it inspirational – the way this community has rallied around its deep history in music to create restaurants, stores, museums, hotels, tours and experiences

based on their authentic culture. As a result, Coahoma County visitor travel and tourism expenditures accounted for more than $61 million in FY2011, according to MDA Division of Tourism’s True Results, Travel

and Tourism Economic Contribution Report. While music may be the most prevalent player in cultural tourism, one cannot discuss Mississippi’s cultural riches without looking at the state’s immense literary background. Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner and Eudora Welty only begin the conversation as to what there is to offer. Contemporary writers such as John Grisham and Kathryn Stockett, and the award-winning movies based on their novels, have created new channels for communities to benefit off of interest in Mississippi literary settings. Fans of the movie “The Help” and the book on

which it was based have flocked to Greenwood, whose neighborhoods and stately Southern homes appeared in the movie. Visitors from 50

“ The same soil that sustained the cotton industry for so many years also birthed the soul that created the foundation for American music as we know it today.

To utter Elvis Presley, Jimmie Rodgers and Robert Johnson in one breath

clearly makes the state’s claim as the ‘Birthplace of American Music’ easily

understandable, and the potential of using this resource to revitalize communities

has never been more apparent.”

The acclaimed writer John Grisham, the entertaining COMPOZITIONZ and the talented artist Greg Cartmell are all members of Mississippi’s Creative Economy, the sum of all wealth generated by the state’s cultural and creative enterprises, institutions, people and places� When compared with other clusters, the creative sector is responsible for more jobs than apparel and textiles,

information technology and communications and defense and security, while competitively gaining on such state strongholds as forest and wood products and agribusiness, food processing and technology�

states have found their way to Greenwood since the movie debuted. Although new light might be shining on the state’s literary offerings, literary tourism isn’t something new to Mississippi. Literary tours started as far back as William Faulkner being awarded the Nobel Prize in 1950. People from all over the world came to Oxford to find out more about the mythical land of Yoknapatawpha Faulkner so richly portrayed in his writings. If literary and music treasures were not enough, the state’s visual artists are a powerful resource in their own right. The Mississippi Gulf Coast showcases many communities such as Ocean Springs and Bay St. Louis that have built their identities around their artistic spirit. Ocean Springs’s annual Peter Anderson Arts Festival grossed $13 million in 2010 in a town of 18,000. Although heavily damaged in Hurricane Katrina, Bay St. Louis is on the road to recovery, led by the artists and art galleries that were responsible for it being named one of the 100 best small towns for art in the U.S. before the storm. Communities do not have to concentrate on just one discipline to see success from growing their creative economy. Water Valley has recently been highlighted in such stellar publications as the New York Times, Food and Wine magazine and the Wall Street Journal for its downtown revitalization and preservation efforts through a myriad of creative entrepreneurs. Art galleries, restaurants and an old-fashioned grocery

store led the way to success so substantial that writers from across the nation decided it was a story worth telling. Cultural tourism is not the only way the creative economy works in Mississippi: being a source of jobs and wealth, creating a competitive edge for manufactured products and services, being a magnet for talent, being a stimulus for innovation in science and technology and increasing academic performance while creating a 21st Century workforce are all ways that creativity, arts and innovation are leading the way for Mississippi to carve out a new economic path in the ever-changing landscape. The creative economy is the opportunity to tell Mississippi’s story through its people, places and products. The seeds were planted through the state’s culture, its arts and its history, and it is time to fertilize and cultivate a new crop of chance in this state. A chance to chart a new path of prosperity based on a resource of riches unparalleled in any other place. A chance to fuel new growth and prosperity by generating work, luring talent-dependent companies and attracting visitors. And a chance to create a Mississippi where people want to live, work and learn. L

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

Learn more about Mississippi’s creative economy at www.mscreativeeconomy.com.

The acclaimed writer John Grisham, the entertaining COMPOZITIONZ and the talented artist Greg Cartmell are all members of Mississippi’s Creative Economy, the sum of all wealth generated by the state’s cultural and creative enterprises, institutions, people and places� When compared with other clusters, the creative sector is responsible for more jobs than apparel and textiles,

information technology and communications and defense and security, while competitively gaining on such state strongholds as forest and wood products and agribusiness, food processing and technology�

What’s shakin’ around the state?biloxi

Jan 25 .....................Kellie Pickler - IP Casino Resort & Spa - www.ipbiloxi.com - (888) 946-2847 Jan 26 .....................Pointer Sisters - Hard Rock Casino - www.hardrockbiloxi.com - (228) 374-7625 Jan 26 .....................Anjelah Johnson - IP Casino Resort & Spa - www.ipbiloxi.com - (888) 946-2847 Jan 26 .....................The Gulf Coast Symphony Orchestra Presents: The 7th! - Saenger Theatre - www.gulfcoastsymphony.net - (228) 435-6291 Feb 2 ......................Aaron Lewis - Hard Rock Casino - www.hardrockbiloxi.com - (228) 374-7625 Feb 8 ......................Loverboy - Hard Rock Casino - www.hardrockbiloxi.com - (228) 374-7625 Feb 15&16 .............Lynyrd Skynyrd - Hard Rock Casino - www.hardrockbiloxi.com - (228) 374-7625 Feb 21-Mar 3 .........Tartuffe: Born Again - Center Stage Theatre - www.centerstagebiloxi - (228) 388-6258 Feb 22 ....................Grand Funk Railroad & WAR - Beau Rivage Casino Resort - www.beaurivage.com - (228)386-7444 Feb 22 ....................Sinbad - Hard Rock Casino - www.hardrockbiloxi.com - (228) 374-7625 Feb 23 ....................Jason Aldean & Jake Owen - Mississippi Coast Coliseum - www.mscoastcoliseum.com - (228) 594-3700 Feb 23 ....................The Fab Four - Hard Rock Casino - www.hardrockbiloxi.com - (228) 374-7625

clarksdale Jan 24-27 ...............Clarksdale Film Festival - Downtown Clarksdale - www.jukejointfestival.com - (662) 624-5992 Jan 25 ....................The Colonels - Ground Zero - www.groundzerobluesclub.com - (662) 621-9009 Feb 8 ......................Trademark - Ground Zero - www.groundzerobluesclub.com - (662) 621-9009

columbus Jan 17-20 ...............Mississippi Theatre Arts Festival - Mississippi University for Women ...............................www.mta-online.org/statewide-theatre-festival/2013-festival - (662) 323-1097

hattiesburg Jan 25 ....................Space Capone - Benny’s Boom Boom Room - www.bennysboomboomroom.com - (601) 544-7757 Jan 26 ....................Rosco Bandana - Benny’s Boom Boom Room - www.bennysboomboomroom.com - (601) 544-7757 Feb 14 ....................The USM Symphony Orchestra Presents: A Musical Valentine - Bennett Auditorium ...............................www.usm.edu/music/symphony/events - (601) 266-1000

jackson Jan 23 ....................ExPosed Music Fest WinTour 2013 - Hal and Mal’s - www.halandmals.com - (601) 948-0888 Jan 24 ....................As Cities Burn - Hal and Mal’s - www.halandmals.com - (601) 948-0888 Jan 26 ....................The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Presents Pops II - Thalia Mara Hall - www.msorchestra.com - (601) 960-1565 Jan 28&29 .............The Blue Man Group - Thalia Mara Hall - www.kesslerbroadway.com - (601) 960-1537 Jan 31 ....................Zappa Plays Zappa - Duling Hall - www.ardenland.net - (601) 292-7121 Feb 1 ......................Mingo Fishtrap - Duling Hall - www.ardenland.net - (601) 292-7121 Feb 2 ......................Claire Holley | The Wild Feathers - Duling Hall - www.ardenland.net - (601) 292-7121 Feb 2 ......................The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Presents Chamber II: Mozart by Candlelight - Belhaven ...............................www.msorchestra.com - (601) 960-1565 Feb 7 ......................Fishbone | The Scorseses - Duling Hall - www.ardenland.net - (601) 292-7121 Feb 5 & Mar 12 .....Music in the City - Mississippi Museum of Art - www.msmuseumart.org - (601) 960-1515 Feb 16 ....................The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Presents Cirque de la Symphonie - Thalia Mara Hall ...............................www.msorchestra.com - (601) 960-1565 Feb 20 ....................Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears - Duling Hall - www.ardenland.net - (601) 292-7121

Feb 23 ....................The Mississippi Symphony Presents Bravo IV: Beethoven’s Sixth - Thalia Mara Hall - www.msorchestra.com - (601) 960-1565 Feb 24 ....................Mary Chapin Carpenter | Shawn Colvin - Jackson Academy Performing Arts Center - www.ardenland.net - (601) 292-7121 Feb 28 ....................Cody Canada & The Departed - Duling Hall - www.ardenland.net - (601) 292-7121 Mar 8 ....................The Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Presents Chamber III: Baroque! - St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral ...............................www.msorchestra.com - (601) 960-1565

meridian Feb 23 ....................DRUMLine Live - MSU Riley Center - www.msurileycenter.com - (601) 696-2200 Mar 7 ....................Biloxi Blues - www.msurileycenter.com - (601) 696-2200

natchez Mar 9-Apr 9 ..........Natchez Spring Pilgrimage - www.natchezpilgrimage.com - (601) 446-6631

ocean springs Jan 26 ....................The Piano Men - Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center - www.themaryc.org - (228) 818-2878 Jan 26 ....................Elks Mardi Gras Parade - Downtown Ocean Springs - www.gulfcoast.org - (228) 872-2501 Feb 2 ......................Altar Boyz The Musical - Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center - www.themaryc.org - (228) 818-2878 Feb 22 ....................Trout Fishing in America - Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center - www.themaryc.org - (228) 818-2878

oxford Feb 1 ......................Memphis Symphony Orchestra, Aloha! - Ford Center - www.fordcenter.org - (662) 915-2787 Feb 7 ......................Disney’s Beauty and the Beast - Ford Center - www.fordcenter.org - (662) 915-2787 Feb 21-24 ...............10th Annual Oxford Film Festival - Downtown Oxford - www.oxfordfilmfest.com - (877)560-3456 Feb 22 ....................Justin Moore - Lyric Theatre - www.thelyricoxford.com - (662) 234-5333

pearl Feb 22-Mar 3.........The Sound of Music - Actor’s Playhouse - www.actorsplayhouse.net - (601) 664-0930

sardis Feb 22-Mar 3.........Seven Brides For Seven Brothers - Panola Playhouse - www.freewebs.com/panolaplayhouse - (662) 487-3975

southaven Jan 19 ....................Luke Bryan - Landers Center - www.landerscenter.com - (662) 342-4842 Feb 15-24 ...............The Scarlet Pimpernel - Landers Theatre - www.dftonline.org - (662) 470-2131

starkville Jan 26 ....................Kip Moore - Rick’s Cafe Americain - www.rickscafe.net - (662) 323-RICK Feb 7-16 .................The Fantasticks - Playhouse on Main - www.sct-online.org - (662) 323-6855 Feb 22 ....................American Shakespeare Center presents Twelfth Night - Bettersworth Auditorium - www.lyceum.msstate.edu - (662) 325-2930 Mar 5 ....................Eric Bibb & Habib Koite - Bettersworth Auditorium - www.lyceum.msstate.edu - (662) 325-2930

tunica Jan 19 ....................Patti LaBelle - Gold Strike Casino Resort - www.goldstrikemississippi.com - (662) 357-1111

tupelo Jan 29 ....................3 Doors Down & Daughtry - BancorpSouth Arena - www.bcsarena.com - (662) 841-6573 Mar 7 ....................Winter Jam Tour Spectacular - BancorpSouth Arena - www.bcsarena.com - (662) 841-6573

vicksburg Jan 18 ....................Stevie J - Ameristar Casino - www.ameristar.com/Vicksburg.aspx - (866) 667-3386 Jan 25 ....................Bluesaholics - Ameristar Casino - www.ameristar.com/Vicksburg.aspx - (866) 667-3386 Jan 25-Feb 3 ..........Smoke On The Moutain - Parkside Playhouse - www.vicksburgtheatreguild.com - 601-636-0471


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