Induction Ceremony - 2014

Sue and I had the pleasure of attending the 2014 Induction Award Ceremony for the NC Music Hall of Fame in Kannapolis last night. The pre-ceremony dinner was at the restaurant Forty Six, which is right adjacent to the Gem Theatre where the Induction Ceremony was held.

The Gem; for those not already familiar with the theater; is one of those rare commodities these days; a stand-alone, honest to goodness movie theater, with a marquee and everything.  Not only do they show the most recent films at a reasonable price; they also showcase local community events, and the theater is also available for rent as a place to hold an occasion; from weddings to graduations.

This year’s ceremony, which followed the dinner, featured an award for Clay Aiken. Although he was not in attendance his presence was easily felt. Raleigh is not so far away that we don’t consider him to be a “local”. His mother accepted the award for him and even gave a little plug to his upcoming election bid for Congress. Nobody seemed to mind. 

Fantasia Barrino, top R&B artist and American Idol Winner in 2004 was on hand to accept an award and gave a truly charming acceptance speech. Although she did not perform she did sing a portion of her remarks acapella, much to everyone's delight. Even Ms. Barrino seemed to enjoy herself. In a form fitting white full length gown she was reminiscent of a younger Aretha Franklin.

Jimmy Capps, whose career has had him playing on so many hits that it’s hard to even list them, was also part of the show. He was truly in great form leading the audience through a series of his hits. He has also been a member of the Grand Ole Opry since 1958.

The Embers, known for their beach music sound; made for strolling on the boardwalk, were honored and then later performed. These were the original members and they still had it all together; friends for life. And that friendship translated right through to the audience, many of whom were life long fans.

Little Eva; known mostly for “The Loco-motion” & “The Turkey Trot”, was born in Belhaven, NC, and received a long overdue posthumous induction. She also got a extended ovation. The Chairmen of the Board; long known for their beach music and cross over hits such as "Give Me Just a Little More Time" also performed and brought the house down. Everybody loves these guys and they have played at several Hall of Fame events; being early Inductees themselves.  

Lulu Belle & Scotty, two artists from the 1940’s, known as the Sweethearts of Country Music were singled out for their contributions at a time when Charlotte almost replaced Nashville as the center of country music. Not only was Charlotte on the "circuit", it also boasted the most powerful transmitter in the South at the time, bringing acts such as theirs here to the Queen City for radio exposure. One of my favorite recordings of theirs was the 1974 hit "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" That song was highlighted in the tribute film to them, which made me very happy.

  

Talmadge “Tab” Smith, who played with Jimmy Witherspoon and Johnny Otis was also honored, as was Link Wray, renowned guitarist known for the” power chord”. As an added bonus, Link Wray's grandson's group Band of Tribes shook the theater with a power performance, which although it may have seemed a bit out of place for the program, reflected the myriad sounds which originated here in North Carolina. Their vocalist was also a powerhouse of her own.

All in all it was a fantastic show which lasted over 2 hours before everybody headed over to the museums new headquarters at Curb Motorsports down the road in Concord. The move will afford the museum about twice the space they currently have in the original location at the old Kannapolis Jail. Mike Curb is an old friend of Eddie Ray, who is the Vice-Director of Operations at the museum. You might even say that he is its heart and soul.

The evening really highlighted not only the musical roots of North Carolina, but also what fun local cultural events can be when presented by such local organizations as The NC Music Hall of Fame.
For more about them and what they do, go to their website at;

http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/

Also, for more about the remarkable Eddie Ray visit his Wikipedia page at;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Wiley_Ray

And to purchase a copy of his autobiography, “Against All Odds”, go to;

http://www.amazon.com/Against-All-Odds-Remarkable-Story-ebook/dp/B00BRYPP2G/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

Johnny Bristol - Morganton

This is the first in a series of postings about the artists who are in the NC Music Hall of Fame in Kannapolis, N.C.  The music which has emanated out of North Carolina over the tears is much varied and covers every musical genre you can possibly think of; from Opera to Funk and everything in between. The plan is to do posts about these artists to commemorate their birthdays. Mr. Bristol’s big day is today, February 3^rd.

Johnny Bristol is a perfect example of the diversity of the music which has originated in North Carolina over the past 100 years. Born February 3, 1939 Mr. Bristol spent his early years living in Morganton, the county seat of Burke County. It is in the mountains near Hickory. 

The town boasts quite a few famous people. In addition to Johnny Bristol there is Etta Baker, known for her version of the Piedmont Blues, a separate genre unto itself. In addition the likes of Senator Sam Ervin, the town also lays claim to Frankie Silver who was the first woman ever hanged in North Carolina. On the other end of the spectrum, the town is also the home of Paige Summers, Penthouse 1998 Pet of the Year.

Mr. Bristol is mostly remembered as a musician-songwriter as well as having been a producer Motown during its most active period, from the late 1960s to the 1970’s. His own hits include the one here, which is kind of an Al Green thing from 1974, to the song he wrote about his home town of Morganton.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q8mMB5vZK2w

His first real musical success came in Detroit, where he had landed after serving in the Air Force in the late 1950’s. As part of the duo Johnny and Jackey;  Jackey Beavers; they recorded about half a dozen songs on two different independent labels, both owned by members of Berry Gordy’s family. While these records were only successful in the Mid-west, they were instrumental in opening the doors for him at Motown. By 1965 he was working at Motown as a songwriter and producer. He was the guy behind the mixing board for such hits as “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Your Precious Love”.

This was probably the most creative period of Mr. Bristol’s career. Everything he touched seemed to turn to gold; as in gold records. Wikipedia lists the following records among his accomplishments;

The Velvelettes "These Things Keep Me Loving You" (1966); Gladys Knight & the Pips' "I Don't Want To Do Wrong" (1971) and "Daddy Could Swear, I Declare" (1972); and Jr. Walker & the All Stars, who charted with a number of Bristol-written singles and albums, including "What Does It Take (To Win Your Love)" (1969), "Gotta Hold On To This Feeling" (1970), "Way Back Home" (1971) and "Walk in the Night" (1971). Mr. Bristol even recorded Jermaine Jackson's first solo record, "That's How Love Goes" in 1972.

In addition to all the above, he was the last producer to work with The Supremes and The Miracles, before they both lost their lead singers. “Someday We’ll Be Together” is actually a cover version of Mr. Bristol’s single with Jackey in 1961.His voice is even the male response on the final released version by the Supremes.

In 1973 he was briefly associated with CBS Records as a producer, but the label seemed to be unenthusiastic about his artists, which included Boz Scaggs and also Johnny Mathis. By 1974 he was with MGM, where he seemed to get his “second wind”. He was now ready to emerge as an artist on his own.

With MGM he recorded 2 albums and placed several singles in the charts. "Hang on in There Baby"  was released in 1974 and hit #8 in the US on the Pop charts; #2 on the  R&B charts;  and even enjoyed success overseas, placing #3 in the UK. "You and I",  "Leave My World" and "Do It To My Mind" followed one after the other in 1974, 75 and 1976. In 1975 he was nominated for a Grammy as Best New Artist.

After leaving MGM he went on to record with Atlantic Records, a relationship which saw him working with some of the artists he had worked with at CBS. In particular he was instrumental in Boz Scaggs “comeback” “Slow Dancer” in 1974. He also produced the Tom Jones album “Memories Don’t Leave like People Do” which contained 5 cover versions of Mr. Bristol’s songs.

By the 1980’s he was firmly embedded in the European market with such artists as Ami Stewart. He continued recording through the early 1990’s, making music with Earth Wind and Fire, as well as a recording with his daughter Shannon Bristol. He even enjoyed some degree of success in the Japanese market at the time.

Mr. Bristol passed away at his home in Michigan on March 21, 2004. He died of natural causes at the age of 65. Although some would not consider him to be a major artist; or superstar; he was, and continues to be well regarded in several genres. NC Music Hall of Fame is pleased to include this artist among its inductees.

For more on the NC Music Hall of Fame and their other inductees, use this link;

http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/