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WV Music Hall of Fame exhibit opens in the Dickinson Street parking garage in downtown Charleston
If you’re Christmas shopping in downtown Charleston, take a break and visit the WV Music Hall of Fame’s exhibit in the Dickinson Street parking garage. The display features instruments, photos, posters and vintage memorabilia from Mountain Stage musicians – with an emphasis on those from the Kanawha Valley. Artists featured include Sen. Robert C. Byrd, George Crumb, Lefty Shaffer, Hugh McPherson, Bill Withers, Jeff Stevens, Wayne Moss, Charlie McCoy and many others. In addition there are high school band uniforms, an old sign from Gorby’s Music, vintage record players, manuscripts and awards. The parking garage is located on Quarrier Street between Dickinson and McFarland Streets. The building is open Monday-Friday, 6 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 6 a.m.-6 p.m.; and closed on Sundays. For more information about the exhibit and the WV Music Hall of Fame, or to donate items to be exhibited, contact: 304-342-4412 or wvmhof@gmail.com.
Sissonville Middle School students experience an innovative way to learn the history of WV musicians’ impact on our nation’s music
The West Virginia Music Hall of Fame’s Traveling Museum, which is housed in a 28-foot trailer, recently visited Sissonville Middle School. Redhawk music students experienced a rich variety of West Virginia artifacts as shown in the photo above, in which Redhawk students are pictured with Robert C. Byrd’s fiddle. The exhibit showcases music that has come from the state’s musical heritage – from country, opera and jazz to gospel and rock ’n’ roll. Redhawk students enjoyed the sounds of Bluefield songwriters Bill Withers (“Some Kind of Wonderful”), Maceo Pinkard (the Harlem Globetrotters theme song “Sweet Georgia Brown”) and Kanawha County native Kathy Mattea’s autographed album and gown worn to the White House. In addition, selected music students were able to cut their own CD. The exhibit houses a recording studio which enabled students to record a song and leave with a finished CD.
On April 22, West Virginia – and the country – lost one of its most singular voices. A woman as strong as she was determined, Hazel Dickens embodied the spirit of the state, singing, speaking out and working for the people and ideals that formed the bedrock of our nation. Hazel was inducted into the WV Music Hall of Fame in 2007. Alison Krauss, a longtime fan (and label mate) of Dickens was on hand to present her award. Hazel gave one of the most moving acceptance speeches of any inductee noting that with her induction, “I finally feel like my music has a home.” Hazel’s lyrics were always brief, touching, and to the point. Her speech was no different. In addition to offering that heartfelt sentiment, it was a beacon to everyone involved with the WVMHoF that we were on the right track. No matter what our individual “mission,” Hazel’s spirit and persistence should inspire us all. Her funeral service in Princeton concluded with a moving version of one of her most beloved songs (and the state’s unofficial theme song) “West Virginia, My Home.” A line of musicians including Ginny Hawker, John Lilly, Tracy Schwarz, Bill & Becky Kimmons, and Dudley Connell sang and played with Hazel’s casket behind them. It was a moment no one there will soon forget. ***** Born and raised in a mining community in Mercer County, Hazel Dickens’ songs champion women’s rights and the plight of non-unionized mineworkers. A prominent player in the folk/bluegrass movement in the Baltimore/D.C. area during the ’60s, she toured with Joan Baez and issued landmark recordings with Alice Gerrard. Her songs have been recorded by Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash, and have been used in films including the Academy Award-winning documentary “Harlan County, USA.” In 2001, she was presented with a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Peter Marshall and Morgan Spurlock to co-host 2011 WV Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony The WV Music Hall of Fame is excited to announce the co-hosts for its 2011 Induction Ceremony, to be held October 15, at the Culture Center Theater. Huntington native Peter Marshall – actor, singer and five-time Emmy Award winning host of the popular TV game show “Hollywood Squares” – will co-emcee the event with acclaimed director of “Super Size Me” Morgan Spurlock. The 2011 inductees are Kathy Mattea, Billy Cox, Connie Smith, Butch Miles, Diamond Teeth Mary, Jack Rollins and Tommy Thompson. Mattea, Cox, Smith and Miles will be present to accept their awards. Tommy Thompson’s former band, The Red Clay Ramblers, will be one of the performers. Other presenters and performers TBA. General admission tickest are $45. “Preferred Tickets” are $250 each and include admittance to the Governor’s Reception before the event. Tickets are available at Taylor Books and through the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame website and HoF office (304-342-4412). Bios, photos and music samples are available on the WV Music Hall of Fame website. The WVMHoF’s website also has an easy-to-use donate button. Donations enable us to continue programs like the Traveling Museum which has now visited nearly 150 schools in all 55 counties. For more information about the 2011 Induction Ceremony of the WV Music Hall of Fame, call 304-342-4412 or email wvmhof@gmail.com. ***** Peter Marshall – Best known as the longtime host – and five-time Emmy Award winner – of the game show “Hollywood Squares,” Peter Marshall’s long career includes stage roles on Broadway and London’s West End as well as numerous films. He was born in Huntington and, as legend has it, changed his name from Pierre LaCock (his birth name) to Peter Marshall, at least in part because of Marshall University. Teaming up with comic Tommy Noonan, the duo made a number of appearances on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” After a long run of theater and films, he began a 16-year run as the host of the popular TV game show, “Hollywood Squares.” He also hosted a series of 12 shows for the Disney Channel titled “Big Bands from Disneyland.” More recently, Marshall has toured as a singer both solo and with a group and released CDs in 2000 and 2004. Now 85, he currently is the host/deejay of a syndicated radio show on “The Music of Your Life” radio network. He continues to record and tour. Morgan Spurlock – Beckley native Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 docudrama “Super Size Me” was nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Documentary Feature.” Before earning a BFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, Spurlock graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Beckley. Before venturing into film, Spurlock was a playwright, winning awards for his play “The Phoenix” at both the New York International Fringe Festival in 1999 and the Route 66 American Playwriting Competition in 2000. Spurlock served as an executive producer and star of the reality television series “30 Days.” In 2007, he was among the Top 10 “Best Journalists of the World” in Time magazine. His directorial credits include “Freakonomics,” “The Greatest Movie Ever Sold” and “The Simpsons 20th Anniversary Special – In 3-D! On Ice!” Spurlock also created “I Bet You Will” for MTV. |
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The Latest Addition to the Hall of Fame’s Collection It’s taken a while, but Hasil Adkins’ 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood limo – dubbed the “Hunchin’ Wagon” – has “come home” to West Virginia. While it may not be his most famous vehicle – the Boone County wildman immortalized his red Plymouth Satellite with spray painted polka dots in his song “Big Red Satellite” – it was the car that transported him to many gigs throughout the southeast during the last leg of his career. Boone County’s Hasil Adkins was a self-styled musician who was known for playing as a “one-man band”: beating mercilessly on an acoustic guitar, playing drums and singing – all at the same time. His raw style was the inspiration for a genre of music that became known as “psychobilly.” Notable songs included “She Said,” “The Hunch,” “No More Hotdogs” and “Chicken Walk.” Adkins was popular in Europe and none other than Miles Copeland, then owner of IRS Records (and brother to Police drummer Stewart Copeland) purchased his entire catalog in the mid-’90s. One of the Hunchin’ Wagon’s last trips was to the Knoxville, TN, set of Asia Argento’s 2004 film “The Heart is Deceitful Above All Things” in which Hasil turned in a brief cameo as a street musician. The film was based on the book “Sarah” by 19-year-old JT Leroy, supposedly an account of his disturbing childhood which involved becoming a transvestite and turning tricks in a West Virginia truck stop. Leroy’s story turned out to be a hoax and it was revealed that the author was in fact a 40-something woman and the story was fictitious. After Hasil’s death in 2005, the car’s caretaker and Hasil’s onetime manager Jim Tucci phoned the WV Music Hall of Fame with the thought that the car’s resting place should be in Hasil’s home of West Virginia. The car made the trip back to WV on the back of a car hauler, thanks to donations from a number of Hasil fans including Senator Ron Stollings; Sam Hall, Farmer, Cline & Campbell; DL Hamilton; Tom Smith; and Larry Barsh. |
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The West Virginia Music Hall of Fame receives two major grants The WVMHoF received a major grant from the WV Humanities Council to produce a four-part documentary series titled “A Film History of West Virginia Music.” Each 15-minute segment will focus on a different geographic area of the state and will include interviews with numerous notable musicians. The WVMHoF also received a grant from the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundtion to fund visits of its Traveling Museum to 36 schools in an 18-county area during the 2010-2011 school year. The counties to be visited include: Putnam, Kanawha, Clay, Boone, Logan, Wayne, Cabell, Mason, Lincoln, Mingo, McDowell, Mercer, Wyoming, Raleigh, Summers, Monroe, Fayette, and Greenbrier. The Hall of Fame’s successful Traveling Exhibit is a collaboration with the WV Department of Education and has visited schools in more than 40 counties to date. Both of these organization have been strong supporters of the WV Music Hall of Fame in the past. For more information, contact the WV Music Hall of Fame at 304-342-4412 or wvmhof@gmail.com. |
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Coverage of 2009's Gala Induction Ceremony Music Legends Enter Hall of Fame West Virginia Music Hall of Fame Inducts New Member Class Not Singing the Blues: Nat Reese Enters West Virginia's
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| Hall of Fame induction ceremony broadcast live on WV Public TV | ||
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| The night was filled with tributes, music and memories - and acknowledgments from the inductees and their families of the role that West Virginia played in their musical development.
Charleston native Robert Drasnin, a former 20-year Music Director for CBS Television who is currently teaching film scoring at UCLA, paid homage to that influence by performing a “tiki-styled” arrangement of “West Virginia, It’s You” with an ensemble that included vibes and bongos. |
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Jazz/blues singer Katherine Russell was on hand to belt out Maceo Pinkard’s standard “Them There Eyes” and Ann Baker’s signature “Ice Man Blues.” The Whites traveled from Nashville to present Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper’s award to the couple’s daughter Carol Lee Cooper - and then sing one of their best known tracks, “Big Wheel. |
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Other memorable moments included a video clip of Phyllis Curtin who was unable to attend in person, a performance of Frankie Yankovic’s hit “Just Because” by his nephew (and former bandmate) accordionist Bob Kravos. The night closed with a finale of the 1956 Red Sovine/Webb Pierce hit “Why Baby Why.” |
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| Trailer taking shape
The WV Music HoF’s 28-foot traveling music exhibit was parked in front of the Cultural Center the week of the Induction Ceremony. Now painted with a 20-foot mural designed by Rocket Graphics, the exhibit is slated to be on the road by late spring when it will begin visiting schools in all of WV’s 55 counties. The exhibit is a collaboration with the WV Dept. of Education.
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The West Virginia Music Hall of Fame released its second CD - the Nichols Family’s “A Cry From the Mountains” - in conjunction with the November 6, induction ceremony. The Nichols Family - Marshalene Nichols and her daughters Lisa Spalding and Rita Estep - sing pure, unadulterated mountain gospel. With their voices blending as only family members can, their a capella harmonies capture the essence of West Virginia in all its beauty, sadness and earthiness. The Nichols Family sang an invocation at the first induction ceremony in 2007. The CD is dedicated to Marshalene Nichols who passed in August, 2008. The majority of these songs were recorded by Don Dixon at the Nichols’ church in Brownsville, Fayette County, in January, 2005. The CD is available through HoF’s website and at Taylor Books in downtown Charleston. |
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The Art of West Virginia Music The WV Music HoF’s hanging exhibit “The Art of WV Music,” now includes nearly 100 items ranging from an Edison cylinder of one of Maceo Pinkard’s compositions and George Crumb manuscripts to Sen. Byrd’s prized fiddle and Red Sovine’s 1948 Gibson J200 and “Nudie” suit. Musicians as diverse as psychobilly pioneer Hasil Adkins, old time banjo master Aunt Jennie Wilson, and opera singer Eleanor Steber are represented with stage clothes, LPs, 78s, posters, photographs and paintings. The exhibit has been installed in Charleston, Parkersburg, Lewisburg and at the Augusta Heritage Festival in Elkins. The exhibit is currently at the Landes Arts Center in Petersburg. Next, it will travel to Berkeley Springs for a February 13 opening, to the Wheeling Artisan Center for a March 26 opening, and to the new Chuck Mathena Center in Princeton in May. In the summer, it will be installed at the Masuras Gallery at the Creative Arts Center in Morgantown. At each opening, the HoF provides staff or scholars to meet the public and discuss the collection as well as the HoF’s various projects. “The Art of WV Music” was created with funds and support from the West Virginia Humanities Council. If you are interested in contributing items to the HoF’s collection, please contact us at 304/342-4412 or email mlipton@gmail.com. |
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