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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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