Mississippi Celebrates Grammy Legacy

Mississippi's Grammy Legacy Group Photo

Some of the biggest stars in music came home to play in Mississippi last night. As MPB's arts reporter Ron Brown tells us, they didn't just come back to where they were born, they came back to the "Birthplace of American Music."

It was a little something like an astronomy event in Tunica Thursday night. At least a dozen telescopic lens pointed at the stars waiting for them to align. The stars were singers - Mississippi singers. And they were gathering for a group photo.
The lenses belonged to photographers documenting some of Mississippi's rich musical heritage.

Stars like Charley Pride, Dorothy Moore, and legendary blues piano player Pinetop Perkins came together to help celebrate the fact that Mississippi has more Grammy winners and nominees per capita than any place on earth.

Marty Stuart "It's an honor to be part of such a great legacy. This state has produced so much of America's root's royalty."

Country star Marty Stuart is part of a tradition that includes Sam Cooke, Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty John Lee Hooker and more, including two of his favorite singers, fellow Mississippians standing right by his side.

"This lady here, Dorothy Moore, I know the first time I heard Misty Blue, and I know the first time I heard Charlie Pride's voice come out of my stereo, and it changed my life. And when I finally got to shake this man's hand, and meet Dorothy, that's really a great family to be a part of, it really is."

This the third annual Grammy celebration concert. All the money raised from ticket sales goes to the Missisisppi Blues Commission's Blues Trail, a project that places markers at historical sites throughout the state telling fans about the origins of the blues, about the birth of american music. One of those blues trail markers is in Belzoni. The birthplace of Pinetop Perkins, who at 95-years-old, still tours.

"I do pretty good. It aint like it was when I was young. When I was young, man I was all right. Now I got old, 95. Soon be 96, July something."

Governor Haley Barbour: "And at age 95 he aint missed a lick."

Part of the recognition includes getting a Peavey Award from Governor Haley Barbour.

"Pinetop is regarded as the best blues pianist of all time. And he'll continue to be the yardstick by which great piano players are measured."

The award is named after Peavy Electronics founder and CEO Hartley Peavey, who also co-sponsors the Grammy celebration.

"Music is all about passion, and there's a lot of it in Mississippi and we need to celebrate that. And I guess to kind of capsulize it, that's why we're here. We want to celebrate the passion that is Mississippi."

The passion that music fans have embraced through out the world for years, and continues to both awe and inspire even veteran performers like Dorothy Moore.

"Oh wow. It's just incredible being a Mississippian, born in Jackson, Missisisppi, and this is just such an honor for me. It's like a little girl going to the fair."

Planning is already under way for next year's Mississippi Grammy celebration. The location will be at the Hard Rock Cafe in Biloxi. But right now, Peavy says that's all that's being released.

"I'm sure we will have a line up. It's probably too soon to talk about that right now. There's no shortage of candidates, especially in Mississippi."

For MPB News, I'm Ron Brown.