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West Virginia Music Hall Of Fame
The nonprofit West Virginia Music Hall of Fame was established in 2005, to honor the legacies of the state's performing artists in multiple music genres. This hall of fame is the brainchild of its founder, musician Michael Lipton, who was inspired by a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee. The first exhibit was records from his personal collection. The organization is staffed and governed by volunteers, and also offers their Music Career Counseling Program. Nominations for artist inclusion into the hall are currently submitted by the public, but the first class of inductees was selected by the hall of fame's board members. Criteria for selection is primarily the nominee's cultural impact on state and national levels. They must either have residency, or place of birth, in West Virginia. The first ten honorees inducted were the class of 2007, and all six of the then-living inductees made a personal appearance at the ceremony. The number of induc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Country Music Hall Of Fame And Museum
The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amassed one of the world's most extensive musical collections. History of the museum The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is the world's largest repository of country music artifacts. Early in the 1960s, as the Country Music Association's (CMA) campaign to publicize country music was accelerating, CMA leaders determined that a new organization was needed to operate a country music museum and related activities beyond CMA's scope as a simply a trade organization. Toward this end, the nonprofit Country Music Foundation (CMF) was chartered by the state of Tennessee in 1964 to collect, preserve, and publicize information and artifacts relating to the history of country music. Through CMF, industry leaders raised money with the effort of CMA Ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clark Kessinger
Clark Kessinger (July 27, 1896 – June 4, 1975) was an American old-time fiddler. Many of his fiddle tunes made their way to other fiddlers or into the bluegrass music genre. Biography Kessinger was born in South Hills, Kanawha County, West Virginia, United States, and was raised in nearby Lincoln County.Lilly 1999, p. 25. At least two of his relatives were fiddlers and he also listened to local fiddlers but his biggest influence was Ed Haley. Kessinger began playing the banjo when he was five years old and two years later he performed at local saloons with his father. He switched to fiddle and began performing at country dances. In 1917, he joined the Navy serving in World War I. Upon his discharge, his reputation as a fiddler had increased and he visited many local fiddling contests. He teamed up with his nephew Luches "Luke" Kessinger (1906–1944) performing at various locations.Lilly 1999, p. 26. In 1927, Clark and Luches Kessinger had their own radio show at the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maceo Pinkard
Maceo Pinkard (June 27, 1897 – July 21, 1962) was an American composer, lyricist, and music publisher. Among his compositions is "Sweet Georgia Brown", a popular standard for decades after its composition and famous as the theme of the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team. Pinkard was inducted in the National Academy of Popular Music Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984. Biography Pinkard was born in Bluefield, West Virginia to Mary Ellen Jimerson, educator, and G. Pinkard, a coal miner. He was educated at the Bluefield Colored Institute, class of 1913, and wrote his first major song ("I'm Goin' Back Home") one year later. He was one of the greatest composers of the Harlem Renaissance. In his early career he formed his own orchestra and toured throughout the US as the conductor. In 1914, at age 17, Pinkard founded the theatrical agency in Omaha, Nebraska and eventually founded Pinkard Publications, a music publishing firm in New York City. In 1917, he formed his own publishing ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charlie McCoy
Charles Ray McCoy (born March 28, 1941) is a Grammy-winning American session musician, harmonica player, and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Based in Nashville, McCoy's playing is heard on recordings by Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Chet Atkins, Waylon Jennings, Leon Russell, and Loretta Lynn. He has recorded thirty-seven studio albums, including fourteen for Monument Records. Thirteen of his singles have entered the '' Billboard'' country charts. He was a member of Area Code 615 and Barefoot Jerry. In 2007, McCoy was inducted into the International Musicians Hall of Fame as a part a group of session musicians dubbed "The Nashville A-Team". In 2022, he was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry. Early life McCoy was born in Oak Hill, West Virginia, United States. His family moved to nearby Fayetteville when he was a boy and then to Miami, Florida. At age eight, he began playing the harmonica, starting on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Lilly Brothers
The Lilly Brothers, (Bea Lilly, born Michael Burt Lilly, December 15, 1921 – September 18, 2005 and brother Everett Lilly, born July 1, 1924 – May 8, 2012) were bluegrass musicians born in Clear Creek, West Virginia. They have been credited with bringing bluegrass to New England and with influencing such future bluegrass artists as Peter Rowan, Joe Val and Bill Keith, among others.Carr, Munde 1996, p. 108. Biography Influenced by the traditional music they heard in their youth, Bea began playing the guitar and Everett the mandolin. In 1938, they made their radio debut on the Old Farm Hour show at WCHS in Charleston, West Virginia. Other radio works followed at WJLS in Beckley, West Virginia and on several other Southern radio stations during the 1940s.Carlin 2003, p. 233.Jones 2008, p. 244. In 1945, they appeared on the Molly O'Day radio show at WNOX in Knoxville, Tennessee. In 1948, the brothers signed with the WWVA Jamboree in Wheeling, West Virginia as memb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Drasnin
Robert Drasnin (November 17, 1927 – May 13, 2015) was an American composer and clarinet player. Robert Drasnin was born on November 17, 1927, in Charleston, West Virginia. At an early age Drasnin was interested in the Clarinet so he took lessons but when his family moved to Los Angeles he wasn't able to start until 1938. He attended Franklin Avenue Grammar School in East Hollywood and then Thomas Starr King Junior High and eventually Los Angeles High School in which he joined the American Federation of Musicians. Drasnin joined the United States Army after graduation and served during the Korean War. Dionysus Records announced that Robert Drasnin died on May 13, 2015. Career Robert Drasnin spent the vast majority of his career in music composing for films and television shows. He composed or supervised scores for well over 100 films and TV shows. In 1955 Drasnin scored the film ''Teenage Devil Dolls'', and his other film scores included ''Ride in the Whirlwind'' (1966), '' Pi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phyllis Curtin
Phyllis Curtin (née Smith; December 3, 1921 – June 5, 2016) was an American soprano and academic teacher who had an active career in operas and concerts from the early 1950s through the 1980s. She is known for her creation of roles in operas by Carlisle Floyd, such as the title role in ''Susannah'' and Catherine Earnshaw in ''Wuthering Heights''. She was a dedicated song recitalist, who retired from singing in 1984. She was named Boston University's Dean Emerita, College of Fine Arts in 1991.Boston University College of Fine Arts , bu.edu; accessed July 18, 2015. Education and early career Phyllis Smith was born in , and s ...[...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wilma Lee Cooper
Wilma Lee Leary (February 7, 1921 – September 13, 2011), known professionally as Wilma Lee Cooper, was an American country music entertainer. She was a guitarist, banjo player and vocalist, and was given the title of “First Lady of Bluegrass” by Smithsonian Institute in 1974. In 1994 She was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award from the IBMA. Biography Leary, according to the 1930 U.S. Census, was born Willma Leigh Leary in Valley Head, West Virginia whose mother was a schoolteacher and father who was a coal miner. Wilma’s mother played pump organ. She had two siblings, Jerry and Peggy. She began singing at the age of five. She sang in her youth with her family's gospel music group, The Leary Family, which included her parents and sisters. They recorded for the Library Of Congress in 1938. That year, they were also recognized at the National Folk Festival in Washington, D.C, having been chosen through a competition to represent the state of West Virginia. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stoney Cooper
Dale Troy Cooper (October 16, 1918 – March 22, 1977), known professionally as Stoney Cooper, was an American country star and member of the Grand Ole Opry. He played the fiddle and the guitar. Biography Cooper was the son of Kenny and Stella (Raines) Cooper of Harman, West Virginia, United States. His family was among the first settlers of Randolph and Pendleton counties, and these roots in the Appalachian mountains had an impact upon his music. While in high school, Cooper was a member of the Leary Family Singers. In 1939, he married Wilma Lee Leary. They became Wilma Lee and Stoney Cooper, one of the biggest country music acts of the 1940s through the 1960s. They had one daughter, Carol Lee Cooper. In 1947, they were cast members of ''WWVA Jamboree'' in Wheeling, West Virginia until 1957. Their band was called The Clinch Mountain Clan. In 1948, Cooper signed a recording contract with Columbia with the help of Fred Rose that lasted to 1955. In 1954, Cooper joined the G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ann Baker (singer)
Ann Baker (August 21, 1915 – August 29, 1999) was an American jazz singer. Baker was discovered by Louie Armstrong and played with his band on Broadway. She is best known for her time spent as a member of Billy Eckstine's band, "The Dream Band" where she performed with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis and Art Blakey. She retired in Charleston, West Virginia, where she was known as the "First Lady of Jazz". Bob Hope once told an interviewer his favorite jazz singer was "Little ol' Ann Baker." In 2008, Baker was inducted into the West Virginia Musician Hall of Fame. Early life and career Baker was born on August 21, 1915, in Washington, Pennsylvania Baker started her career by performing in Pittsburgh jazz clubs, and by 1941, she was singing with Louie Armstrong and his band. She also played with the bands of Lionel Hampton and Count Basie. In 1946, she replaced Sarah Vaughan in Billy Eckstine's band. Ecksteine's band included jazz legends Miles D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bill Withers
William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (1972), " Lean on Me" (1972), " Lovely Day" (1977) and "Just the Two of Us" (1981). Withers won three Grammy Awards and was nominated for six more. His life was the subject of the 2009 documentary film ''Still Bill''. Withers was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005 and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Two of his songs were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. Early life Withers, the youngest of six children, was born in the small coal-mining town of Slab Fork, West Virginia, on July 4, 1938. He was the son of Mattie (née Galloway), a maid, and William Withers, a miner. He was born with a stutter and later said he had a hard time fitting in. His parents divorced when he was three, and he was raised by his mother's family i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Billy Edd Wheeler
Billy Edward "Edd" Wheeler (born December 9, 1932, Boone County, West Virginia, United States) is an American songwriter, performer, writer, and visual artist. His songs include "Jackson" (Grammy award winner for Johnny Cash and June Carter) "The Reverend Mr. Black", "Desert Pete", "Ann", " High Flyin' Bird", "The Coming of the Roads", " It’s Midnight", "Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back", "Coal Tattoo", "Winter Sky", and "Coward of the County" (which inspired a 1981 television movie of the same name) and have been performed by over 160 artists including Judy Collins, Jefferson Airplane, Bobby Darin, The Kingston Trio, Neil Young, Kenny Rogers, Hazel Dickens, Florence and the Machine, Kathy Mattea, Nancy Sinatra, and Elvis Presley. "Jackson" was also recorded by Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon for the movie ''Walk the Line''. His song "Sassafras" was covered in the folk rock era by Modern Folk Quartet and The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. Wheeler is the a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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