The News is Out! [O.V. Wright Night's Gonna Be Hot]

The city of Memphis is all buzzing about Saturday night's tribute to O.V. Wright. With good reason. I can tell you, after taking in Hi Rhythm and Otis Clay's rehearsal last night, the music will be incredible. It's going to be a night that any music fan will love, and that hard-core soul fans will remember for the rest of their lives. The horn section of Floyd Newman, Mickey Gregory, and Thomy Lee are readying their charts, Charles Hodges is practicing a mind-blowing B-3 solo, and Otis Clay sounds like, well, Otis Clay. There's been no discernible deterioration in this group's skills. There's as bouncy as they were on their records 40 years ago. And they're so fired up to honor their fallen brother O.V. Wright, something that we all feel is long overdue.

Wright's family and friends will attend, and his admirers from at least three foreign countries and several states are here or en route for the weekend's festivities. Visit www.ovwright.org to reserve your tickets and help us honor O.V. Wright.

Read Bob Mehr's terrific story in the Commercial Appeal.

See ya there!

Celebrate O.V. Wright with us November 15!

I hope to see you all out at Ground Zero Blues Club in downtown Memphis this Saturday night for the big celebration of O.V. Wright. We have a really special night of music planned. The Hi Rhythm Section, the band that backed O.V., will give a rare Memphis performance, and even rarer, will back soul legend Otis Clay for a set of O.V. Wright songs.

So come mingle with O.V.'s friends and family, hear his band and his colleagues, and celebrate the man who many critics feel had the deepest soul voice of them all. We have plenty of surprises as well-- you do not want to sit home watching boob toob while we're partying!

Tickets set you back $25, but it counts as a charitable donation to the Soul of Memphis, a new non-profit that will continue to program special events honoring the city's musical legacy.

The best way to ensure your spot, is to reserve your advance tickets at www.ovwright.org

Otherwise, take your chances at the door, or pick 'em up locally at Shangri-La Records in midtown, or Pop Tunes' locations at 308 Poplar Avenue downtown, or 4622 Faronia Road in Whitehaven.

We have a loaded weekend of events to compliment the show, and you can find all details at the official site of O.V. Wright Night: www.ovwright.org

See ya there!

All O.V. Saturday: November 8, 2008!

The city of Memphis is all abuzz with the upcoming tribute to the great O.V. Wright. I'm thrilled to report that historic radio station WDIA has joined the fun, and will broadcast an all-day tribute to O.V. on its weekly All-Blues Saturday, coming up November 8, 2008.

Locally, tune in to AM-1070 on your radio dial. Friends around the world can stream it online at: www.am1070wdia.com

If you can't be with us in person on the 15th, this is the next best thing. There'll be ticket giveaways to the big show, and plenty of O.V. Wright music, so don't miss it!

A very special thanks to WDIA Program Director Bobby O'Jay and Promotions Director Jackie Ward. They embody the Goodwill Station in 2008.

For more information on the weekend events, and to purchase tickets, visit www.ovwright.org

(photo of Rufus Thomas at WDIA in 1963, courtesy Sax Kari)

O.V. Wright Night!

Mark your calendars, buy your tickets, and head to Memphis, Tennessee the weekend of November 14-16.

We have an unbelievable line-up of events planned to honor the late, great, but underappreciated Memphis soul singer O.V. Wright! It all began here several months ago with this post about the saddening discovery that Wright lay buried in an unmarked grave outside Memphis.

His fans around the world refused to let this situation continue, and came together on a solution, the O.V. Wright Memorial Fund. I'm so proud to report that the fund collected over $2,000 to purchase a fitting monument for this great artist. The handsome marker will be unveiled Sunday November 16, 2008 at the Galillee Memorial Garden at 8283 Ellis Road in east Memphis. Time TBA.

Many of the generous contributors will be on hand for the ceremony, several from overseas.

Well it didn't seem like enough of an honor without music, so on the eve of the unveiling, some of O.V.'s colleagues will perform in dowtown Memphis for O.V. Wright Night! Check it out: O.V.'s brilliant back-up band, the one and only Hi Rhythm section will play, and O.V.'s Hi Records labelmate Otis Clay will sing. The celebration will happen Saturday November 15, 2008 at 8p.m. at the Ground Zero Blues Club at 158 Lt. George W. Lee Avenue in downtown Memphis.

Tickets are available online at www.ovwright.org

Also, locals can pick theirs up at three locations around the city- in Midtown at Shangri-La Records, 1916 Madison Avenue; Downtown at Pop Tunes, 308 Poplar Avenue; and Whitehaven at Pop Tunes, 4622 Faronia Road.

I encourage out-of-towners coming in for the show to stay at the Doubletree Hotel. They've given us a special rate for y'all (and you might even run into Otis Clay at the ice machine) which you can learn more about at ovwright.org as well. The hotel is clean and nice and 1/3 of a mile from Ground Zero, so no need to curtail your celebrating or invite trouble.

In addition to the main events, attendees can also join the group tours of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, and a very special behind the scenes go-round at Royal Studios, where O.V. recorded his masterful body of work. I'm told that a certain Poppa will be on hand for the latter event-- you don't want to miss that!

Please e-mail me with any questions: preston@backroadsofamericanmusic.com

Thanks to all who have given their time, money, and bandwidth to making this happen. See ya in Memphis!

The Sad Truth About Jimmie Lunceford's House

Longtime readers here will recall our spot detailing the Memphis haunts of Jimmie Lunceford a while back. You can read the sad follow-up story, view before and after photos of his last Memphis home, and read a little about the significance of the place at Backroads.

Big Don Valentine

Though a young fella, the 43-year-old drummer-singer Don Valentine has seen a few things he'd like to tell you about. The son of Calvin Valentine, who founded the Hollywood All-Stars, Big Don leads his own lineup of Hollywood All-Stars in the finer off-Beale blues joints Memphis has to offer. Come check him out at Backroads of American Music.

O.T. Sykes "The Singing Dentist"

Does he sing while practicing dentistry? Does he administer nitrous oxide at performances? For answers to these and many, many more questions, please do visit the Backroads of American Music project and read our newest feature. We promise it'll be five amusing and inspiring minutes.

And if you really want to know about Sykes, come check him out Wednesday October 24 in Memphis at the Boss lounge. He'll bill you. You'll scream. It'll be solid.