Have you ever said to yourself  “Oh No! . . not another awards show!” while perusing your TV guide for something interesting to watch?  Sometimes it seems like just about everybody is patting themselves on the back for doing something they should be expected to do anyway, and somebody else is trying to make a buck by promoting it.  There’s a lot of that going around these days, and we can expect it to continue and grow, much to our viewing and listening displeasure.

Then there are those whose creative and artistic achievements deserve recognition & preservation — who genuinely do deserve public acknowledgement & support.  Other states & localities throughout the United States have had music halls of fame in place for several years, but not the Old North State. 

So that's why, as archivist of the PBPS, I was delighted to learn in 1997 that a group of Thomasville businessmen had put together a plan to establish a North Carolina Hall Of Fame.  But when I learned initial inductees included only beach music legend General Johnson of Chairmen of the Board; pianist & composer Loonis McGlohon; country great Charlie Daniels; opera singer Victoria Livengood; bandleader Kay Kyser; Billy Scott of the Georgia Prophets; and deceased Greensboro promoter & club owner Bill Griffin — I was surprised and disappointed there were no blues greats included in what Hall staff called “The Magnificent Seven.”  In my humble opinion (admittedly biased), North Carolina is well recognized world-wide as the birthplace of one of the most prominent blues genres, Piedmont-style blues, and we have produced numerous notable artists that deserve as much or more recognition as those original inductees.

I immediately contacted Doug Croft, Director of the Thomasville Chamber of Commerce and one of the primary promotors, to inquire why there were no blues names listed, and he assured me that some were indeed being considered — such as Blind Boy Fuller (Fulton Allen); Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee.  He eagerly sought advice from the PBPS as to which NC blues artists should be nominated, and I in turn assured him we would poll our Board and membership to do our best to provide meaningful and accurate information as to those we recommend for inclusion. 

I drew up a list of 30 names that immediately came to mind, living & deceased, and submitted them to our Board of Directors for their first, second & third place votes.  I will reveal the results in a future column but for now, your Board wants to know which of the following names deserve first recognition as blues inductees into the NC Music Hall of Fame.  Please send us your preferences by mail, e-mail or phone and we’ll pass that on to the folks in Thomasville. 

A preliminary list of blues artists recommended for induction into the North Carolina Music Hall Of Fame by the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society (in no particular order):

Who did we leave out?  — let us know.

Speaking of Thomasville, you can view the current holdings in the NCMHOF in the basement of the old Bassett Showroom on the NE side of the intersection of Business I-85 & NC Highway 68 (by appt only — call 336-475-9111).  This is only a temporary home — supporters are actively looking for a permanent home — and several interested parties (such as the representatives of the old Tultex factory in Mayodan) have been busy getting in their bid.  (Has anyone thought of Greensboro’s vintage cotton mill at Spring Garden & Merritt Drive?) 

So . . get your own vote in so our blues artists can be even more appropriately remembered and appreciated by future generations.