JAZZ/BLUES/REGGAE: Location: 828 N Highland Ave Telephone: (404) 873-BLUE Clientele: Young/Mature Adult Format: Blues Calendar: Live Entertainment Mon – Sat Cover/Minimum: Yes/No Dress: Casual/Classy URL: www.blindwilliesblues.com omments: Named after Atlanta’s most renowned blues star, “Blind Willie” McTell, Blind Willie’s looks and feels like everything a blues club should be. The building dates back to the …
The hit song Tuxedo Junction was composed by Erskine Hawkins in 1939 and co-written with Buddy Feyne. When Buddy Feyne was commissioned to compete for the lyrics of the song, he asked Hawkins what the title referred to. In Feyne’s words, Erskine Hawkins replied that it was a “a performance venue whistle stop” on the Chittlin’ Circuit in Birmingham Alabama. According to www.800alabama.com, the official travel and tourism site for the state of Alabama, “the corner of Ensley Avenue and 19th Street in the Ensley area of west Birmingham was once home to the famed Tuxedo Junction, the heart of social life for the black populations of Birmingham and the surrounding areas…a booming center for black nightlife in the 1920s, 30s, and 40s…” Erskine Hawkin’s Tuxedo Junction was covered by the Glen Miller Orchestra in 1940. It became one of the most popular songs of World II and did much to popularize the notion of a so called Chittlin’ Circuit among the American public.
I met Leah Chase in 1960 while visiting my Great Aunt, Elizabeth Rudison Haynes, in the Lafitte Projects, a housing project in the Tremé District of New Orleans. At 90 years old, Aunt Elizabeth’s word was gospel among family members. She took one look at me and told my mom, “that boy is thin as a rail. Baby, here’s a dollar, go across the street to Dooky’s and get yourself a sandwich.” I immediately went outside, crossed the common grounds at a good pace and was greeted by Leah Chase as I strolled up to the counter of Dooky Chase Restaurant. She studied me, smiled, then asked, “what you want darlin’? My response, I don’t know. She then said, “you wait right here,” came back 5 minutes later and said, “try this oyster po’boy.” I have been hooked on Dooky’s ever since and a lifelong fan of “Mama” Chase.
BB King Plays the Birchmere on New Year’s Day and January 2nd, 2011 here are online viagra sales few opportunities in life to experience a “Living Legend.” Riley B. King’s performances at Alexandria, VA’s Birchmere Music Hall provided just that, a rare chance to take in a show by the “King of the Blues.” …
he Historic Hippodrome Theater and W L Taylor Mansion are located in Richmond’s Jackson Ward Historic District. This historic neighborhood was the center of African American commerce, arts and entertainment during the early 20th Century. Renowned architect James Langsford, also described as the Architect of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, was one of several …