Jackson, Miss. (April 18, 2012) – On Friday, April 20, 2012, the Mississippi Blues Trail will honor the legacy of the radio disc jockeys and their contributions to the blues music industry with a marker in Greenwood, Miss. The marker unveiling is scheduled for 3 p.m. at 503 Ione Street in Greenwood.
Radio disc jockeys played a major role in the spread of the blues, boosting the careers of local artists, introducing listeners to performers from across the country, and more generally serving as a voice for the community. Early African American deejays in Mississippi include Early Wright, Bruce Payne, Charles Evers, Ike Turner, Sherman “Blues” Johnson, Jobie Martin and Ruben Hughes, who began deejaying in Forest in 1957 at age sixteen and became the owner-operator of Greenwood’s WGNL in 1988.
The disc jockey (or “deejay”) format did not become the primary mode of programming music on radio stations until the 1940s. In earlier years musicians usually performed live in the broadcast studios, and the musicians' union did not want its members to be replaced by recordings. Exorbitant fees charged by ASCAP, the major collection agency for publishers of mainstream popular music, led many stations to program music not controlled by ASCAP, especially blues, R&B, and country music, after World War II, when numerous new radio stations were licensed in Mississippi and across the country. The new stations sought to differentiate themselves, and one way was through featuring disc jockeys with colorful personalities and monikers who selected their playlists and read ads and announcements. The deejay format is often credited to Jack L. Cooper, an African American who began playing records on the air in the early 1930s on Chicago's WSBC, after debuting his “All-Negro Hour” with live music there in 1929.
In 1949, Memphis’ WDIA became the first station to feature all-African American programming, while many other stations began airing African American specialty shows as part of diverse program schedules. Pioneering African American disc jockeys in Mississippi included: William “Dr. Daddy O” Harvey on Jackson’s WJDX, Early Wright on Clarksdale’s WROX, Charles Evers on Philadelphia’s WHOC, Jerome Stampley on Vicksburg’s WQBC and Bruce “Jet Pilot of Jive” Payne on Vicksburg's WVIM. In 1954, Jackson’s WOKJ became the first station in the state to adopt an all-African American format. Its deejays included Payne, Wade “Poppa Rock” Graves and Jobie Martin ("The Loud Mouth of the South”). Other popular deejays were Sherman “Blues” Johnson and Lee Arthur “House Rocker” Rhodes in Meridian, Ike Turner in Clarksdale, and Rockin’ Ed Williams in Leland. Native Mississippians who found success as disc jockeys elsewhere included WDIA’s B.B. King and Rufus Thomas; Chicagoans Al Benson, Pervis Spann, Lucky Cordell and Bill Tyson; James “Oakey Doakey” Smith in New Orleans; and Big Ike Darby in Mobile. Deejays were often also active in concert promotion, artist management or the record business.
For more information about the Mississippi Blues Trail, visit http://www.msbluestrail.org or explore the official Mississippi Development Authority’s Tourism Web site, http://www.VisitMississippi.org. You may also contact Alex Thomas, MDA Tourism’s Music Trails program manager at 601.359.3297 or [email protected].
A Mississippian who worked as a deejay and promoter both in and out of the state was Ruben Hughes, who began hosting a blues show at WMAG in his native Forest, Miss., in 1957. He later worked at WQIC in Meridian and at stations in Mobile, Houston, Chicago and Memphis. In 1969, Hughes, together with Vernon and Robert Floyd, started the first African American-owned station in the state, Hattiesburg’s WORV. In 1988, he purchased WGNL in Greenwood and built it into one of the most powerful stations in the Delta, featuring “Oldies, R&B & Blues,” gospel and community programming.
With over 150 markers, the Mississippi Blues Trail is a museum without walls taking visitors on a musical history journey through Mississippi and beyond. The trail started with the first official marker in Holly Ridge, the resting place of the blues guitarist Charley Patton, and winds its way to sites honoring B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Son House and others. Out-of-state markers are located in Chicago; Memphis; Los Angeles; Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Ferriday, Louisiana; Helena, Arkansas; Rockland, Maine; Grafton, Wisconsin; and Tallahassee, Florida.
Radio disc jockeys played a major role in the spread of the blues, boosting the careers of local artists, introducing listeners to performers from across the country, and more generally serving as a voice for the community. Early African American deejays in Mississippi include Early Wright, Bruce Payne, Charles Evers, Ike Turner, Sherman “Blues” Johnson, Jobie Martin and Ruben Hughes, who began deejaying in Forest in 1957 at age sixteen and became the owner-operator of Greenwood’s WGNL in 1988.
The disc jockey (or “deejay”) format did not become the primary mode of programming music on radio stations until the 1940s. In earlier years musicians usually performed live in the broadcast studios, and the musicians' union did not want its members to be replaced by recordings. Exorbitant fees charged by ASCAP, the major collection agency for publishers of mainstream popular music, led many stations to program music not controlled by ASCAP, especially blues, R&B, and country music, after World War II, when numerous new radio stations were licensed in Mississippi and across the country. The new stations sought to differentiate themselves, and one way was through featuring disc jockeys with colorful personalities and monikers who selected their playlists and read ads and announcements. The deejay format is often credited to Jack L. Cooper, an African American who began playing records on the air in the early 1930s on Chicago's WSBC, after debuting his “All-Negro Hour” with live music there in 1929.
In 1949, Memphis’ WDIA became the first station to feature all-African American programming, while many other stations began airing African American specialty shows as part of diverse program schedules. Pioneering African American disc jockeys in Mississippi included: William “Dr. Daddy O” Harvey on Jackson’s WJDX, Early Wright on Clarksdale’s WROX, Charles Evers on Philadelphia’s WHOC, Jerome Stampley on Vicksburg’s WQBC and Bruce “Jet Pilot of Jive” Payne on Vicksburg's WVIM. In 1954, Jackson’s WOKJ became the first station in the state to adopt an all-African American format. Its deejays included Payne, Wade “Poppa Rock” Graves and Jobie Martin ("The Loud Mouth of the South”). Other popular deejays were Sherman “Blues” Johnson and Lee Arthur “House Rocker” Rhodes in Meridian, Ike Turner in Clarksdale, and Rockin’ Ed Williams in Leland. Native Mississippians who found success as disc jockeys elsewhere included WDIA’s B.B. King and Rufus Thomas; Chicagoans Al Benson, Pervis Spann, Lucky Cordell and Bill Tyson; James “Oakey Doakey” Smith in New Orleans; and Big Ike Darby in Mobile. Deejays were often also active in concert promotion, artist management or the record business.
For more information about the Mississippi Blues Trail, visit http://www.msbluestrail.org or explore the official Mississippi Development Authority’s Tourism Web site, http://www.VisitMississippi.org. You may also contact Alex Thomas, MDA Tourism’s Music Trails program manager at 601.359.3297 or [email protected].
A Mississippian who worked as a deejay and promoter both in and out of the state was Ruben Hughes, who began hosting a blues show at WMAG in his native Forest, Miss., in 1957. He later worked at WQIC in Meridian and at stations in Mobile, Houston, Chicago and Memphis. In 1969, Hughes, together with Vernon and Robert Floyd, started the first African American-owned station in the state, Hattiesburg’s WORV. In 1988, he purchased WGNL in Greenwood and built it into one of the most powerful stations in the Delta, featuring “Oldies, R&B & Blues,” gospel and community programming.
With over 150 markers, the Mississippi Blues Trail is a museum without walls taking visitors on a musical history journey through Mississippi and beyond. The trail started with the first official marker in Holly Ridge, the resting place of the blues guitarist Charley Patton, and winds its way to sites honoring B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Son House and others. Out-of-state markers are located in Chicago; Memphis; Los Angeles; Muscle Shoals, Alabama; Ferriday, Louisiana; Helena, Arkansas; Rockland, Maine; Grafton, Wisconsin; and Tallahassee, Florida.
