Floyd Cramer's country keys
Floyd Cramer, who grew up in Huttig, became one of the most important piano players in the development of country music.
Dorough finds his voice
From his beginnings in Cherry Hill, Bob Dorough knew music was his thing.
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‘Sunday Afternoon’
In 2004, Jason Morphew recorded his first score, for a film called “Runaway,” starring Robin Tunney of TV’s “Prison Break.”
The unknown supergroup
Can the term supergroup be applied to a band that rarely gigged, whose records are impossible to find and no one’s ever heard of?
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Stones, others 'got' Carter
Bill Carter is not a musician. But the Rector native, author of the 2006 autobiography “Get Carter,” has had a hand in the careers of Tanya Tucker, Reba McEntire and others, most notably the Rolling Stones for many years. Before that, Carter served in the
Activist Lee Hays wove musical fabric
Lee Hays was a singer and songwriter who gained fame in the Weavers, with that folk group being blacklisted in the 1950s and its music being branded as “un-American.”
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The Louis Jordan Tributes
But, despite being among the most important figures in American popular music, Louis Jordan isn’t a household name in Arkansas. In the 1990s, a group of music lovers gathered to better preserve Jordan’s legacy, at least in his home state.
More West Memphis soul
After helping craft the Memphis R&B sound of the 1960s, trumpeter Wayne Jackson of West Memphis had many avenues to explore.
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West Memphis soul, part 1
Horn player Wayne Jackson was born Nov. 24, 1941, in West Memphis, and helped craft the Memphis rhythm and blues sound especially typified by Stax and Hi Records.
Fred Tackett: Unknown gun goes large
Little Rock native Fred Tackett, who will be performing Friday, Oct. 7, at the Ozark Folk Festival in Eureka Springs, gained fame in the late 1980s as a member of reformed rockers Little Feat, but he has been recording for decades with countless acts. In
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John L. Handcox rolls on
John L. Handcox was born Feb. 5, 1904, in Brinkley, and became the voice of the sharecropper through his poems and songs for the Southern Tenant Farmers Union.
Frost warmed the blues scene
Frank Otis Frost, who was born April 15, 1936, in Auvergne (Jackson County), became known as a premier Delta bluesman of the latter 20th century, with his talents sought for albums, movies and in concert around the world.
Fab Four touchdown
Fab Four touchdown
More 'Arkansas Folksongs'
The “Anthology of Arkansas Folksongs” is an annotated two-CD set packed with dozens of artists and songs — but it still represents less than 1.5 percent of the collection from which it’s drawn. The anthology, released by the Center for Arkansas and Region
Anthology of Arkansas Folksongs
With its rich music and culture, the Ozarks area is probably the most-studied region of the state. A small selection of a large collection of mainly Ozark Arkansas folksongs has been put on a two-disc box set coming out of Fayetteville.
Willie John's 'Fever'
Little Willie John of Cullendale gave us “Fever.”
The song has been re-recorded by dozens, but few can match the original “Fever,” recorded March 1, 1956.
Driftin' Slim Mickle
During his career as a bluesman, Keo native Elmon Mickle was known by a variety of nicknames: Harmonica Harry, Model T Slim, Drifting Smith, but the stage name that stuck best was Driftin’ Slim.
Elvis preserved
A recording of Elvis at Robinson Auditorium but preserves the sound of his early career.
'Sweet Sounds' live on
Perhaps one of the first quality exhibits of Arkansas musicians — not to mention a rare official sanction of Arkansas pop culture — was the the Old State House Museum’s “Our Own Sweet Sounds” show in fall 1995. The University of Arkansas Press published
'Norwood'
Most American cinema fans know the 1968 movie “True Grit,” starring John Wayne and Billstown native Glen Campbell in his acting debut.
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