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1999 Keeping The Blues Alive Awards Each year, The Blues Foundation presents the Keeping the Blues Alive (KBA) Awards to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the Blues world. Unlike the W.C. Handy Awards, a popular award voted on by thousands of members of The Blues Foundation and subscribers to specified magazines, the KBAs are awarded to non-performers strictly on the basis of merit by a select panel of Blues professionals. Advertising
Budweiser
Budweiser was first brewed in 1876, and like Blues music, has a rich tradition in America. It's only natural, therefore, that the "King of Beers" has been promoting the Blues for decades. Budweiser's primary support of the
Blues is through festival sponsorships and advertising. The brand sponsors major Blues festivals, such as the Beale Street Music Festival in Memphis, the New York State Budweiser Rhythm & Blues Festival and the Budweiser Illinois Blues Festival - and more than 50 Blues events around the country. In addition, Budweiser promotes Blues music at the grass-roots level with its sponsorship of many of the country's best known Blues clubs, societies and associations, including The Blues Foundation and the Beale Street Merchants Association. Budweiser and the Blues are true American classics, and the "King of Beers" is dedicated to keeping the Blues alive. Whether enjoying a night out at a local Blues bar or soaking up the sounds at a major Blues festival, you can be sure Budweiser will be there.
Art/Photography
David Horwitz
any people can remember the moments in life when from that point things were never the same. For David Horwitz it was catching Bobby "Blue" Bland and James Brown in the Milwaukee on the "Soul Circuit." Then 16 year old David Horwitz was changed forever by the sounds, smells and mood of the music. Horwitz's photographs attempt to seize the very essence of the music. He rarely goes into the studio or sets up photo sessions, explaining, "I'm trying to capture the music as it happens and the musicians' life as it's happening." David's work has appeared in all the major Blues publications in the United Sates and many international publications. As well as in the collections of the Delta Cultural Museum, Chicago Blues Museum, Living Blues Collection, Blues Museum of the Horseshoe Casino and many private collections.
Blues Organization
Fox Valley Blues Society
The Fox Valley Blues Society of Illinois can take credit for uncovering the RCA/Bluebird Blues recordings that were made in the Leland Hotel in Aurora, Illinois. This historical Blues find prompted the society to rally the town of Aurora to rename the street the hotel is on "Blues Alley". The organization produces Blues on the Fox, an annual three day festival in Aurora.
The FVBS has established an ongoing Blues in the Schools program for Aurora area schools and reinforces their commitment to education with a weekly TV series for Aurora Public Television. The group was responsible for legend Honeyboy Edwards' and Carey Bell's performance and recording of The World Don't Owe Me Nothin', the Earwig Records' CD at the Sky Club in the Leland Hotel. The FVBS recently released a new web site that features the society's bimonthly newsletter and latest events. Visit them at www.foxvalleyblues.org
Chairman/President's Award
Amie Devereaux
As the Handy Awards reflect on 20 years, The Blues Foundation must recognize the individuals who made it all possible back in 1980. Anne Devereaux helped create this foundation that the Blues is proudly displayed on. She was there when the very first awards were handed out on certificates. The President and Chairman of The Blues Foundation honor Anne with this special award in honor of her continuing efforts to keep the Blues alive.
Club
Biscuits & Blues
Biscuits & Blues is celebrating its fourth year of preserving the Blues in San Francisco. The club has a full restaurant and bar serving good ol' Southern Cuisine and offers live Blues nightly. Biscuit & Blues is owned operated by Frank Klein, who also serves as the booking agent. The club is an intimate Blues venue seating only 120 with a state of art sound system. Biscuits & Blues plays countless Handy nominees and winners each year. The club tries to specialize in grouping or specialty shows such as "Acoustic Blues Sessions" or "Guitar Blues Masters" and these shows stretch out over several days. The club has a goal of showcasing the best local talent as well as the best touring acts on a nightly basis. The club is located in the heart of San Francisco's theater district and attracts a loyal local following as well as a large percentage of national and international visitors. Not your average nightclub, Biscuits & Blues, with red shutters on the walls and novena candles on the tables, is a shrine to the Blues. Scattered around are pictures of Blind Lemon Jefferson and Muddy Waters; the motto is `Dedicated to the Preservation of Hot Biscuits and Cool Blues."
Commercial Radio
Tom Marker "Bluesbreakers", WXRT-- Chicago, IL
One night after listening to WXRT it occurred to Tom Marker, "Maybe I could be a disc jockey instead of having to work for a living!" After radio gigs in Michigan, South Carolina and Elgin, Illinois, Marker landed his dream job at WXRT in the summer of 1980. After a year at the station Tom was switched to full time and in 1984 hosting "Bluesbreakers" was added to his on-air duties. Tom is heard on "Chicago's Fine Rock Station" daily from noon to 3:00 p.m. On Monday nights he returns for "Bluesbreakers." The show features the newest Blues releases and classic recordings from legendary performers, plus an overview of the most exciting live Blues shows in the coming to town.
Education
D.C. and Selby Minner
D.C. Minner, a 64 year old Rentiesville, Oklahoma native played bass with Freddie King, O.V. Wright and Chuck Berry in the 1960s. Minner switched back to guitar and married singer-bassist Selby. They toured extensively with their band Blues on the Move. In 1989 the pair settled in Rentiesville where they run the annual Dusk 'til Dawn Blues Festival and Down Home Blues Club/Museum. They have a Blues in the Schools program through the Oklahoma Arts Council. The Minners offer Oklahoma schools Blues programs that feature a one-day event or one or two week residencies. These more intensive Blues experiences involve 20 hour/week and before classes end the band puts on a performance in which the children participate - singing and playing the Blues. "Our message is that hard work and determination will get you anything you dream of," D.C. Minner stated. He and Selby use the Blues to teach life lessons.
Film, Television & Video
River of Song--Producer John Junkerman
Independent documentary filmmaker John Junkerman conceived, produced, and directed "The Mississippi: River of Song," a four-part Smithsonian series for PBS about contemporary music along the course of the Big River. Junkerman has been making feature documentaries since the early 1980s. His first film, "Hellfire: A Journey from Hiroshima," was nominated for an Academy Award and won the Grand Prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival. This was followed by a Japanese production, "Uminchu: The Old Man and the East China Sea," which portrayed the life of an 81 year-old marlin fisherman on a small Okinawan island: He directed the Emmy award-winning "Dream Window: Reflections on the Japanese Garden," which was also produced by the Smithsonian.
Historical Preservation
Yazoo Records
Yazoo Records was started in 1967 by Nick Perls and Bernie Klatzko as an effort to make available the best in traditional Rural Blues and American music. Within the first three years of its existence, Yazoo had released definitive, vintage recordings for the first time of such icons as Blind Willie McTell, Big Bill Broonzy, Scrapper Blackwell and Rev. Gary Davis, as well as their historic and comprehensive album by Charlie Patton.
Although Klatzko left the label for other endeavors, under Nick Perls the label continued to grow by releasing some of the finest recordings of American music. When Perls died in 1987, Yazoo was purchased by Shanachie Records with the mission to continue first rate representation of Blues and early American music. Yazoo's new 2000 series is now remastered in digital sound. The company's current releases will feature in-depth representation of great, early Ragtime, Barrelhouse and Blues pianists of t
Internet
Blues on Stage www.mnblues.com
Since its inception in 1997 the Blues On Stage website created and maintained by Ray Stiles, has grown into one of the largest and most popular Blues sites on the Internet. With more than 5,000 site visits every month, Blues On Stage features more than a dozen different categories that can keep you busy for hours or allow you to make a quick stop to check out a Twin Cities calendar date or find a link to your favorite performer. In addition to hosting one of the largest collections of live reviews on the Internet, the site also features CD reviews, calendars and tour schedules, a message board, a huge Blues link section, photo gallery, an audio jukebox, Blues profiles and much more. Originally designed as a Blues guide to the Twin Cities (Minnesota), the site has broadened its scope and attracts a worldwide audience serving as a one-stop Blues resource. The site also offers web design and hosting services for the Blues industry. Visit Blues On Stage at www.mnblues.com or E-mail Ray Stiles at mnblues@aol.com.
Literature
August Wilson
August Wilson is a playwright whose work explores the heritage and experience of African-Americans over the course of the twentieth century. His plays have been produced at regional theaters across the county and on Broadway. Wilson has won Pulitzer prizes for "Fences" (1987) and "The Piano Lesson" (1990), and a Tony
Award for "Fences", as well as New York Drama Critics Circle Awards for "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," "Fences" and Joe Turner's Come and Gone", "The Piano Lesson," "Two Trains Running" and "Seven Guitars." He has received several fellowships, including Rockefeller and Guggenheim Fellowships in Playwriting and is the winner of the Whiting Writers Award. He is an alumnus of New Dramatists plus a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. Mr. Wilson makes his home in Seattle, Washington. He is the father of two daughters, Sakina Ansari Wilson and Azula Carmen Wilson, and he is married to costume designer Constanza Romero.
Manager
Bob Bell
Bob Bell was born in London, England in 1946, bought Bill Haley's 'Rock Around the Clock' in 1955, and soon progressed to Little Richard, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, and Joe Turner. His first job was with Island Records in 1965, progressing from supervising the company's distribution to eventually running the company's subsidiary, Trojan Records, then the world's largest Reggae label. When Island sold Trojan in 1971, he worked in Island's international office, developing acts in Europe. Finding the company's musical direction running counter to his rootsier taste, he left to live and work on a 500 acre hill farm /commune in the west of England until 1979, when he returned to Island to supervise organization of the company's archives. He visited the States in 1980 for a vacation, ran into Roomful of Blues in Atlanta, Georgia that spring, and was knocked out to find a band that not only played the music that he loved, but did it with taste, feeling and finesse. After negotiating European releases for the band's then current album, he joined the organization as publicist, driver, soundman and manager. Since that date, he has watched the band garner all manner of awards, including numerous Handy and GRAMMY nominations, release over a dozen critically acclaimed albums, and become a world class touring attraction. It has been, he says, the best, and certainly the longest, vacation of his life!
Promoter
Jerry Pillow - King Biscuit Blues Festival - Helena, AR
In 1985, a group of like-minded Blues lovers got together to try and organize a Blues festival to honor the musical heritage of Helena, Arkansas. They felt that Helena's musical history was all but unknown and needed to be given greater exposure. They managed to stumble through the first couple of years without too many mistakes. What was surprising was the huge response from Blues fans from around the world, "They actually liked what we were doing and year after year 'started showing up in ever increasing numbers." The Festival is called the King Biscuit Blues Festival and today it stands as one of the largest free Blues Festivals in the world. Jerry Pillow has been involved with the festival since the beginning. He was a founding member of the Sonny Boy Blues Society, the organization that produces the festival. Pillow has served as the Music Director for the King Biscuit Festival for seven years. Jerry says that "although my wife thinks I'm crazy to volunteer so much time, it's really a, labor of love."
Retail
Amazon.com
Since its music launch in June of 1998, Internet commerce leader
Amazon.com has featured Blues prominently on its website, devoting a special section of its store to Blues reviews, interviews and tributes. Besides covering such well-known artists as B.B. King, Etta James, and Robert Cray, Blues editor Genevieve Williams has also promoted many talented, emerging musicians such as Shemekia Copeland, Susan Tedeschi, and R.L. Burnside. By giving equal prominence to Blues that it does to Rock, Pop, and Hip Hop, Amazon.com is leading the way among retailers in guaranteeing that Blues remains a vital commercial, as well as musical, force well into the 21st Century.
Print Media
Blues & Rhythm
Blues & Rhythm, The Gospel Truth was founded in the UK in 1984. The magazine is now Europe's leading blues magazine. Published ten times a year, B&R covers the whole range of Blues, R&B, Gospel, Doo Wop and 'vintage Soul music. It has been responsible for publishing groundbreaking research on countless artists, record companies/labels and Blues related subjects, with a special focus on obscure US Blues/R&B and Gospel artists as well as promoting new artists. Renowned for its extensive reviews section, B&R contributors include well known B1ues/R&B
authorities, experts and critics such as Neil Slaven, Dave Penny, Ray Templeton, Chris Smith, Paul Oliver, Norman Darwen, Opal Louis Nations, Chris Bentley, Billy Vera, Phil Wight, Paul Swinton as well as its main editorial team of Tony Burke (Editor), Tony; Watson (Admin & Production), Keith Briggs (Reviews Editor), Byron Foulger, (Subscription Manager).
Public Radio
Dr. Russell Linnemann
Dr, Russell J. Linnemann has hosted a Blues program on WUTC-88.1 FM for fifteen years. His show, "Blues and More," has earned widespread popularity and critical acclaim. He is a founding member and past president of the Tennessee Jazz and Blues Society and has served on the Board of Directors of The Blues Foundation. Dr. Linnemann is a professor of African and British Empire History at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he also teaches a popular culture course in the history of the Blues. Russell, who has written extensively on the Blues, received his Ph.D from the University of Michigan and his book, Alain Locke: Reflections on a Modern Renaissance Man, was nominated for the Merle Curti Award as best book of the year in American intellectual history.
Sponsor
Winston
Winston launched the Winston Blues Revival on November 5, 1998 to showcase the talent of several authentic Blues pioneers, while raising awareness of and support for the Music Maker Relief Foundation (MMRF). This nonprofit foundation, based in Pinnacle, N.C. (near R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company's Winston-Salem headquarters), works to help forgotten Southern Blues traditionalists improve their quality of life. Headlined by GRAMMY award winning musician, Taj Mahal, all door proceeds from the age-restricted performances benefit the MMRE. The Winston Blues Revival pays special tribute to three MMRF beneficiaries. Not only is the revival showing support for these artists, it is also enabling them to support themselves by doing what they do best - playing the Blues. These artists include: Cootie Stark, Beverly "Guitar" Watkins and Neal Pathname. The first phase of the revival took MMRF artists on a six month, 16-city national tour. During the tour's second phase, which will begin in September, these artists will perform in 12 cities across the country.
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