Life and Legacy of B. B. King by Williams Diane;Branch London G.;

Author:Williams, Diane;Branch, London G.;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
Published: 2019-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

PART III

Let Them Talk but Hear What They’ve Got to Say

Interviews with Music Makers Who Were Influenced by B.B. King

We need more of him.

—Bobby Bland

The people interviewed in this section of the book have agreed to share their personal recollections, reflections and impressions of the blues; memories of B.B. King; and the ways in which he impacted the music industry and influenced their lives. The following interviews received minor edits.

11

MALCOLM SHEPHERD

Percussionist and President, Central Mississippi Blues Society

Malcolm Shepherd is the current president of the Central Mississippi Blues Society. He reflected on the organization’s mission to bring blues to the community by producing the show Blue Monday on Monday nights at Hal & Mal’s restaurant in Jackson for more than ten years. Singer Dorothy Moore is a frequent visitor to the show, as are musicians Bobby Rush, Eddie Cotton Jr. and Grady Champion. On any Monday night, you might hear three or four featured guitarists and eight or nine other musicians during the open mic session. International visitors come all the time, and several artists have been discovered on Blue Monday nights. The society is committed to keeping the blues alive and continuing the legacy of B.B. King.

The Central Mississippi Blues Society is chartered by the International Blues Foundation out of Memphis and sponsors programs such as Blues in the Park, where musicians jam in the parks around Jackson. It also sponsors a program called Blues in the Schools, and the foundation’s recommended curriculum is used to teach math, science, geography and history to young people of all ages.

Malcolm Shepherd has been in the music industry for most of his life. He is a percussionist and singer of R & B, blues and gospel. His father was a gospel and blues singer and his sister Jewel Bass is a local blues recording artist. She was the first woman to represent Mississippi in the black beauty pageant. Shepherd’s other sisters, Betty and Irene, are also gospel singers. He said that he can go back to his great-great-grandmother to chart his family’s involvement with music. He has another reason to keep the blues alive: It is one of the great American art forms that blacks have given to the world.

As previously discussed, there is a long battle going on between blues and gospel. It really isn’t a fight, but people have characterized the blues as the devil’s music and gospel as spiritual or God’s music, though the actual compositions are the same. In many cases, the music you hear on Sunday morning is the same music you hear on Saturday night with a few word changes. On Saturday night, it is “oh, baby,” and on Sunday morning it is “oh, Lord,” but the rhythms and chords stay the same.

In considering the metamorphosis of the blues, Shepherd said that most people think of traditional blues or roots music that was performed with an acoustic guitar. Sometimes the guitar was amplified, but it still had that acoustic sound. That was the first stage, as played by Robert Johnson and Tommy Johnson.

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