Backroads of American Music

• Sam "Black Smoke" Wiggins

  We ran up on Black Smoke one night at the Boom Boom Room on Thomas Street in North Memphis, back when it was called the J&J . Nice enough dude. We chatted awhile, emptied intoxicating golden liquid into our bellies from chilled aluminum cylinders... Posted Apr 13 2008, 01:21 PM by Preston with | with no comments Filed under: Memphis, Artists, Genres, Regions, Blues, Sam "Black Smoke" Wiggins

• "Big" Don Valentine

  Don Valentine’s nickname won’t blow anyone away. The drummer-entertainer behind the Hollywood All-Stars, Valentine keeps it simple and honest with his tag: Big. When we chatted about meeting up for an interview, Valentine seemed accommodating about the... Posted Nov 12 2007, 07:02 PM by Preston with | with no comments Filed under: Memphis, Artists, Genres, Regions, Blues, "Big" Don Valentine

• O.T. Sykes: "The Singing Dentist"

  O.T. Sykes has the finest nickname this side of Jessco White. The similarities between Sykes and the "Dancing Outlaw" end there, though. Sykes comes from a family of professionals who stress hard-work and education. He's been a successful... Posted Oct 22 2007, 05:00 PM by Preston with | with no comments Filed under: Memphis, Artists, Genres, Regions, Soul, O.T. Sykes

• Charley Nelson: Piney Woods Piano Man

  Charley Nelson will not be playing at a juke joint near you. It would be unfair to leave his story out of the Backroads project on such a technicality, though. Nelson’s an 88-year-old master of the 88s. He lives on land his parents bought in the piney... Posted Oct 03 2007, 12:59 PM by Preston with | with no comments Filed under: Artists, Genres, Regions, Mississippi, Blues, South Mississippi, Charley Nelson

• Al Green's Full Gospel Tabernacle Church

  787 Hale Road Memphis, TN 38116 901-396-9192 After cementing countless encounters with a voice that speaks directly to the genitals, in 1976, Al Green found Jesus. While Green reports his conversion happened after a visit to Disneyland, local rumors link... Posted Sep 28 2007, 04:50 PM by The Millington Kid with | with 13 comment(s) Filed under: Venues, Memphis, Tennessee, Genres, Regions, Full Gospel Tabernacle, Gospel

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