CLARKSDALE - When Clarksdale’s first historical Walk of
Fame marker is dedicated to superstar Sam Cooke on April 4, the
event will include a reminiscence of the celebrity and the New
World District ’s rich cultural history.
Following the bronze plaque’s unveiling on Issaquena Avenue
outside the New Roxy Theatre where Sam Cooke once performed,
a reception and a “I Remember Sam” program will be
held in the renovated Greyhound Bus Station.
Panelists remembering the celebrity include area residents and
members of the Cooke family traveling to Clarksdale on a bus
with the Sam Cooke Fan Club. The event is free and the public
is encouraged to participate.
“Sam Cooke came to our house several times, because Early
was his sponsor,” recalls Ella Wright, widow of Clarksdale’s
legendary radio broadcaster Early Wright, who was a tireless
organizer of gospel programs.
“Sam and the Soul Stirrers performed at Higgins (High
School) and later at George H. Oliver School,” she continued.
“He was a nice and friendly young man – not stuck
up like some celebrities,” she said. As Mississippi’s
first African-American disc jockey broadcasting as “The
Soul Man” on WROX Radio each weekday night for 52 years,
Early Wright shared similar interests with Sam Cooke.
Both were rooted in gospel.
However, Cooke’s crossover to soul with “You Send
Me” skyrocketed an internationally prominent career crowned
by induction in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame while Wright
continued to champion both genres by promoting gospel and blues/soul
concerts on the radio.
Walking a narrow line, Wright featured interviews with Elvis
Presley, Muddy Waters, and Bobby Rush in the first half of his
show followed by two hours of messages from evangelizing preachers,
choirs, church and obituary announcements and directions about
where to deliver fried chicken for funeral dinners.
“Sam Cooke had a wonderful voice, and always ended singing ‘I’m
Going to Leave You in the Hands of the Lord,” said Ella
Wright.
Alice Green, secretary for Century Funeral Home, remembers the
excitement of hearing Sam Cooke perform.
So does Yvonne Stanford, library director at Coahoma Community
College, who attended concerts with her mother, Josephine McClinton,
at George Oliver featuring the Soul Stirrers and also the Staple
Singers.
“Sam Cooke was so handsome,” says Stanford.
Green says, “I grew up belonging to Hickory M.B. Church
on D-36 before you get to Roundaway; I came to town to hear Sam
Cooke sing in one of the Clarksdale churches.”
Coahoma county roads once were numbered by county beats, according
to Jesse Ivy of the County Road Department, who explains that
New Africa Road to Roundaway was Road No. 36 in D or Beat 4 in
the 5-beat system.
Henry Dorsey, retired fine arts chairman at Coahoma Community
College, spent his childhood in the heart of the New World District
watching a lively procession of music celebrities including Sam
Cooke visiting Clarksdale.
“He stayed at Miss Alice’s Boarding House on Yazoo,
and the Crest Hotel or Bates Hotel on Paul Edwards,” Dorsey
said.
“Those places including Woods Drug Store, the Savoy Theatre
and others on Edward’s Alley and Hen’s Alley, are
gone now,” he said.
Retired educator and former owner of the Rivermount Lounge Blues
Club Melville Tillis has memories of Sam Cooke and “The
Singing Children” practicing on a Yazoo Avenue porch.
“Later, Julius Guy and I tried to stop the demolition
of that house on Yazoo,” continued Tillis, who once played
trumpet in Ike Turner’s hometown band.
The pair also tried to purchase the New Roxy Theatre on Issaquena
and convert it into a gospel academy.
The Walk of Fame marker
program is being sponsored
by the Clarksdale/Coahoma
County Chamber of Commerce
to honor great citizens
who have made significant
contributions with national
and international impact
in entertainment, music,
film, sports, literature,
art, education, civil rights,
and history.
The plaques will be located near a site of historical significance
associated with the honoree, and eventually will become part
of a walking tour of downtown Clarksdale. If no downtown site
is appropriate, marker sponsorships may be purchased by interested
individuals or businesses.
The second dedication will honor blues pioneer Son House of
Lyon, who was a mentor for many musicians including Muddy Waters.
The dedication is scheduled for April 18 on the sidewalk outside
Cat Head Delta Blues
and Folk Art on Delta Avenue.
Nominations of honorees are solicited from the community-at-large
and submitted to the Walk of Fame Committee, Box 160, Clarksdale,
MS 38614.
Press Release from the Walk of Fame Committee, Panny Mayfield,
Publicity: pannywriter@yahoo.com
662-621-4157.
