This week's broadcast of Mountain Stage is a special episode featuring songs that represent the four seasons of the year. You'll hear live performances by Doc Watson, Bruce Hornsby, Susan Werner, Molly Tuttle, Taj Mahal, Norah Jones and many more.
Musician Maceo Pinkard died on July 21, 1962, at age 65. The Bluefield native attended Bluefield Colored Institute—now Bluefield State College—before becoming one of the most successful songwriters of the 1920s Jazz Era.
After graduating, he toured with his own band and ended up in Omaha, where he published his first song, “I’m Goin’ Back Home.” He also founded a theatrical agency. After moving to New York, he had his first hit with “Mammy o’ Mine.” Then, in 1922, he wrote the music for Liza, a pioneering Broadway show with an all-black cast that introduced a new dance, known as the Charleston.
Pinkard wrote popular tunes like “Here Comes the Show Boat” for the musical Show Boat and great jazz songs like “Them There Eyes,” “I’ll Be a Friend,” and “Sugar,” which were recorded by Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, and Billie Holiday, among others. He also helped set up Duke Ellington’s first recording session in 1923.
Pinkard is best remembered for writing “Sweet Georgia Brown,” which became the Harlem Globetrotters’ theme song.
Maceo Pinkard was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame in 2008.
On this West Virginia Morning, Randy Yohe talks with ABCA Commissioner Fred Wooton about the marketing, tourism and product enhancement initiatives that are key aspects of a forward-thinking mission statement.
Back in 1968, a West Virginia band did something brave. It wasn't the easy thing to do, but it put them on the right side of history. For this episode, host Trey Kay learns about an act of defiance against racial discrimination that happened 50 years ago in a Charleston night club and the consequences for four musicians.