2024 Class of the Blues Hall of Fame Announced
With the International Blues Challenge approaching and the announcement of this year’s inductees into the Blues Hall of Fame, the world is reminded annually that Memphis, Tennessee, is the epicenter of the blues. The latter took place today, ahead of the Wednesday, May 8, induction ceremony at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts.
As usual, the list is a compelling cross-section of both the brilliant past and the vital contemporary heartbeat of the blues in all its permutations. This year’s inductees include Memphis’ own soul powerhouse, O.V. Wright, who died young in 1980; pioneering blues shouter and jazz singer Jimmy Rushing, also known by one of his greatest Count Basie-backed hits, “Mr. Five By Five”; Odetta, hailed
as “The Mother Goddess of Folk Blues” by The New York Times; early twentieth century guitar virtuoso, Scrapper Blackwell; small-but-mighty vocalist Sugar Pie Desanto; Chicago guitarist Lurrie Bell; and one of Chicago’s leading bluesmen, fez-wearing Lil’ Ed Williams, nephew of J.B. Hutto, who’s toured relentlessly for decades with his Blues Imperials.
On the literary front, Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday by Angela Davis (Pantheon, 1998) is scheduled for recognition as a Classic of Blues Literature. William R. “Bill” Ferris, author, folklorist, professor, and lecturer, will be honored in the Business, Production, Media, Academic category.
Despite being a prolific hitmaker with Willie Mitchell on Hi Records, Wright has not yet received recognition from the Memphis Music Hall of Fame; this year’s induction will be a significant milestone in his career. Many people will also applaud Odetta Holmes’s inclusion, as she is a unique figure in the folk world due to her classical training. In the end, she performed a wide range of songs from folk and popular traditions, blues, spirituals, jazz, and original compositions that highlighted her dedication to civil rights activism.
