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.
