Music City native Charles “Wigg” Walker is a certified soul music legend, a vocal great who once toured with such giants as James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Sam Cooke, and Etta James. His singing career dates back to childhood when he got started doing gospel at church and soul at school. Another mighty music figure, Ted Jarrett, gave him his first opportunity to record in 1959 for Jarrett’s Champion label, though the tune “Slave To Love” was mistakenly credited to a non-existent group (Charles Walker and the Daffodils). The actual vocalists along with Walker were Larry Birdsong and his label comrades,…
Author: Ron Wynn
Nashville music fans are quite familiar with Jason Eskridge. He has a long and distinguished resume as a performer and promoter of R&B and soul music in Nashville. His monthly “Sunday Night Soul” presentations at the Five Spot are now in their 11th year, and they continue to bring top artists not only from across the state but nationwide. However, he now has a new, non-musical venture. He’s opening a new sandwich shop in East Nashville. It’s Music City Sandwich, which will be located at 400B Gallatin Pike. While Eskridge says he’s not abandoning music, he’s really excited about the…
The grand master of funk is now in the Songwriters Hall of Fame. George Clinton, creator, and longtime leader of the Parliament/Funkadelic empire, is among the 2025 inductees to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He’s being joined by The Doobie Brothers, George Clinton, and The Beach Boys’ Mike Love, as well as Ashley Gorley and Rodney “Darkchild” Jerkins. The new members were announced last Wednesday live on CBS’s “This Morning.” Clinton, who actually began as a songwriter with Motown, is among the pioneers of funk. His songs have provided the genre with international popularity. His role in working with Parliament-Funkadelic…
Tickets are now on sale for what is always one of the year’s biggest music festivals, and the 2025 edition of Bonnaroo will be no exception. Some of the names for the festival that will include rap, pop, and country superstars were announced last week. The headliners who have been confirmed for Bonnaroo 2025 thus far include Luke Combs, Tyler, the Creator, Olivia Rodrigo, and Hozier. According to Billboard, the festival will take place in Manchester, Tennessee, from June 12–15, and promises a solid blend of genres and idioms. Besides those initially named, others who are scheduled to appear include…
Black general managers aren’t quite the rare thing in 2025 that they were even 20 years ago, but they are still a minority in terms of the overall NFL. So two years ago, when the Tennessee Titans made Ran Carthon the team’s first Black GM, it was a significant move. But now, after his firing barely two seasons later, the question looms: was Ran Carthon made the scapegoat unfairly? First and foremost, no one, and especially Carthon, is alleging racial animus or mistreatment. Controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk made it clear in her remarks about the firing how much she…
When Nashville SC missed the playoffs last season, it signaled the arrival of a new mood among Music City soccer fans. For the first couple of years, the spectacle and excitement of world-class soccer (or football to the rest of the globe) was enough to satisfy them. Nashville SC never advanced past the opening round of the playoffs, but the fans were happy the team at least made it that far, and there was little controversy or trouble. But last season, things drastically changed. Longtime coach Gary Smith was fired, and the team missed the MLS playoffs. Even more disturbing…
It’s hard to find anyone in any field of music with longer ties or more influence than Dr. Bobby Jones within the gospel world. That influence and his notable achievements are being recognized next month by the Recording Academy. He will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award during a Special Merit award ceremony. This will be held in Los Angeles during Grammy week in early February. Dr. Jones love affair with music and gospel began as a child when he sang with his church choir. A self-taught pianist, upon coming to Nashville, Dr. Jones worked his way through college by earning…
The Nashville Jazz Workshop will present a pair of concerts in a couple of weeks that feature rhythm players as combo leaders. The first on Jan. 24th spotlights percussionist/composer John Arruci with his quartet. The second on January 25 features drummer John Alvey. Both will be in the NJW’s acclaimed Jazz Cave at 1012 Buchanan Street. Tickets for both shows are $35, and each one begins at 7:30. Arriucci is recognized as one of the world’s finest percussionists. He’ll be appearing in Nashville for the first time leading the John Arrucci Quartet, which he’ll lead from the Vibes. Joining John…
Suddenly the U.S. Army’s 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion are getting the national exposure that they’ve long deserved, but never received until now. That’s due to the release on Netflix of Tyler Perry’s film “The Six Triple Eight.” Kerry Washington and Ebony Obsidian are the primary leads in this ensemble cast. The story showcases the largest group of Black servicewomen to serve overseas during World War II. Washington has taken the occasion on publicity interviews to discuss the obscurity of this unit, something that’s quite frankly done a disservice to an exceptional unit. “She went, just out of curiosity, to…
Richard Parsons wasn’t a vocal or highly publicized pioneer, but he was a vital and important one. For many years, he was the highest-ranking Black executive in any media company, and by default the most powerful Black man in Hollywood. But his reluctance to emphasize that fact kept many on the outside from knowing or recognizing his stature. Parsons, who passed last Thursday at 76, played major management roles at such firms as CBS Corp., Citigroup, and the Los Angeles Clippers. He passed at his Manhattan home of bone cancer, according to a close friend, Ronald S. Lauder, a member…