By Tribune Staff
NASHVILLE, TN — One of Nashville’s most beloved and popular performers will be honored during Black History Month at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Bandleader, bassist and vocalist Jimmy Church, a Music City R&B legend, will be featured in their “Musician Spotlight” series. This will be on Sunday Feb. 16 at 1 p.,m. in the Museum’s Ford Theater. Church will perform with a small combo.
Michael Gray of the museum staff will be interviewing Church. Gray won a Grammy award for his work on the two-CD series “Night Train To Nashville.” Church will be performing with a small combo, and clips of his past performances on the classic TV shows “Night Train” and “The!!!Beat” will also be shown. The program will last approximately one hour and will also be filmed for the museum’s archive.
Church has been part of the Nashville Black music community for over six decades. His career began as a teenager in the late ‘50s. He formed a vocal group known as the Seniors. They recorded for the legendary Nashville-based Excello label. That was followed by Church doing regular vocal appearances in various clubs with the King Kasuals. A pair of greats named Jimi Hendrix and Billy Cox were part of that ensemble.
Church’s national profile soared during his time on both of the Music City Black music program. Some of the names he shared the stage with during those programs included Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Otis Redding, and Jackie Wilson. He also currently has an LP available “Straight Outta Old School,” and continues performing not only locally but across the the Southeast. This program will also be streamed live at countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming.
