Blues Legends On Display

                          OUR BLUES HALL OF FAME

 

         

     Who knew Gainesville had its own Blues Hall Of Fame?  It's not large -actually stored in a few boxes most of the time- but this summer it is on full display at the A. Quinn Jones Museum  on NW 7th Avenue.

 

     

     Ten years ago two Indiana folk artists, Tim

Yerrington and George Borum, teamed up to create a series of forty portraits. Each could illustrate a chapter from a "History of the Blues" book. 

       

 

    Russell Ettling, Our city's cutural affairs manager, saw them for sale online and scooped them up. They are now a part of our city's permanent art collection.  

         Working with local musicologists, Russ & Co. created a full-tilt bluesy woozy exhibition that opened at the Thomas Center Gallery in Duckpond nine years ago. Our own blues legend, Willy Green, entertained.

 

     Since 2013 these mini-works of folk art have been begging to see the light of day again.  Each was not only accompanied by short biographies but also QR code links which allowed you to hear the artist's music. The show was up for a few months then it disappeared from public view for nine years.

 

      Carol Richardson, the museum coordinator at A. Quinn Jones, told me she discovered them in storage and knew they'd be a great exhibit for her museum. The portraits, painted in bold colors, graphically explain the history of the only original American music, the blues. 

    You probably know the blues was born in the 19th century on southern cotton plantations. Slaves and their descendants used a mix of spirituals, chants, work songs, hollers, and narrative ballads to create what became this unique piece of our county's culture. 

      How the blues led to jazz and rock n' roll is also explained in the show. Yes, Elvis has his own portrait but we all know he stole "Hound Dog" from blues great, Big Mamma Thornton.

     The A. Quinn Jones Museum and Cultural Center is a tribute to Dr. A. Quinn Jones who dedicated his life to improving the quality of education in Alachua County. The museum's permanent exhibit speaks to his legacy -and our local civil rights history- of which he was a part.

 

      The A. Quinn Jones Museum and Cultural center is located at 1013 NW & Ave.  They are open most days.  Call 352-334-2010 or go to their website, http://aqjmuseum.org , should you need more information. 

 

      The exhibit will be up until September 14th. After that, you might have to wait another nine years to see Gainesville's own Blues Hall of Fame.

 

Rock legend Bo Diddley lived in nearby Newberry for many years.  Gainesville has had other blues legends living here whose portraits could be added to the collection, stars like Charles Bradley, Willy Green, and Minnie Ripperton.

   Bo Diddley played the Cotton Club as did James Brown, Ray Charles,  B.B. King and many other musical legends. It's now a museum and cultural center as well at 837 SE 7th Avenue.

      

         Stop by soon to see Gainesville's own Blues Hall of Fame and the museum dedicated to one of the most influential educators in the history of Alachua County.