Honoring The Past, Shaping The Future
Sep 28, 2011
Maceo Parker was the saxophonist in the groups that laid down the foundation of funk, rap and hip hop. He attended college in North Carolina but graduated from the University of James Brown. When he was on James Brown’s funky soul funk train James could be heard saying “Maceo, I want you to Blow!” when it came time for a solo. This...
Sep 24, 2011
Michael English is one of the premier solo singers in Southern Gospel and Contemporary Christian music. Born April 12, 1953 in Kenansville, North Carolina into a family gospel group, he was raised in North East, near Wallace, North Carolina. The family group, known as The Singing Samaritans, was led by his parents, Aubine and Grace...
Sep 24, 2011
John D. Loudermilk, born in Durham, North Carolina, is one of the great songwriters in American music, writing hits in both the pop and country fields. Born March 31, 1934, John D. Loudermilk grew up in a family who were members of the Salvation Army and he was strongly influenced by church singing. His cousins were The Louvin Brothers,...
Sep 24, 2011
Clyde Moody was a premier singer and instrumentalist in bluegrass. Born September 19, 1915 in Cherokee, North Carolina, he grew up at a time when brother duets were popular in country music and during the mid-1930s joined with Jay Hugh Hall to form the Happy-Go-Lucky Boys in WSPA in Spartanburg, South Carolina. He joined J.E. Mainer’s...
Sep 24, 2011
Billy Edd Wheeler is a long-time resident (48 years and counting) of Swannanoa, North Carolina. He is perhaps best known for a song he wrote and recorded, “Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back,” which was a top five country hit in 1964 and reached the top 50 on the pop chart. As an artist, Billy Edd has had chart singles with “I...
Sep 24, 2011
Billy “Crash” Craddock was born June 16, 1939 in Greensboro, North Carolina and earned the nickname “Crash” while he was a running back on his high school football team. After high school, Craddock and his brother formed a band, The Four Rebels, and their first single, for a local record label in Greensboro, was...
