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  #21  
Old Posted Dec 23, 2012, 11:49 PM
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Once completed, this museum will not falter - especially if an educational component is geared towards the young and old. There will be live entertainment and theater as well.

Plus, this museum will be less than a mile from The Gateway Arch, just blocks away from the LaClede's Landing entertainment district, a block away from the convention center and it sits directly on Washington Avenue serviced by MetroLink. It's destined to get a lot of traffic.

As far as Blues museums go, there is nothing like it in St. Louis, in the south or anything even close to it in the Midwest at this time.

As for brick-and-mortar museums dedicated to music in the Midwest, Detroit has Motown/Hitsville. Kansas City has its Jazz Museum. Cleveland, of course, has the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame. St. Louis has the Scott Joplin House. But there is not a "Blues" museum anywhere that would rise to the level of this one - at least not yet - so this should allow for it to have a long life.
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  #22  
Old Posted Dec 24, 2012, 12:41 AM
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Just an FYI, the St. Louis area has several Blues festivals annually - The Big Muddy (18 years), St. Louis Blues Festival (8 years) and BluesWeek (4 years) and Old Webster Jazz & Blues Festival (12 years).

Below are a few photos from some of the events. The National Blues Museum is being developed in the building to the right, first photo.

















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  #23  
Old Posted Dec 28, 2012, 5:29 AM
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RIP. Next to Tina Turner, Fontella Bass was arguably the biggest female blues/R&B singer of her generation out of St. Louis.
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Fontella Bass, singer of ‘Rescue Me,’ dies
BY DAVE HOEKSTRA Staff Reporter/dhoekstra@suntimes.com December 27, 2012 1:19PM

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Fontella Bass returned the luster to Chess Records.

She co-wrote the 1965 hit “Rescue Me,” which became the first million-selling record for Chess since Chuck Berry a decade earlier. Mrs. Bass died Wednesday night at a St. Louis hospital of complications from a heart attack she suffered three weeks ago. A St. Louis native, Mrs. Bass was 72.

Her musical roots ran as deep as the Missouri Valley.

Her mother was gospel singer Martha Bass, one of the legendary Clara Ward Singers. Mrs. Bass’ grandmother was gospel singer Nevada Carter, and as a 5-year-old Mrs. Bass began playing piano when her grandmother sang at St. Louis area funerals. In 1965, Mrs. Bass was married to avant-garde trumpet player Lester Bowie, who became a founding member of Chicago’s Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM). (They divorced in 1978; he died in 1999.)

Former Chess singer Mitty Collier was part of the stable of mid-1960s female Chess singers that included Mrs. Bass, Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto.

“Out of all of us, Fontella could play piano,” Collier said. “She had played piano at her dad’s church. Each one of us had a church background from Etta on down, but Fontella and Dionne Warwick playing the piano during that period made them stand out. It was like a sisterhood with me and her. Sugar Pie was closer to Etta because they both came from California.”

The “Rescue Me” studio band included drummer Maurice White and bassist Louis Satterfield, who went on to form Earth, Wind and Fire. Gerald Sims played tasty electric guitar. The late Minnie Riperton sang backing vocals on the song co-written by Raynard Miner and Carl Smith. Mrs. Bass’ feisty and mighty gospel-tinged vocals often had “Rescue Me” confused with Aretha Franklin.

Chicago’s Gene Barge was the arranger and session player at Chess during the mid-1960s.

“My first assignment at Chess was with (soul singer) Oliver Sain in 1964,” Barge said on Thursday. “He had brought his band in from St. Louis. Fontella was his piano player. I played on her first session at Chess when she sang ‘Soul of a Man.’ I produced a Chess album for her mother. Fontella was raised with a gospel idiom and the jazz flairs from St. Louis, Miles Davis, all those people. She always leaned towards jazz, though I thought of her more than a soul singer.”

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  #24  
Old Posted Dec 28, 2012, 1:49 PM
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Authentic or not, most people just don't really dig blues. It's more of a novelty of the ghost of music past (little holiday pun ). Most younger people have never heard of a guy like Muddy Waters.

As far as watching and listening, we already have places like Kingston Mines and House of Blues (?? do they even play Blues music there?). So you don't need a museum for that. The museum sounds like it'd be a watered down version of Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of fame, sans inducting new artists into the museum. Again, for me personally (and most people under the age of 50), it just doesn't sound that interesting.
I'd even go so far as saying the even "rock music" is becoming a music of the past. The youngest generation of people who consistently listen to it are now well into their thirties.

If you look at what millennials are listening to, mostly it's hip hop, R&B, pop, electronic music, etc.

I would take it even further and say that if your music genre needs a museum, then it has already passed its peak.
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  #25  
Old Posted Dec 28, 2012, 6:23 PM
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I'd even go so far as saying the even "rock music" is becoming a music of the past. The youngest generation of people who consistently listen to it are now well into their thirties.

If you look at what millennials are listening to, mostly it's hip hop, R&B, pop, electronic music, etc.

I would take it even further and say that if your music genre needs a museum, then it has already passed its peak.
At the same time, many of those artists sample or cover blues, jazz, or rock in their tracks. Their inspiration from past music legends is strong, and they repackage it in a new creative way..or sometimes not. Yes, there is still ignorance of what is original, but a nod toward the past is still appreciated.

EDIT: just like to mention Arch city that those shots are great

Last edited by Rizzo; Dec 28, 2012 at 9:00 PM.
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  #26  
Old Posted Feb 5, 2013, 11:30 PM
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Feb 5, 2013, 2:57pm CST
Actor John Goodman stars in video for National Blues Museum
St. Louis Business Journal
Reporter-E.B. Solomont

The actor John Goodman is the new voice (and face and stump man) for St. Louis’ proposed National Blues Museum.

In a YouTube video posted online Monday (watch it below), the St. Louis native, perhaps best known for his role in the comedy TV series “Roseanne,” urges donors to support the local effort to create a $13.5 million museum.

“I’m proud to know my hometown is doing something no city has ever done before: creating a national museum that pays tribute to the blues,” Goodman said, adding that it’s a fitting tribute to stars who got their start in St. Louis, from Albert King and Ike and Tina Turner to Miles Davis and Chuck Berry, among others.
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  #27  
Old Posted Apr 3, 2016, 10:19 PM
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Yesterday (04/02/16), the first major museum in the Midwest and United States dedicated to Blues music opened in an historic building in downtown St Louis on Washington Avenue. The National Blues Museum opened its doors in a 23,000 square foot facility that includes state-of-the-art exhibits chronicling Blues music history from its roots in Africa to this current day in America. One exhibit allows visitors to create their own Blues song.

The museum also features a traveling exhibit gallery, video galleries, a small live concert venue and a BBQ restaurant. Admission is $15 for adults, extra for a tour guide. The tour lasts nearly two hours.

The St. Louis mayor, museum supporters and founders, founding executive director Dion Brown, the Normandy High School marching band, Blues musicians and other dignitaries etc. were on hand to open the historic museum.

A few St. Louis Blues Music Facts
1. Ragtime's Scott Joplin composed the rag, "The Entertainer" and other famous rags in St. Louis. Ragtime was a predecessor to the Blues.
2. W.C. Handy, the Father of the Blues, composed the "St. Louis Blues" on St. Louis' riverfront levee. "St. Louis Blues" is one of the most recorded blues songs ever. It was also one of the first blues songs to succeed as a pop song.
3. Albert King and Lil' Milton recorded with St. Louis' Bobbin Records before moving on to Chess or Stax Records. King's first national hit, "Don't Throw Your Love On Me So Strong" was on the Bobbin/King label.


Listen to some St. Louis Blues while viewing the photos below.

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Top blade sign designed to look like a harmonica.
























St. Louis'-own Chuck Berry
















Traveling Exhibit Gallery, columns intentionally left raw to illustrate the rawness of Blues music.
































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  #28  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2016, 2:45 AM
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Start in Chicago, and follow the Mississippi River down from St Louis to New Orleans, and you will have yourself a great blues tour. Art, and culture, are so subjective. No need to argue.
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  #29  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2016, 9:42 PM
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Start in Chicago, and follow the Mississippi River down from St Louis to New Orleans, and you will have yourself a great blues tour. Art, and culture, are so subjective. No need to argue.
i would say start in New Orleans and follow the river up through St. Louis to Chicago, but not arguing.
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  #30  
Old Posted Apr 12, 2016, 11:37 PM
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Yeah, the great thing about jazz/blues/other forms of black American music is that they aren't tied to a specific place, they arose from a universe of different influences and locations.

The Mississippi River, Illinois Central Railroad and Highway 61 are probably the "lightning rods" of this music but many cities large and small, from coast to coast had innovative scenes at different times.

My disappointment about the Blues Museum not being in Chicago is less about Chicago laying sole claim to blues music, and more about the missed potential to show people the important heritage of the South Side and the Chicago black community in general. There is just not much in that community to inspire pride. Even in St Louis, the downtown location is disappointing. Put it in Old North, where there's plenty of land to go around and where it isn't just one more thing to check off tourist lists... have it be integrated with a community instead of sequestered next to the stadium and convention center.
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  #31  
Old Posted Apr 13, 2016, 5:29 PM
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Yeah, the great thing about jazz/blues/other forms of black American music is that they aren't tied to a specific place, they arose from a universe of different influences and locations.
Fact is the most elitist and eclectic radio networks, whether public or private constantly play this kind of music over here, along with classical, world and folk/rock music of all kinds, which includes lots of white US musicians as well, but usually widely inspired by "Blues".

What they call Blues or Jazz is hugely recognized as the most influential genre of the last century by "mélomanes", some French term to call people and experts obsessed with music.
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  #32  
Old Posted Apr 14, 2016, 6:46 AM
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Yeah, the great thing about jazz/blues/other forms of black American music is that they aren't tied to a specific place, they arose from a universe of different influences and locations.

The Mississippi River, Illinois Central Railroad and Highway 61 are probably the "lightning rods" of this music but many cities large and small, from coast to coast had innovative scenes at different times.
That's true, but I would say read up on "America's Music Corridor", which stretches from New Orleans to Memphis to St. Louis. This corridor is considered to be the bedrock of most musical forms/genres to form in the United States.


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My disappointment about the Blues Museum not being in Chicago is less about Chicago laying sole claim to blues music, and more about the missed potential to show people the important heritage of the South Side and the Chicago black community in general. There is just not much in that community to inspire pride.
I think Chicago's African-American community - particularly those on the southside and south suburbs - know about their heritage - particularly in music and in entertainment. Also, there are plenty of museums, attractions, galleries etc. in Chicago dealing with local black history. The awesome DuSable Museum is one of them.

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Even in St Louis, the downtown location is disappointing. Put it in Old North, where there's plenty of land to go around and where it isn't just one more thing to check off tourist lists... have it be integrated with a community instead of sequestered next to the stadium and convention center.
As African-American born and raised in St. Louis, I am not disappointed in the location at all. If you know the historic and geographical context of black migration to St. Louis and the black music trail in St. Louis.........what is now considered "downtown" is where it all started.

Black St. Louisans did not start migrating over to North St. Louis in significant numbers until the late 50's.

Some of the first black neighborhoods and tenements were actually along the Mississippi River - and around Union Station in an area called Mill Creek Valley - which was destroyed by the interstate highway and "gentrification".

Scott Joplin's home in St. Louis is in the general vicinity of Mill Creek Valley; and Maya Angelou's birth home, which still stands and is in impeccable condition, is in the Mill Creek Valley vicinity as well. People like Josephine Baker and Redd Foxx also lived in the Mill Creek Valley area.

Last, W.C. Handy, "The Father of Blues", actually lived and worked in St. Louis for a short period. A park in St. Louis is named for him. During his period in St. Louis, he composed "The St. Louis Blues" along the riverfront levee - not far from the National Blues Museum.

As far as I am concerned, the museum is in a perfect place from a historical perspective. Placing it across from Joplin's house or on LaClede's Landing would have been even more perfect.

And FYI, North St. Louis has The Griot Museum of Black History and Culture.

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  #33  
Old Posted Apr 18, 2016, 5:15 AM
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Fact is the most elitist and eclectic radio networks, whether public or private constantly play this kind of music over here, along with classical, world and folk/rock music of all kinds, which includes lots of white US musicians as well, but usually widely inspired by "Blues".

What they call Blues or Jazz is hugely recognized as the most influential genre of the last century by "mélomanes", some French term to call people and experts obsessed with music.
Of course. Plenty of elitists over here obsessed with roots styles of music as well (I'm probably one of those). Partly this is due to the fact that the cool kids in the 50s ad 60s listening to blues music are now middle-aged or older and have much more money to spend on music consumption than younger people. Jazz Fest audiences in New Orleans are basically a roundup of successful middle-aged people from around the country.

That French term is, um... not very politically correct.
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  #34  
Old Posted Apr 18, 2016, 5:31 AM
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That's true, but I would say read up on "America's Music Corridor", which stretches from New Orleans to Memphis to St. Louis. This corridor is considered to be the bedrock of most musical forms/genres to form in the United States.
Not to get into a city vs. city thing, but you can't leave out Chicago and Detroit as part of the same phenomenon.


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As far as I am concerned, the museum is in a perfect place from a historical perspective. Placing it across from Joplin's house or on LaClede's Landing would have been even more perfect.
Sure, Scott Joplin House would be an awesome location. Not a spot literally next to the convention center, where all traces of black history were deliberately wiped off the map decades ago. Laclede's Landing is interesting but it's such a weird shell of a neighborhood. If the museum were carefully integrated there I think it would help "complete" the district so it's not chopped up by parking lots.
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  #35  
Old Posted Apr 19, 2016, 10:18 PM
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Not to get into a city vs. city thing, but you can't leave out Chicago and Detroit as part of the same phenomenon.
Yes, without a doubt, Chicago and Detroit both have great music history.

Their recording histories (Motown, Bluebird, Chess etc.) are legendary. Those cities - again - without a doubt - gave rise to many artists with local ties as well as artists and groups from other places who sought recording deals and fame. This cultivation and recording clustering made both cities legendary - rightfully taking their place in music history.

I would be foolish to ignore this history, which is well-documented. So yes, it would be silly to get into a "city vs. city" discussion or debate.

With that said, in earlier periods, Chicago and Detroit were practically non-factors in the EARLY evolution of the Blues. This is not a dig, but I do realize it could bring out the hounds. LOL. Those cities music scenes - particularly Blues - morphed (or exploded) later on, which is why America's Music Corridor is considered "the cradle". The cradle consists New Orleans, Memphis, The Deltas (Mississippi and Arkansas) and St. Louis.

For example, many of the Blues musicians that landed in Chicago and eventually made its Blues scene famous were in St. Louis long before they went to Chicago. Little Milton, Albert King, Roosevelt Sykes, Robert Nighthawk, Pinetop Perkins, Muddy Waters, Mel and Tim and countless others etc. etc. all lived in St. Louis before moving on to Chicago. These guys are pretty much Blues royalty. The only one missing off the list is B.B. King.

Albert King lived in St. Louis and scored his first hit on St. Louis' Bobbin Records label. Little Milton was A&R for Bobbin Records.

Even the "Father of the Blues" himself, W.C. Handy, lived and worked in St. Louis for a period of time. Of course, it is also where he wrote the "St Louis Blues", which is the most-recorded blues song ever. These were not guys that simply passed through St. Louis, they grinded in St. Louis.

Obviously, Chicago's recording prowess became a big lure for blues, soul, rock n roll (Rockabilly) and R&B artists. And even Delmark (aka Delmar) Records - a blues label - moved from St. Louis to Chicago during the recording boom in Chicago.

So essentially, the recording industries in Chicago (Chess, Bluebird), Detroit (Motown) and Memphis (Stax, Sun, Hi) hammered St. Louis' - although St. Louis did have some recording company successes - like Bobbin, Delmar, Archway Studio, Arch Records (a Stax subsidiary), etc. etc. But none took off like Motown, Stax, Hi, Chess or Bluebird.

It's safe to say that recording didn't put St. Louis on the map. This is one of the reasons why I feel St. Louis doesn't necessarily get its due. For some people to be complaining about (or "hating" on) St. Louis for landing the National Blues Museum is preposterous. They obviously don't know the history. But St. Louis has every right to have the National Blues Museum.

Keep in mind too that although Chuck Berry recorded for Chess and other labels, St. Louis is the birthplace and current home to the "Father of Rock and Roll". Ike Turner and Kings of Rhythm moved from Memphis to St. Louis and Turner is considered one of the fathers of R&B and RnR.

St. Louis was home to Scott Joplin, "The Father of Ragtime" and St. Louis' ragtime scene was strong with composers like Tom Turpin, who gave Joplin a run for his money. Ragtime and the blues built jazz.

Also, Louis Jordan who once lived in St. Louis is considered to be "The Father of R&B" and "The Godfather of rap". Jordan was notorious for his "jump blues", which was a popular blues genre in St. Louis. Louis Jordan's wife was from St. Louis and Jordan is buried in St. Louis.

Then there are the St. Louis women of the Blues - Josephine Baker and Eva Taylor, who was a contemporary of Bessie Smith. And let's not forget Tina Turner, Ann Peebles ("I Can't Stand The Rain") and Barbara Carr, contemporary Blues artists. All from (or connected) to St. Louis.

I say all of this not to compete, but to educate.

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Sure, Scott Joplin House would be an awesome location. Not a spot literally next to the convention center, where all traces of black history were deliberately wiped off the map decades ago.
The Indian (native) mounds were pretty much deliberately wiped off the map there decades ago too, but that doesn't change the fact that St. Louis' early black and native communities existed in what is considered "downtown" St. Louis.

Again, the location of the museum is good. I'm from St. Louis. I'm black. I pretty much know St. Louis' black history backwards and forwards. It's a good fit and the African-American community hasn't complained.

In fact, being next to the convention center will get it more exposure for visitors and tourists. I am not opposed to the "T" word like some. As a visitor and tourist, I have visited many "touristy" sites in Chicago as well as areas off the beaten path.

For the record, my paternal and maternal histories are rooted in the Mississippi and Arkansas deltas and Louisiana (Bogalusa). I still have relatives in West Helena, Ark. I also have extended family in Tennessee (Dyersburg and greater Memphis). In addition to being a music buff, this is why I know a lot about the Blues and St. Louis music history.

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Laclede's Landing is interesting but it's such a weird shell of a neighborhood. If the museum were carefully integrated there I think it would help "complete" the district so it's not chopped up by parking lots.
I don't know how long it's been since you've been to LaClede's Landing, but a number projects are proposed for the area (North Riverfront) once the $300-million riverfront project wraps up. Plans for new housing, offices, etc. We'll see.
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Last edited by Arch City; Apr 20, 2016 at 8:52 PM.
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  #36  
Old Posted Apr 21, 2016, 2:17 PM
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Title of this thread almost makes it seem like you guys built a museum for your hockey team .
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  #37  
Old Posted Apr 27, 2016, 7:36 PM
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Title of this thread almost makes it seem like you guys built a museum for your hockey team .
hahaha. while i think that's actually a great idea, can you imagine the confusion!
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