[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 11]
[Senate]
[Pages 15767-15768]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 SENATE RESOLUTION 316--A BILL DESIGNATING THE YEAR BEGINNING FEBRUARY 
                 1, 2003, AS THE ``YEAR OF THE BLUES''

  Mrs. LINCOLN (for herself, Mr. Cochran, Mr. Thompson, and Mr. Frist) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary:

                              S. Res. 316

       Whereas blues music is the most influential form of 
     American roots music, with its impact heard around the world 
     in rock and roll, jazz, rhythm and blues, country, and even 
     classical music;
       Whereas the blues is a national historic treasure, which 
     needs to be preserved, studied, and documented for future 
     generations;
       Whereas the blues is an important documentation of African-
     American culture in the twentieth century;
       Whereas the various forms of the blues document twentieth-
     century American history during the Great Depression and in 
     the areas of race relations, pop culture, and the migration 
     of the United States from a rural, agricultural society to an 
     urban, industrialized Nation;
       Whereas the blues is the most celebrated form of American 
     roots music, with hundreds of festivals held and millions of 
     new or reissued blues albums released each year in the United 
     States;
       Whereas the blues and blues musicians from the United 
     States, whether old or new, male or female, are recognized 
     and revered worldwide as unique and important ambassadors of 
     the United States and its music;
       Whereas it is important to educate the young people of the 
     United States to understand that the music that they listen 
     to today has its roots and traditions in the blues;
       Whereas there are many living legends of the blues in the 
     United States who need to be recognized and to have their 
     story captured and preserved for future generations; and
       Whereas the year 2003 is the centennial anniversary of when 
     W.C. Handy, a classically-trained musician, heard the blues 
     for the first time, in a train station in Mississippi, thus 
     enabling him to compose the first blues music to distribute 
     throughout the United States, which led to him being named 
     ``Father of the Blues'': Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) designates the year beginning February 1, 2003, as the 
     ``Year of the Blues''; and
       (2) requests that the President issue a proclamation 
     calling on the people of the United States to observe the 
     ``Year of the Blues'' with appropriate ceremonies, 
     activities, and educational programs.
  Mrs. LINCOLN. Mr. President, I submitted legislation designating the 
year beginning February 1, 2003, as the Year of the Blues and 
requesting that the President issue a proclamation calling on the 
people of the United States to observe the ``Year of the Blues'' with 
appropriate ceremonies, activities, and educational programs. I am 
joined by Senators Cochran, Thompson, and Frist and ask unanimous 
consent that it be printed in the Record.
  It has been said that ``Blues is more than music; Blues is culture. 
Blues is America.'' As a native of Helena, Arkansas, I could not agree 
more. Growing up in the Delta, I often listened to the blues during the 
famous ``King Biscuit Time'' show on my hometown station, KFFA radio. 
The songs I heard often told stories of both celebration and triumph, 
as well as sorrow and struggle.
  Although its roots are in the tradition of the primitive songs of the 
old Southern sharecroppers, the blues has left an important cultural 
legacy in our country and has documented African-American history in 
the last century. As the blues began to transform in style and content 
throughout the twentieth century, its evolution paralleled the 
migration of American life from a rural, agricultural society to an 
urban industrialized nation. The blues has also left an indelible 
impression on other forms of music with its influence heard in jazz, 
rock and roll, rhythm and blues, country, and even classical music. 
Despite these facts, though, many young people today do not understand 
the rich heritage of the blues or recognize its impact on our nation 
and our world.
  That is why I am delighted to introduce this resolution and 
participate in the Year of the Blues project. Coordinated by The Blues 
Foundation and Experience Music Project, The Year of the Blues is a 
multi-faceted entertainment, education, and outreach program recently 
formed to both celebrate and create greater awareness for the blues and 
its place in the history and evolution of music and culture, both in 
the United States and around the world. The program is anchored by high 
profile events, and beginning next year, it will feature a wide array 
of participants, projects, and components designed to reach a large 
audience, as well as support blues oriented education and outreach 
programs, such as Blues in the Schools.
  This project also takes on a special meaning for me because I am a 
``daughter of the Delta,'' and my hometown of Helena has played a large 
role in the development of the blues. Today, Helena serves as a 
temporary blues Mecca each October when the three day King Biscuit 
Blues Festival takes place. And as I noted earlier, it is also the site 
of one of the longest running daily music shows, ``King Biscuit Time,'' 
which continues to air every weekday at 12:15 pm on KFFA radio from the 
Delta Cultural Center Visitors' Center. As long as I can remember, 
``King Biscuit Time'' has been an integral part of life and culture in 
the Delta. Debuting in

[[Page 15768]]

November 1941, ``King Biscuit Time'' originally featured famous 
harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson, guitarist Robert Junior 
Lockwood, and the King Biscuit Entertainers. When recently noting the 
uniqueness of the show, long-time host ``Sunshine'' Sonny Payne 
recalled that many of the songs played on ``King Biscuit Time'' 
originated during the live broadcasts, and in some cases, words to the 
songs were known to change day to day. After becoming involved with 
this project, I recently came across an article ``Pass the biscuits, 
cause it's King Biscuit Time . . . '' written by freelance writer Lex 
Gillespie. I believe this article provides an accurate account of the 
development of blues in the South, and I ask unanimous consent to 
submit it for the Record.
  So as you can see, the blues has been an important part of my life 
and the life of many others. It's a style of music that is, in its 
essence, truly American. But as we move into a new century and embrace 
new forms and styles of music, we must not allow today's youth to 
forget the legacy of our past. By teaching the blues, promoting the 
blues, and celebrating the blues, we can ensure that the rich culture 
and heritage of our forefathers will always live on. I urge my 
colleagues to support this resolution.
  Mr. President, ever since it hit the airwaves one lunchtime fifty-six 
years ago this November, ``King Biscuit Time'' has profoundly 
influenced the development and popularity of the blues. As the oldest 
and longest-running blues program on the radio, it helped promote the 
careers of bluesmen who pioneered this musical style and later brought 
it from street corners and juke joints in the South to an international 
audience. And today, KFFA and Helena are even ``must see'' stops for 
Japanese and European tourists who want to learn about the cultural 
roots of the blues.
  ``First things first,'' recalls Sonny ``Sunshine'' Payne, the 
program's host for over eleven thousand broadcasts; King Biscuit Time 
started when guitarist Robert Junior Lockwood and harmonica player 
Sonny Boy Williamson were told they would have to get a sponsor to get 
on the air.'' That was 1941, when Payne was a teenager cleaning 78 
rpm's and running errands at KFFA. ``They came to the station one day 
and I showed them in to station manager Sam Anderson . . . he sent them 
over to the Interstate Grocery Company and its owner Max Moore who had 
a flour called ``King Biscuit Flour . . .''
  Lockwood and Williamson became the show's original King Biscuit 
Entertainers who advertised flour and corn meal in Helena and the 
surrounding Delta region; and after a lucky break, Sonny Payne took 
over as program host when the announcer lost his script while on the 
air. The program was a smash hit, thanks mostly to the playing and on-
air presence of harp player Williamson. He became so popular that the 
sponsor named its product ``Sonny Boy Corn Meal'' and he was, and still 
is, pictured, smiling and with his harmonica, on a burlap sack of his 
own brand of meal.
  Williamson was a musical pioneer in his own right. He was one of the 
first to make the harmonica the centerpiece in a blues band. His unique 
phrasings, compared by many to the human voice, influenced countless 
harp players.
  His partner, Robert Junior Lockwood, stepson of the legendary Robert 
Johnson, also influenced the blues style. A fan of big band jazz, he 
incorporated jazzier elements into the blues, often playing the guitar 
with his fingers.
  As years passed, the duo expanded into a full band, including piano 
player ``Pine Top'' Perkins, Houston Stackhouse and ``Peck'' Curtis, 
and musicians who played on the show also advertised local appearances 
that gave them more work.
  With the success of ``King Biscuit Time,'' Helena soon became a 
center for the blues. It was a key stopping off point for black 
musicians on the trip north to the barrooms and clubs of Chicago's 
South and West sides. Already, in the thirties, the town had seen the 
likes of pianist Memphis Slim and Helena native Roosevelt Sykes, as 
well as guitarists Howlin' Wolf, Honeyboy Edwards, and Elmore James. 
And when the program went on the air, it helped shape the early careers 
of many an aspiring musician. ``Little Walter'' Jacobs and Jimmy 
Rogers, who later played with Muddy Waters, came to live and learn in 
Helena in the mid-1940's. Muddy Waters also brought his band to Helena 
to play on KFFA and in bars in the area. Teenager Ike Turner first 
heard the blues on KFFA around that time, and King Biscuit pianist 
``Pine Top'' Perkins gave him lessons in his trademark boogie woogie 
style.
  The program also influenced other stations to put the blues on the 
radio. Its initial popularity convinced advertisers that the blues had 
commercial potential. ``It was a major breakthrough,'' explains 
folklorist Bill Ferris, director of the Center for the Study of 
Southern Culture at Ole Miss; ``King Biscuit Time was a discovery of an 
audience and a market . . . that hitherto radio had not really 
understood.'' Across the Mississippi River from Helena, radio station 
WROX put the South's first black deejay, Early Wright, on the air 
spinning blues and gospel records in 1947. Upriver in Memphis, station 
WDIA the next year became the first southern station with an all-black 
staff, including a young musician named Riley ``B. B.'' King, who got 
an early break as a deejay. And, in Nashville in the late forties, 
station WLAC reached nearly half the country with its late-night blues 
and R&B shows. All of these programs and stations owe an enormous debt 
to ``King Biscuit Time.''
  And today, the legacy of the show continues, with blues programs 
heard on radio stations across the U.S., the recordings of the many 
``King Biscuit Entertainers,'' and the yearly King Biscuit festival in 
Helena celebrating the city's cultural heritage and significant role in 
developing and promoting the blues.

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