Blues Society of Western PA - Newsletter

As I rode the shuttle from the hotel to the Grand Casino in Tunica, Mississippi, I was ninety percent sure that the elderly gentleman sitting across from me was Hubert Sumlin. I was sitting there trying to figure out how to confirm his identity without embarrassing myself. When our eyes finally met, I said, “Excuse me, but you look just like the guy whose picture is on the wall at Moondog’s.” He smiled broadly and said, “Moondog’s, I love that place!” This was his big night and he was on an emotional high. He was to be inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame that evening and that was definitely what he wanted to talk about. As we parted ways, he said, “I’ll see you tonight.” I apologized and replied that we did not have tickets. He then asked for something with my name on it so that he could arrange for tickets. (I gave him my membership card. I was traveling with the membership secretary, Jonnye, and was pretty sure that I could replace it.)

That evening as we stepped onto the shuttle that would take us to the Tunica Queen, I was asked for the tickets for the event. After presenting our tickets and being asked how we had gotten them, the man in the first seat of the bus said in awe, “Wow, you are friends with Hubert Sumlin!” -Jim Weber

That began an evening of awe for us. We stepped on board of the Tunica Queen as guests of Hubert Sumlin. We had just arrived at the cocktail party. This was to precede the main event of the evening, The 2008 Blues Hall of Fame Awards. We were first impressed with the majestic beauty and magnitude of the Mississippi River. Its power and mystery was the subject of so many songs that have been written…and for good reason. We then turned our attention to the matter at hand. We were both impressed and overwhelmed at sharing cocktails, sampling horderves, and mingling with what was deemed as the upper echelon of the Blues world. Some of the blues greats that we spotted and rubbed elbows with were: Fionna Boyes, the Flip Tops, Janiva Magness, Lou Ann Barton, Peetie Wheatstraw, Nappy Brown and Norma Jean Brusso. Bruce Iglar from Alligator Records appeared. Bill Wax from FM Satellite Radio was also spotted. We observed and we listened. We traded stories about Guitar Shorty with Shorty’s former drummer and his lovely, blues promoter wife. Willie from the Flip Tops was very gracious as we traded stories about festivals and events. It was amazing to see and hear how much these people contributed to the blues scene. We talked with one, very down to earth Atlanta executive and his wife who chose to travel exclusively in a large camper to various blues events. The long drive helped him to unwind from the perils of the business world. It was exciting. The boat finally steamed into the dock. Everyone strolled into the Meeting Center at the Tunica River Park complex. We followed the crowd into the elegantly set room for dinner. We then decided that we were intruding on this glamorous grouping of people. Before leaving, I chose to tour the museum that was attached to the meeting center. As I was browsing the displays, I found myself shoulder to shoulder with Kenny Wayne Sheppard. We talked about his various times in Pittsburgh. We also talked about my favorite, budding musician, Paul Markgraf, a.k.a. Johnny Five. Mr. Sheppard proved to be a very attentive and soft-spoken young man. Jim and I quietly slipped out into the evening air and let the “heavy hitters” of the blues world get on with what seemed to be a very private and special event. We said our goodbyes to Hubert Sumlin and thanked him for his invitation. We knew that he would receive his well –deserved and hard-earned award with or without us. Exit stage right.

- Jonnye Weber