{"id":11800,"date":"2011-12-12T09:21:49","date_gmt":"2011-12-12T15:21:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/zing.olemiss.edu\/?p=11800"},"modified":"2014-09-23T08:33:30","modified_gmt":"2014-09-23T13:33:30","slug":"memorabilia-of-two-legendary-bluesmen-find-permanent-home-in-blues-archive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/memorabilia-of-two-legendary-bluesmen-find-permanent-home-in-blues-archive\/","title":{"rendered":"Memorabilia of two legendary bluesmen find permanent home in blues archive"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Percy<\/a>The rare and valuable memorabilia of two legendary bluesmen have found a home in the Blues Archive at the University of Mississippi, thanks to two patrons who generously donated the materials.<\/p>\n

Thousands of items once owned by singer-songwriters Percy Mayfield and Lowell Fulson were donated by Mick and Molli Kolassa to the archive housed in UM\u2019s J.D. Williams Library. The collection includes a variety of items, including handwritten lyrics penned by Mayfield, photographs of the various musicians and family members, correspondence, contracts and much more.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo have the memorabilia of these two blues legends in the Blues Archive is really an honor,\u201d said Kolassa, founder and chairman of Medical Marketing Economics LLC. \u201cIt was the last wish of Tina Mayfield for these items to be permanently located here. I\u2019m pleased that I was able to fulfill her desire and add yet another outstanding collection to the archives\u2019 world-renowned repository.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among Percy Mayfield\u2019s best known songs are \u201cHit the Road, Jack,\u201d which was recorded and made popular by Ray Charles, and \u201cSugar Mama\/Peachy Papa.\u201d Fulson\u2019s major hits include \u201cReconsider, Baby,\u201d which was covered by Elvis Presley and Eric Clapton.<\/p>\n

\u201cPercy Mayfield was known as the \u2018poet laureate of the blues,\u2019\u201d said Gregory Johnson, UM blues curator and associate professor. \u201cThe handwritten lyrics are interesting because some of them were written on whatever he happened to have available when an idea struck him. One is written on an airplane ticket envelope; another is on hotel stationery.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLowell Fulson was one of the most well-known West Coast blues musicians. One of B.B. King\u2019s first big hits was a cover of Fulson\u2019s song, \u2018Three O\u2019Clock Blues.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Tina Mayfield donated a collection of materials related to Percy Mayfield in the 1980s. She discussed donating the remainder of both Percy Mayfield and Fulson\u2019s materials also, but passed before she had the opportunity to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis collection really helps round this existing collection out,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThe Blues Archive is always seeking out new collections to help us maintain a thorough resource for blues scholars around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Born in northwestern Louisiana, Percy Mayfield began his performing career in Texas and then moved to Los Angeles. In 1947, a small record label, Swing Time, signed him to record \u201cTwo Years of Torture.\u201d The song sold steadily over the next few years, prompting Art Rupe to sign Mayfield to his Specialty Records label in 1950.<\/p>\n

Although his vocal style was influenced by such stylists as Charles Brown, Mayfield did not focus on the white market as did many West Coast bluesmen. Rather, he sang blues ballads, mostly his own songs, in a gentle vocal style. His most famous recording, \u201cPlease Send Me Someone to Love,\u201d a No. 1 R&B hit single in 1950, was widely influential and recorded by many other singers.<\/p>\n

\"Lowel<\/a>A 1952 auto accident left him seriously injured, including a facial disfigurement that limited his performing. However, Mayfield continued to write and record for Specialty until 1954 and then recorded for Chess Records and Imperial Records. His career continued to flourish with songs like \u201cStrange Things Happening,\u201d \u201cLost Love,\u201d \u201cWhat a Fool I Was,\u201d \u201cPrayin\u2019 for Your Return,\u201d\u2019 \u201cCry Baby\u201d and \u201cBig Question.\u201d In 1961, he came to the attention of Ray Charles with \u201cHit the Road Jack.\u201d Charles signed him to his Tangerine Records label, primarily as a songwriter, and there he wrote \u201cHide Nor Hair,\u201d \u201cAt The Club,\u201d \u201cDanger Zone\u201d and \u201cOn the Other Hand, Baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayfield died of a heart attack in 1984 at age 63.<\/p>\n

Born on a Choctaw reservation in Oklahoma, Fulson moved to California, forming a band that soon included a young Ray Charles and tenor saxophone player Stanley Turrentine. He recorded for Swing Time Records in the 1940s, Chess Records (on the Checker label) in the 1950s, Kent Records in the 1960s and Rounder Records (Bullseye) in the 1970s.<\/p>\n

His most memorable and influential recordings included \u201cThree O\u2019Clock Blues\u201d (now a blues standard), the Memphis Slim-penned \u201cEveryday I Have the Blues,\u201d \u201cLonesome Christmas,\u201d \u201cReconsider Baby\u201d (recorded in 1960 by Presley and in 1994 by Clapton) and \u201cTramp\u201d (co-written with Jimmy McCracklin and later covered by Otis Redding with Carla Thomas, ZZ Top, Alex Chilton and Tav Falco).<\/p>\n

Fulson died in Long Beach in March 1999 at age 77.<\/p>\n

For more information, visit the UM\u2019s Blues Archive<\/a> or call 662-915-7753.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The rare and valuable memorabilia of two legendary bluesmen have found a home in the Blues Archive at the University of Mississippi, thanks to two patrons who generously donated the materials. Thousands of items once owned by singer-songwriters Percy Mayfield and Lowell Fulson were donated by Mick and Molli Kolassa to the archive housed inRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[853],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nMemorabilia of two legendary bluesmen find permanent home in blues archive - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/memorabilia-of-two-legendary-bluesmen-find-permanent-home-in-blues-archive\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Memorabilia of two legendary bluesmen find permanent home in blues archive - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The rare and valuable memorabilia of two legendary bluesmen have found a home in the Blues Archive at the University of Mississippi, thanks to two patrons who generously donated the materials. 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