Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame
2005 Reviews
2005 Induction Ceremony
More Photos of the 2005 Induction Ceremony
The Omaha Star
Chatman Initiates Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame
Vaughn Chatman no longer lives in Omaha, but leaves no doubt about his love for the city and its rich musical legacy. He is responsible for creating a historic musical timeline spanning the years of roaring 20s through the fused contemporary 1980s.
Names like Loyd Hunter, Preston Love, Richetta Wilson, Calvin Keys, Buddy Miles, Jeanne Rogers and Wali Ali are among the 40 great Omaha contributors. The event was held at Harrah's Casino and Hotel in Council Bluffs, Iowa and coincided with the Native Omaha Day celebrations.
First a special induction ceremony honored the work of deceased Omaha artist. KETV producer, Ben Gray was joined by veteran broadcaster, Harold Dow as masters of ceremony for the evening. Dow is recognized as the first African American news anchor and talk show host ever hired by KETV. He is now a CBS correspondent for the news program "48 Hours" as well as reporting for the "CBS Evening News".
Former KETV anchor, Lee Terry spoke kindly about his partnership with Dow in the late 60s. "Harold is a great broadcaster and a great example to the youth of America ." Terry and Dow agreed that Terry took considerable risks by hiring the first Black reporter in Omaha. "That risk has paid off ," Dow said. "So tell your children to dream big dreams."
Honored in the hall of fame were: Lloyd Hunter, Helen Woods, Westley Devereaux, King Richard Gardner, Eugene McDaniels, Ruth Norman, Mason Prince, Billy Rich, Luigi Waites, Richetta Wilson, Lester Abrams, Vernon Garrett, Stemsy Hunter, Calvin Keys, Michael Lewis, Victor Lewis, Curly Martin, Buddy Miles, Carolyn Rich Jeanne Rogers, Wali Ali, Donnie Beck, Ron Beck, Merle Lewis, Arno Lucas Lois McMorris, Charles Miller, Carol Rogers, Leslie Smith, Steppen Stonz, and Keith Rogers.
The seasoned communication skills of Gray and Dow were a compliment during the posthumous awards ceremony for Wynomie Harris, Percy Chatman, Herbie Rich, Larry Bell Joe Edmonson, Limie Washburn, Sylvester Johnson, Billy Rogers and the incomparable Preston Love.
Accepting honors on Love's behalf were son and daughter Richie Love and Portia Love-King . King read a poem she had written in her father's memory.
Saxophone Wail-I sing a song / a saxophone wail / that wraps around / the tail end of a song / of loss and mourning. / It soars up above the air / and up through the clouds / spread its wings / to the heavens / as you can hear it. / So I sing a song / of smokey low blues / that originates in / the basement of my heart / and wraps around / the tail end of a song / of loss and mourning. / While I miss you / and wish you could hear me / once more / down here on the ground /. (Portia Live-King)
The living legends induction ceremony was followed by; CACE, Lifetime Achievement, Heritage, Humanitarian, Jewell, Omaha Star, and other special awards. Hall of Fame recipient, Ron Beck said he always advises young musicians to look at history in order to learn where music originated.
"There is a legacy of Black music that we have an incumbent responsibility to pass on," Beck said. " And a deep seated knowledge of music by-passes any new technology."
The Reader
A Rich Music History Long Untold
The fact that jazz and blues greats often played North Omaha’s live music haunts is well-known. What’s not is this inner city’s huge roster of high-caliber musical talents. Enough Omaha artists have impacted the industry to rival the legacy from historical music hotbeds like Kansas City, Mo. The contributions of these Omaha-bred and -born may add up to one of black music’s largest untold stories.
Bringing this weighty heritage to light “before it’s lost” motivated native Omahan Vaughn Chatman to create the new Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame, which will honor 40 artists in an inaugural awards dinner Thursday, Aug. 4. The inductees range from such swing era figures as the late Preston Love, big band leader Lloyd Hunter and rock pioneer Wynonie Harris, right on up to such modern artists as percussionist Luigi Waites, jazz guitarist Calvin Keys, songwriter-singer Gene “Booker” McDaniels, drummer/vocalist Buddy Miles, sideman/songwriter Arno Lucas and drummer/vocalist/keyboardist Lester Abrams.
“When you look at the overall picture, Omaha’s influenced all kinds of music and still does. Half the inductees are still out there playing and influencing the world,” Chatman said. “Buddy Miles came out of Omaha and went on to play with Jimi Hendrix [not to mention Stevie Wonder, David Bowie and a host of other legends]. Lalomie Washburn started with Rufus and hooked up with Chaka Khan.”
The “awesome” Keys has played with everybody from Earl “Fatha” Hines to Ray Charles to Ahmad Jamal. McDaniels has written standards for many top artists, including the megahit “Feel Like Makin’ Love” for Roberta Flack. Lucas has collaborated with Luther Vandross, Al Jarreau, Michael Jackson, et cetera. Abrams headed the Omaha-based grand funk group The L.A. Carnival. Lois “Lady Mac” McMorris has shared the stage and earned accolades from the likes of B.B. King.
“If Omaha’s looking for something to be known for, this is what we should be known for,” Chatman said, “that we’ve turned out a number of artists who’ve achieved recognition everywhere in this country and all over the world. There was an era when this was a great place for musicians. They all influenced each other.”
Miles, co-founder of the legendary Band of Gypsies with Hendrix, said he and his contemporaries earned their chops “doing a lot of jamming.” He and many of the other inductees were peers on the burgeoning music scene here.
“Everybody was into music. We all shared ideas and information. Any type of musical adventure or experience that presented itself, we went for it,” Keys said.
Mentors abounded too. Jazz master Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, Keys recalled, “lived in Omaha for awhile. He used to come down on the scene too. He taught everybody. He was the guru. There was another guitar player here named Luther ‘Guitar’ Woodruff. We called him Papa. He was a big influence.”
Keys and company were also schooled by former Count Basie sideman Preston Love. “He helped a lot of us,” Keys said.
And then visiting artists infused even more inspiration. “Every time Wayne Bennett, who played with Bobby ‘Blue’ Bland, would come through town, he had stories we would listen to and he had some new chords he had learned. That made us hungry to work,” Keys said. “Omaha was a melting pot. We were right in the center of everything, and we were a window for a lot of stuff going on.”
Chatman, a musician-turned-attorney living in Fair Oaks, Calif., was among the young learning from the hepcats, including his late older brother Percy, an inductee. Music was everywhere. It was in the streets, the projects, the churches, the bars, the barbershops, the theaters and the nightclubs — the Dreamland and Carnation ballrooms, the Showcase Lounge, the Elks Club, the Off-Beat Supper Club.
While some of Omaha’s brightest talents remained, most, like Keys, left to chart music careers — in jazz, blues, R & B, soul and funk — in a myriad of back rooms, studios, concert halls and stadiums, both in the United States and abroad. Whether on stage or in sessions, on the road or back home, the artists took a piece of Omaha with them.
“Contrary to popular belief, Omaha was not just about jazz or Preston Love. A lot of genres thrived here. A lot of music developed here. A lot of remarkable talent trained here. Cats like Buddy Miles and Lester Abrams created a unique Omaha sound, a big bass sound, that they introduced wherever they went,” Chatman said.
The dinner will reunite Omaha artists separated by years of touring and recording. McDaniels and fellow inductee Richetta Wilson, who performed with Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald, are to do a duet that night. Coinciding with Native Omaha Days, the biennial African-American homecoming, the banquet promises a nostalgic celebration of the city’s fat music times. Proceeds are to fund music scholarships for minority youths. Chatman, whose event is slated every two years during the Days, is working with local educators in the hope that a curriculum will be designed to teach Omaha’s rich black music history in the public schools.
The local talent pool runs so deep, there’s no end of potential future inductees. Among the leading contenders are sax man Buddy Tate and bass fiddle player Alvin “Junior” Raglin, who went on to fame with Count Basie and Duke Ellington, respectively.
“The list goes on and on, A whole lot of talent has come out of Omaha,” Keys said.
“Yeah Omaha was a mecca to be reckoned with,” Miles added.
The Omaha Black Music Hall of Fame Award Event is Thursday, Aug. 4, at Harrah’s Casino, 1 Harrah’s Blvd., Council Bluffs. Happy Hour is 4:30-5:30 p.m., and dinner is 5:30-6:30 p.m., with the ceremony beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets are $35 and may be purchased at omahablackmusic.com, at Leola’s Records and Tapes, at 5625 Ames Ave., or by calling 888.512.7469. For a complete list of inductees, including bios, visit the website.
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