James Burton has been presented a Grammy certificate by Grammy executive Jon Hornyak! Read the below to find out more....
State's Grammy winners honored
Mavis Staples' voice Thursday night dripped with soul - deep and rich and real as she sang The Staples Singers' classic hit I'll Take You There.
But Staples' thoughts centered on her dad, Pops Staples, who taught his four children to sing harmony sitting on the floor of their home in the Delta town of Drew while playing a guitar he bought at a pawn shop. Pops Staples died in 2000 at the age of 85, one year after The Staples Singers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and too late to see himself and his children earn the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, in 2005.
"He's the reason I keep moving, keep pushing," the 68-year-old Staples said before opening Mississippi - The Birthplace of America's Music Celebrates Its Grammy Legacy, a gala at Jackson's Marriott Downtown on Thursday. "Pops started it for me. And I'm sure he's smiling tonight."
The event also featured performances by Mississippi artists Paul Overstreet, Brandy, Eddie Cotton and The Williams Brothers.
"Man, I always wanted to play the Grammys, but I never dreamed it would happen in my own backyard," said Cotton, the blues performer from Jackson who played a tribute to Mississippi icon B.B. King. "This is too cool."
Staples said the same thing about Gov. Haley Barbour, who served as host of the show, along with first lady Marsha Barbour. "The governor ... he's one cool fellow," said Staples, who resides in Chicago. "He's not stiff and stern like most governors."
Barbour chuckled when told of Staples' comment. "That's about as cool as it gets, for Mavis Staples to say that about you," he said. "But being the governor of the state that has produced more Grammy winners and nominees per capita than any state in America ... that makes you cool - even if you're not."
Overstreet, a two-time Grammy Award winner for co-writing the country hits Forever and Ever Amen and Love Can Build A Bridge, said Mississippi's secret is "our culture, the way we were raised. We just got that Southern thing going."
Next year's gala, the third in what Barbour plans to become an annual event, will be held in Tunica "where we can seat 1,200 instead of 400," Barbour said. "Then, hopefully, we'll have the Convention Center done and be back in Jackson in 2010."
A trio of Swedish divas also performed. Hannah Holgersson paid tribute to Mississippi opera legend Leontyne Price, who grew up in Laurel, by singing Caro Come, which Price has performed countless times. Anorah performed Here Without You, a hit song by the Mississippi Gulf Coast rock group 3 Doors Down. And Beatrice sang What's In It For Me, honoring country superstar Faith Hill of Star.
Kathy Thibodeaux, founder and artistic director of Ballet Magnificat! in Jackson, performed a dance interpretation of Holgersson's song.
Dazed and Confused and Chasing Amy actress Joey Lauren Adams served as emcee.
James Burton, a Louisiana native, was presented a Grammy certificate by Grammy executive Jon Hornyak for his guitar performance on Elvis Presley's gospel hit How Great Thou Art.
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Fri May 30, 2008 9:27 am
