On August 5, Delta State University and the newly established Robert Johnson Memorial Fund, hosted The Peavine Awards for Artistic Excellence in the Mississippi Delta Blues. This event was used to kickoff The Mississippi Delta Blues Hall of Fame which will be located in the Charles W. Capps Archives building on the campus of Delta State in Cleveland. Plans are to erect a free standing state of the art building in the coming years. It was my privilege to be one of the keynote speakers at this event.

The creation of this Mississippi Delta Blues Hall of Fame and itÕs museum will be one more asset to lure visitors from around the globe to the Delta. These people will come here in order to view (in the near future) the best collection of blues memorabilia the world has to offer and to conduct research in the vast archives that will be available.

The Mississippi Delta Blues Hall of Fame will have a relationship with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. Two executives from the rock hall of fame flew down to DSU to speak at the event and reiterated time and again how excited their organization was to help with this project.

I am particularly interested in this because I have been a musician most of my life. Before entering the publishing arena I had the opportunity just out of Ole Miss to write and record ten albums, during which I spent a great deal of time in New York and London learning the music business. I know first hand how important this will be to our area. As soon as the national and international press gets wind of this, Cleveland and the Delta will be big news. This is why I am so excited about the Blues Hall of Fame being located right here in our backyard - this is a money making opportunity for the Delta. The possibilities are endless and the Mississippi Delta is super lucky to have this opportunity. Memphis threw away their chance for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to be located there. Cleveland, Ohio, however was more than happy to have it in their city and they have reaped the financial rewards.

Initially, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio expected 450,000 people to come through their doors the first year. To their astonishment, 1.6 million people came through that first year. What will be the numbers for the Mississippi Delta Blues Hall of Fame? No one can answer that question at the moment. However, one thing is certain: the Delta will attract far more visitors with the Blues Hall of Fame than without it and according to various figures, tourism in the Delta is increasing each year mainly due to our musical heritage.

This is a perfect time for us to capitalize on our heritage. If it were not for Delta blues music, there would not have been an Elvis Presley, or the Rolling Stones, or Hank Williams or anyone else who made a significant contribution to rock, gospel or county music. Blues music created here in the Delta is the root to gospel, rock, and country music. Now, more than ever, millions of people around the world are interested in blues music and where it originated. ItÕs amazing to me that someone in South Africa, England, or Japan may know more about our musical heritage than we do. IÕll be to first to admit that growing up around this music I couldnÕt see the value of it. It was only a few years ago that I realized the importance of this music and the impact it has had on the world.

If you are interested in blues music, great! If you are not, still get out your check book and make a donation to this project at Delta State because if you are a provider of goods or services here in the Delta, you will benefit from the existence of the Mississippi Delta Blues Hall of Fame more than you know.

Our congratulations to one of our DBJ columnists and my good friend, Andy

Taggart, who is returning to practice law at Butler, Snow, OÕMara, Stevens & Cannada in Jackson where he practiced before becoming Chief of Staff to Governor Fordice during the GovernorÕs first term. Butler, Snow, et al is expanding their Public Finance and Governmental Affairs practice and Andy will play a key role in this expansion. Andy was a contributor to my former publication in Jackson, Jackson Business Journal, and I am honored that he has been on board with us from the beginning here at the Delta Business Journal. Good luck Andy.

We are always in search of story ideas from around the Delta. Let us hear from you. DBJ

Scott Coopwood

Publisher

President ClintonÕs unprecedented address to the nation where he acknowledged that he ÒindeedÓ had a relationship with Ms. Lewinsky, 30 years his junior, speaks volumes about where we are today in this country with our morals. When the leader of the free world can lie on national television and still enjoy a high approval rating, itÕs time for us to sit back and evaluate where our country is heading. ItÕs also time for Americans to rediscover right from wrong. If the legal quest for truth permits perjury, whatÕs the use of our justice system?

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