Back in the 50's and 60's, Nashville had quite the R+B Scene centered around Jefferson Street, near the Fisk and Meharry college campuses, which are historically 'black colleges', both dating to just after the Civil War.
A parallel scene to Country Music, the clear channel 50,000 watt WLAC was an R+B and early rock and roll powerhouse which covered most of the Southeast, just like WSM pushing the Opry over the same real estate. Nashville is unique in having TWO clear channel AM stations, WSM (650AM) and WLAC (1510 AM, sadly no longer that format, but a Rush/Hannity/FOX talk radio these days). I remember an interview with Jimmy Vaughn where he spoke of him and his brother staying up and listening to WLAC for the blues and R+B.
Nashville in those days was ferociously segregated, like so many bigger cities in the South. So the R+B clubs were in this neighborhood, and after he was discharged from Uncle Sam's Army just up the road at Fort Campbell, Kentucky (home of the 101st Airborne) where he served, he gravitated here and paid his dues with various local acts, and learned the playing behind his head, with his teeth, etc., all moves which were common stage antics in the R+B bands, but were showstoppers for the later white kids who'd never been to those kind of clubs. It's amazing that he learned a lot of his moves across town from Roy Acuff and Minnie Pearl !
I saw this, and like most of the AMERICAN MASTERS broadcasts, it's really top-shelf.
J o e y
