September 2006 Blue Suede Shoes, Anyone? The Rock-a-Billy Hall of Fame and an annual festival try to gain statewide attention By Hadley Hickman
Paul McCartney once remarked that if not for Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles. Known as the father of rockabilly music—the genre commonly credited with giving birth to rock-and-roll—Perkins influenced artists such as Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, Keith Richards and Eric Clapton, to name a few. His chart-topping hit “Blue Suede Shoes” remains the legendary Sun Records’ first million-selling record.
With such a pedigree, it’s hardly surprising that the late Jackson native would be celebrated in his hometown. Such was the reason why Henry Harrison, local businessman and long-time friend of Perkins, decided to build the Rock-A-Billy Hall of Fame and start an annual music festival in April of 2000. “My hopes were to preserve the past and promote the future” by honoring Perkins and keeping rockabilly music alive, Harrison says. One would also hope such a festival would yield, at the very least, increased regional interest and produce additional tourism revenue.
So far, that hasn’t exactly been the case. Last August, the festival only drew 3,000 over the course of three days, while the Hall of Fame attracts approximately 1,500 people annually. Compare those figures with another small-town music festival, such as the annual Fiddlers’ Jamboree in Smithville that draws about 100,000 people per year, and the numbers are sobering.
Mary Beth Hopper, executive director of the Tourism Association of Southwest Tennessee says one problem is a lack of local interest. “We grew up here and with Carl Perkins, so we’re not aware of how important this [musical heritage] is, and we have taken it for granted.”
The other problem is simply a statewide lack of knowledge.
Music and festival experts like Marci Cardwell of MAC Presents music consulting company, as well as staffers at the Tennessee Music and Film Commission, have never even heard of the rockabilly festival.
Nevertheless, there is hope. David Bennett, the Commission’s executive director, is optimistic about the festival’s success. “With loving care and proper promotion, the rockabilly festival can become a huge cultural attraction.”
Recently, Harrison, who has been personally funding the festival for the past seven years, confirmed he will continue to do so for a few more, and supporters at the Jackson tourism department have been working on plans to solicit money from state grants, corporate sponsors and individual benefactors. Harrison had already received $17,000 in donations for this year’s festival even before tickets went on sale.
Plus, the festival has an increasing international following. Jake Kirkpatrick of Sweet Magnolia Tours in Memphis says the over the past three years he
has witnessed an increasing turnout of international tourists at the rockabilly festival.
Time will tell what’s in store for this Jackson festival. But people like Henry Harrison and Mary Beth Hopper are determined it will succeed. “There is no chance this festival is going to go away,” Harrison says.
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