Featured photo: Mira Smith (guitar) and Margaret Lewis pose for a press photo at RAM Recording Studios in Shreveport. Interested in music history? Let us take you on a brief, online tour of addresses in Shreveport-Bossier that have played a role in defining American music. This short list of historic …
Scott Auer’s The Little Shop of Music (1950 E. 70th Street, Shreveport) is a rare thing: a new and used vinyl record and CD shop that is clean and well-organized, with prices marked on products and a friendly face overseeing operations. The collection itself is strongest when it comes to …
As far as epitaphs go, the words that are etched into Elder Utah Smith’s new grave marker in Shreveport are about as cool as they come: “Electric Guitar Evangelist.” At 1 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018, a group of music and history enthusiasts will gather at Carver Memorial Cemetery …
If you happen to love music history and a good ghost story, hold onto your Victrola, because Shreveport Municipal Auditorium just made one heck of an announcement. The National Historic Landmark has placed tickets on sale for a series of haunted tours during the week of Halloween (including one on …
Know someone who loves Louisiana music history? An expansive new boxed set from Bear Family Records, At the Louisiana Hayride Tonight, chronicles the lifespan of the Louisiana Hayride in a way that it has never been chronicled before. The release of this set has generated a wave of press coverage …
Shreveport-based pastor, disc jockey and singer Eddie Giles is the subject of a fantastic new CD compiling Giles’ recordings from 1967 to 1969. The CD, entitled Eddy Giles: Southern Soul Brother, was recently released by Ace Records in London and may be purchased online via Amazon.com. The music itself is …
For Shreveporters, Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter (1888-1949) represents an iconic music figure from our own backyard. Growing up in nearby Mooringsport, the bright red lights of St. Paul’s Bottoms neighborhood (renamed Ledbetter Heights in 1982) attracted Leadbelly to Shreveport where he honed his guitar skills. His time spent in the Bottoms …
Rock music fans in and around Shreveport-Bossier received a surprise this week when it was announced that Jack White would be making a stop at Shreveport Municipal Auditorium on June 2, 2014, during his first headlining U.S. tour since 2012. White, who is an American roots music fan in addition …
Photo: Rev. Utah Smith, circa 1948. Source: Shreveport Sun (Shreveport, LA), June 26, 1948; Black Ethnic Archives, Southern University at Shreveport. The scene of a minister conducting faith healing ceremonies under a tent in Shreveport’s Allendale-Lakeside neighborhood during the 1940s evokes a striking mental image. Perhaps even more so when …
Above photo: Stan Lewis, photographed inside of Stan’s Record Shop, circa 1955. Photo provided by post author Chris Brown. On Saturday, March 8, 2014,Unscene Shreveport will celebrate the achievements of Stan “The Record Man” Lewis. The day includes performances by musicians who recorded for the Jewel/Paula/Ronn record labels, panel discussions …
The Oxford American magazine has released its annual Southern Music Issue, and this year’s edition spotlights the music of Louisiana. The issue is packaged with a 21-song CD containing two songs by Shreveport-Bossier artists Margaret Lewis (Maggie Warwick) and the Reverend Utah Smith. Among the 150 pages of the magazine …
