Louisiana
Legends' honored by LA broadcasters By James Ronald Skains Shreveport native James Burton headlined Louisiana Public Broadcast 2010 `Louisiana Legends' annual event held at the Old State Capitol in Baton Rouge on May 6, 2010. Burton told the Piney Woods Journal, "I got my start playing on the Louisiana Hayride back in the 1950's when I was 14 years old. As soon as the Hayride shutdown, I found out that the big money in playing music was in Hollywood, and that is where I went and stayed." For the next forty years, Burton was based in Hollywood earning the reputation as the premier recording session guitarist. During those 40 years, Burton also toured the country as a member of Elvis Presley's band for six years. "Elvis was easy to work with and a lot of fun to be around," Burton pointed out. "It developed into where I was his sideman on a lot of the shows. I worked with Elvis from 1989 until his death in 1974," Burton, who was born in the little north Louisiana town of Dubberly on August 21, 1939 explained. Burton also spent a numbers of years in the employment of two other well known singers, John Denver and Emmy Lou Harris. "Both were consummate professionals," Burton noted. "I enjoyed my time with both of them. We did a lot of great shows and had a lot of fun." Actually, Burton burst on the national rock and roll scene at age 15 when he teamed up with Dale Hawkins to record the still popular hit, "Suzy Q." Burton was often seen on the Ozzie & Harriet TV shows accompanying Ricky Nelson. He recorded several songs with Ricky Nelson, including classic solos on many of Nelson's hit records. Burton's first guitar of choice was the '53 Fender Telecaster. In his long career with a guitar in his hand, Burton, inspired many generations of players with his Fender Telecaster guitar and established the Telecaster as an indispensable tool in recording studios and stages around the world. Burton is the guitar hero's guitar hero, an icon among rock and country musicians. During his career, Burton played on thousands of recordings produced not only in Hollywood but also in Nashville. The artists who sought his services were quite diverse including Johnny Cash, Frank Sinatra, Merle Haggard, The Beach Boys, Elvis Costello and in recent years, Brad Paisley. "My main focus in music now is the Foundation that I sat up to raise money and provide guitars to kids," Burton said enthusiastically. "Not only do we provide guitars to kids but we also teach them how to play. That is one way that I think that we can keep the music alive, six strings at a time." The James Burton Foundation office is ironically at 714 Elvis Presley Avenue across from the old Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport. The Foundation supplies guitars for school kids with a "spark for playing," but also to patients young and old in hospitals and more recently to some American veterans. The only woman in the 2010 group of honorees was Marjorie Abbey Morrison of Hammond. Long known for her support and participation in the arts and cultural community in south Louisiana, Marjorie is the former wife of longtime US Congressmen Jimmy Morrison. "During those years, we split our time between Hammond and Washington. For the Louisiana delegation in Washington, it was like a big family. We were together much of the time and it was a big family atmosphere for us in Washington, DC." Another of the honorees was former elected State Superintendant of Louisiana Schools. Louis Michot, a former World War II navy veteran on the US Carrier Enterprise launched a entrepreneurial career after returning to Lafayette after the war. Michot built the first drive in-theater in Lafayette. He followed that venture up with 45 fast food restaurants in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas operating as Burger Chefs. Michot told those in attendance with a big chuckle, "From all the good things that people say about me now days, I just get better than I ever was." Honoree Willis Reed from Bernice, Louisiana is the former 10 year NBA great who graduated from Grambling University. At 6-10, Reed was a big man on the court and in many games was parried against an even bigger man, Wilt Chamberlain. Reed noted that his most memorable game was on May 8, 1970 which was the NBA Championship game against Wilt Chamberlain and the formidable Los Angeles Lakers. In four of the previous games Reed had scored more than 127 points while averaging 15 rebounds. However, in the fifth game he sustained a painful hip injury and was not expected to play in the final game. However, limping up and down the court, Reed, who only scored four points in that game, provided so much inspiration for his teammates that the Knicks beat the Lakers by 14 points to become NBA Champions. "There isn't a day in my life that people don't remind me of that game," Reed told those in attendance at the LBP Legends event. Now, living in Ruston with his wife Gale after coaching for an extended time in the NBA, Reed is still active in his hometown of Bernice. The last honoree was former Governor Buddy Roemer. The former Governor of Louisiana was born and raised with four siblings on a cotton and cattle farm in north Louisiana just a little south of Shreveport. Roemer noted in his remarks, "There must be something very special about North Louisiana in Louisiana. Three out of the five honorees tonight are from north Louisiana." Roemer, who holds two degrees from Harvard University, and is a former professor at Harvard, began a career in Louisiana politics when he was elected a delegate in 1973 to re-write the Louisiana Constitution. Roemer moved up in his political career in 1980 when he was elected to Congress in the 4th Congressional District. He served in the House of Representatives for eight years being a noted leader of the Conservative Democrats dubbed the "Boll Weevils" during the Reagan Presidency. Since 1993, Roemer has been very active in the banking business in the Baton Rouge area. He also serves as Chairman of the Board and co-owner of CRSA, a senior living developer and manager of some four dozen continuous retirement communities in 20 states. In some very candid remarks, the former Governor said, "Time passes so fast. I can not believe that I am the age I am. It is so easy to get preoccupied and miss out on many wonderful opportunities in life." Louisiana Public Broadcasting covers all of the state of Louisiana. Under long-term President and CEO Beth Courtney, LPB begin its annual Louisiana Legends Awards Gala in 1990. Since its inception, 96 well known Louisianans have been recognized by LPB in their Legends awards. |