Fans plan a rocking highway
Posted on Friday, December 28, 2007
WALNUT RIDGE — Sections of U. S. 67 from Bald Knob to the Missouri state line in Clay County lie forgotten among the small towns the roadway traverses as construction continues on a rerouted four-lane replacement.
But for Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Sonny Burgess, Billy Lee Riley and other rock ’n’ roll musicians in the 1950 s, U. S. 67 was the road to stardom. They performed in the Silver Moon and Porky’s Rooftop in Newport and Bob King’s in Swifton, honing their talents for the big time.
Now, a group of music fans from Randolph, Lawrence, Clay and Jackson counties want to preserve the old highway, giving it a historical designation and creating tourist stops along the 100-mile route.
“We want to make this a lasting legacy and benefit the economy of the region,” said Gary Gazaway, a Pocahontas musician who first thought of converting U. S. 67 into a rock ’n ’ roll tourist venue in 2005.
“Nearly a million people go to Graceland every year,” he said. “A lot are from Europe and overseas. A lot drive down U. S. 61 to Clarksdale, Miss., to see the Blues Highway. Let’s get them to come here.” Organizers met in Walnut Ridge on Thursday for the first time, hoping to gain historical status for the highway from the state Highway and Transportation Department. They also shared visions of economic gain for the area.
“The new highway will bypass all those areas,” Gazaway said. “This will direct tourists right there.” Linda Oakley Bowlin of Pocahontas sees holding rock ’n’ roll concerts along U. S. 67 and constructing small museums and gift shops at the various towns along the road.
“We’re not the Ozarks,” she said. “We’re not the Delta. But we’ve got something important, too.” She envisioned installing plaques at various stops along the way, signifying birthplaces, memorial events and other rockabilly items.
Henry Boyce, a Newport at- torney who organizes the Depot Days in the Jackson County town, agreed with Bowlin. “If people come over here from Memphis, they want to see something,” he said. “We need at least one big thing for each county.” U. S. 67 begins at the Jackson County line near Bald Knob and heads northeast through Bradford and Newport and then north through Swifton, Tuckerman, Hoxie and Walnut Ridge.
Bill Rice, an award-winning country-and-western songwriter, was born in Pocahontas, along with Riley, points that will be noted on the highway.
The road then heads north from Pocahontas to Corning and then to the Missouri state line.
In the mid-1950 s, Presley played at the Silver Moon in Newport and at Bob King’s, a small honky-tonk in Swifton. Riley and others also traveled the road, playing to packed venues along the way.
“Busloads of people travel to Tupelo [Miss. ] to see Elvis ’ home,” said Sonny Burgess, who attended Thursday’s meeting. “They’d make the same trip over here to see where he played.” The music was called “rockabilly,” a genre that formed in the early 1950 s as white Southern musicians tried to imitate the upbeat tempos of B. B. King, Louis Jordan and other black musicians. Rockabilly was influenced by rhythm and blues and acoustic country music.
Although the name for the style stuck, Burgess disagrees with the classification.
“We were rock and rollers,” he said.
The group on Thursday named as its director, Marvin Schwartz, a Little Rock author who is writing a book about the Silver Moon and rockabilly music.
Schwartz estimated it may take up to five years to get the highway designated and to implement tourist attractions.
Gazaway first thought of honoring Randolph County-born musicians during the Pocahontas Sesquicentennial celebration held in September 2006. But, Gazaway, who has played trumpet for Joe Cocker, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Steve Winwood, Phish and the Memphis Horns, opted to make the effort regional.
“This area is very significant in rock ’n’ roll,” he said. “All the current artists credit the rock ’n’ rollers from here for influencing them. This is a way to show that off.”
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