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  • By Deborah Chatham .Photos by Stephen Anderson .Edited by Johnny Cole . The Southland Music Line continues our Mississippi Blues Trail Series at the marker recognizing Denise LaSalle, located near 102 Castleman Street west of Church Street in Belzoni, Mississippi. Born Ora Denise Allen, from humble beginnings, she was the youngest of eight children. Her parents were sharecroppers, and she picked cotton alongside them to help support the family. LaSalle…

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  • By Johnny Cole There have been many iconic female figures in pop music history, but only one truly deserves the title of “The Queen of Pop,” and that is Madonna Louise Ciccone. No other music artist in history has evolved and successfully reinvented themself as often as Madonna. With a career spanning more than four decades, Madonna has accomplished everything she set out to do in the early 80s. During…

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  • By Deborah Chatham Photos by Stephen Anderson The Southland Music Line continues our Mississippi Blues Trail Series at the marker recognizing Club Ebony at 404 Hannah Avenue in Indianola, Mississippi. Club Ebony has a long and storied history since its inception during the early days of the Chitlin’ Circuit. The term Chitlin’ Circuit indicated Black-run venues across the region during segregation. Johnny Jones first opened Club Ebony in 1948 to…

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  • Compiled by Johnny Cole . Next Page >1 | 2 | 3 The Rolling Stones, the most enduring band in rock & roll history, are back with a brand new studio album of new material. They released Hackney Diamonds on October 20, 2023, to positive reviews, while debuting at #1 in multiple countries around the globe. Their single “Angry” will likely be listed as my top song of 2023. What The…

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  • By Deborah Chatham Photos by Stephen Anderson Piney Woods Country Life School, located just 21 miles south of Jackson, Mississippi, hardly sounds like the name of a school based on music education. However, the school boasts a rich, historical connection to the education and development of many notable Mississippi music artists. The founder and first president of Piney Woods School, Laurence C. Jones, envisioned an educational program that emphasized classroom…

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  • By Johnny Cole Photos by Stephen Anderson Recently while discussing Summerlyn Power’s song “Healing Like I Am” with a multiple Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, he expressed how much he enjoyed her unique approach to an atypical song about a breakup. Interestingly, the song recognizes the hurt, heartbreak, and healing on both sides of the equation. As Powers light-heartedly describes it “the nicest breakup song ever written.” For the most part, she very…

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  • By Johnny ColePhotos by Stephen Anderson How a great song comes to light can be both a fascinating and rewarding process that occasionally comes quickly, but more often takes a journey of its own with hopes of resonating with others. The Gulf Coast has an amazing list of gifted and creative songwriters. Many of them have received widespread recognition for their original music. Several popular songwriters festivals that spotlight this…

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  • Photos by Stephen AndersonCommentary by Johnny Cole The Southland Music Line wants to take this occasion to remember Jimmy Buffett, who we lost on this Labor Day weekend. Jimmy Buffett, singer-songwriter, best-selling author, and successful entrepreneur, was born in Pascagoula, Mississippi on Christmas Day in 1946. Buffett was 76 at the time of his passing. Truthfully, there was and will only be one Jimmy Buffett. Shocked Parrot Heads, Buffett’s huge and devoted…

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  • By Johnny Cole “Dedicated to Annie” Back in 1989 when I first became aware of the Scottish band, Texas, I quickly recognized something very special about them, in particular their lead singer Sharleen Spiteri. She and Johnny McElhone founded Texas in 1986. They took their band name from the 1984 Wim Wenders movie Paris, Texas. The band released their debut album Southside in 1989, along with the debut single “I Don’t Want a…

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  • By Deborah Chatham Photos by Stephen Anderson Edited by Johnny Cole The Southland Music Line attended the album release of Amanda Donald’s 100 Roots which took place on Sunday, August 13, 2023, at Callaghan’s Irish Social Club in Mobile, Alabama. Opened in 1946, Callaghan’s, which has hosted shows by such music artists as Jason Isbell, Alabama Shakes, Jimmy Hall, the late Justin Townes Earl, Dylan LeBlanc, and Lilly Hiatt, has…

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