Crib Notes

DESPERATELY SEEKING TOURISTS: Can Macon’s ode to Georgia’s musicians stay afloat?

The Georgia Music Hall of Fame — the Macon landmark that has amassed relics of the state’s rich musical history, if not the crowds those relics warrant — is in dire straits. According to the authority board that oversees it, if the museum isn’t on its way to raising $225,000 by October, it will close its doors for good Dec. 31.

This seems an unlikely crisis for a music museum in a state that has churned out acts and artists including James Brown, Gram Parsons, R.E.M., Ludacris, Otis Redding, the B-52’s, Little Richard, Ray Charles, the Allman Brothers Band, and OutKast. The problem could boil down to one shortcoming: location.

Since opening its doors in 1996, the museum has failed to draw the visitors it needs to survive. Early estimates were that the Georgia Music Hall of Fame would attract 150,000 people per year, says executive director Lisa Love. Instead, the museum has averaged between 25,000 and 35,000.

Continue reading “Georgia Music Hall of Fame: History at stake”

(Photo courtesy Georgia Music Hall of Fame)

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After reading the AJC’s story about the financial hard times that have fallen upon the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon, I asked the museum’s Executive Director, Lisa Love to explain the situation further.

Here’s what she had to say:

“It is a very difficult time for all businesses, particularly non-profits. The Hall of Fame’s business plan from day one has depended on state funding. An early feasibility study was anything but feasible in its projection that the museum would attract 150,000 visitors per year, when the museum has actually averaged between 25,000-35,000 paid visitors over the past 13 years. Macon has an incredible inventory of attractions, including historic homes like the Hay House, the Tubman African-American Museum, the Music and Sports Halls of Fame and the Ocmulgee Indian Mounds, but the city has been slow in creating and executing a comprehensive plan for downtown revitalization. Therefore, we are not even close to the foot traffic in Macon we need to help sustain not just us, but all of these valuable institutions.

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The Georgia Music Hall of Fame in Macon must raise $225,000 by Oct. 27 to avoid being forced to close by the end of the year, according to the AJC:

The announcement came Thursday as the Hall of Fame’s authority met in Atlanta to discuss the facility’s future. The museum has taken several cost-cutting measures recently to address cuts in state funding and earned income during fiscal 2009.

Full-time staff was reduced from nine to four positions, furloughs went into effect this month and the museum began closing on Sundays and Mondays for the first time last Sunday.

Georgia’s rich musical legacy is well-represented at the state hall of fame with 100-plus inductees representing nearly every genre, including James Brown, R.E.M., Ludacris, Alan Jackson, Usher and Johnny Mercer.

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The 30^th annual Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards (a.k.a. The Georgy Awards) take place on Sat., Sept. 20 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.

This year, The Georgia Music Hall of Fame will induct Southern rock band, Widespread Panic, Ludacris, Hamp Swain, Fred & Dinah Gretsch, Keith Sweat and the late gospel singer/songwriter, Dottie Rambo. The ceremony begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Thomas B. Murphy Ballroom.

Gov. Sonny Perdue host an opening reception and dinner followed by the awards show and performances from Widespread Panic, Ludacris and Keith Sweat and a few unannounced guests as well.

Tickets are on sale now, ranging from $75 for an individual ticket to $750 or $1000 for tables of ten. Tickets and Sponsorship packages are available by calling 770-491-9494 x. 15.

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Otis Redding had more soul in his pinky toe than most of today’s artists could ever hope to summon in any genre. It’s not their fault. He was just one of a kind.

Click this link and check out a classic 1967 video of Redding lip-synching “Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa-Fa (Sad Song).” Impossible not to feel good after that.

The Georgia Music Hall of Fame exhibit, I’ve Got Dreams to Remember, runs through next September in Macon, where more than 175 artifacts including photographs, hand-written lyrics, posters, letters and other memorabilia are on display in recognition of the 40th anniversary of Redding’s death.

Here he is in what is reputed to be his last televised performance before his death, performing “Try a Little Tenderness” backed by the Bar-Kays — four of its six members also perished in the December 1967 plane crash that claimed Redding’s life at age 26.

Click here to read Lee Valentine Smith’s recent review of the DVD, Dreams to Remember: The Legacy of Otis Redding.

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