BRAXTON COUNTY, W.Va. — Music will be mark part of the Memorial Day weekend at Braxton County’s Cafe Cimino, the host site for the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame’s 4th annual “Garden Party.”
“We always have music, of course, that’s what we do, but this one, I think, is different and a little more special,” said Michael Lipton, director of the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame.
The three living 2015 inductees for the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame — John Ellison, Russ Hicks and Bob Thompson — are all scheduled to perform Sunday in Sutton.
Ellison, a singer, is a McDowell County native who formed The Soul Brothers Six, a group that first recorded “Some Kind of Wonderful” for release on Atlantic Records in 1967.
To date, the song has been recorded by more than 62 different artists and sold more than 42 million copies.
“He wrote it in 20 minutes in a car,” said Lipton on Tuesday’s MetroNews “Talkline” when asked about the conception of Ellison’s well-known song.
Hicks, a Raleigh County native, is a pedal steel and dobro player who has established himself as one of the best studio musicians in Nashville.
Thompson, who is originally from Queens, New York, moved to West Virginia in the mid-1960s to attend West Virginia State College. A renowned pianist, he’s become West Virginia’s “ambassador of jazz.”
Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., “America’s Got Talent” winner, will sing a set with Thompson. Other scheduled performers include Billy Boggs, Robert Shafer and The Carpenter Ants.
The “Garden Party” will be held on Sunday from 3-9 p.m. at Cafe Cimino in Sutton.
More information is available at the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame’s website or by calling 304-342-4412 or 304-765-2913.
The induction ceremony for the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame’s 2015 class is scheduled for Oct. 24, 2015 at the Culture Center in Charleston.