Memphis is alright mama

Last weekend the family and I flew to Memphis so I could attend an event saluting the 20th anniversary for "Country Cares for St. Jude Kids". It is a radiothon that benefits St. Jude Children's Research Hospital founded in Memphis in the early '60s by entertainer and media mogul Danny Thomas.
My first trip to the hospital was in 1987 and I was given a personal tour of the facility by Mr. Thomas. He took me all over the hospital that is quite upbeat considering the diagnosis of many of the children that come to the hospital as a last resort. Mr. Thomas escorted me to the medicine room where the children are given chemo and I witnessed a two year old going through the procedure that made her very sick but was the only way to save her life. Tears began to flow as the vision of the little girl's nausea as a side effect of the chemo really was upsetting. Danny Thomas put his arm around my neck and asked if I wanted to see children get well. Yes, anything that we can do, we will do it. He asked me to get some folks in the country music community together to bring awareness to the hospital. My idea was a radiothon that could be broadcast nationwide. My first call when I got back to Atlanta was to Randy Owen of super group "Alabama". Randy is my oldest friend in the industry in that we were classmates light years ago at Jacksonville State. Randy said let's get it going and "Country Cares for St. Jude Kids" was born. Randy Owen should be known more for his heart that for his voice. That first radiothon had 800 stations nationwide and raised over a million dollars. On Saturday night the 17th at a dinner saluting the 20 year anniversary of the project that has raised over $345 million dollars for the facility I was given one of eight pioneer awards from the hospital for the creation of the radiothon that is heard in Country radio stations all over the United States. It was a huge honor being given an award for just a simple idea. Randy Owen sang that night as well as former "Lonestar" front man Richie McDonald and as a special surprise Keith Urban entertained the almost 800 in attendance. I thought of Danny Thomas and his humanitarian efforts has saved thousands of lives of children. Mr. Thomas is buried on the grounds of the facility on the edge of downtown Memphis. When he passed away in 1991 his dream didn't pass with him. Today the hospital has grown perhaps ten times from that first visit in '87. That weekend in Memphis we were able to visit the Lorraine Motel where Dr. King's voice was silenced in April of 1968. Going down McLemore Avenue and going to Stax Records was like being on hallowed ground. I felt the same way at Graceland. Memphis is kind of like a Jerusalem of sound in that it embraces all forms of music. W. C. Handy started the blues there. Johnny Cash made his first recordings at Sun Records on Union Avenue. A truck driver from Crown Electric went there on day to cut a song for his mother. Elvis became the king of rock and roll. A young man from Dawson, Georgia came to Memphis and made musical history at Stax Records as the world soon discovered Otis Redding. The influence of Memphis on popular music culture really can't be measured. Elvis has been gone almost 32 years and people stand in line and pay $44 dollars to walk through his house he bought for his mother and father in the late '50s for $100,000. I imagine Graceland grossed that in ticket sales for a few days last week. The true magic of Memphis is that it is the home of a children's hospital that has helped tens of thousands of children from New Hampshire to New Mexico. It should be comforting to know it is there for our children too. The research being done there is saving little lives right now.

Rhubarb Jones is a Tallapoosa native and a Distinguished Lecturer in the Department of Communication and director of special projects in the Office of University Development at Kennesaw State University. Comments are welcome via email at Rhubarbjones@aol.com or by writing P.O. Box 1001, Tallapoosa, Georgia, 30176.