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Is Knoxville the Birthplace of the First Rock ’n’ Roll Star?
Published 2/1/2012 at 11:13 a.m. 2 comments
Knoxville is the birthplace of Atlantic Records' first big star, who was one of the founders of rock ’n’ roll. Granville McGhee’s name is not as recognizable as that of Chuck Berry or Bo Diddley or Howlin’ Wolf—but as Stick ...
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Possum Without the O
Published 1/25/2012 at 12:08 p.m. 1 comment
I’ve been enjoying Bill Landry’s book, Appalachian Tales & Heartland Adventures. It chronicles the back story of the long-running WBIR series of anecdotal stories about backwoods crafts, sports, cuisine. I have only one complaint about the book. Landry spells possum ...
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Gloria in Excelsis
Published 1/18/2012 at 12:41 p.m. 5 comments
Folks have been asking me what I think of Gloria Ray, and especially whether she earns her annual compensation, which is slightly larger than that of the president of the United States.
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The Stories Behind a Couple of Recent Demolitions in Bearden
Published 1/11/2012 at 11:28 a.m. 2 comments
You can’t help but notice that the Bearden area has gotten a little flatter in recent months. Near Kroger and Starbucks, an old motel building vanished. Its name, Biltmore Court, has an odd connection to some painted words barely visible ...
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A Sense of Moment
Published 1/4/2012 at 12:19 p.m. 2 comments
In history, no city’s judged just by how amused and trendy and well-fed its citizens are. If people of the future are at all interested in learning about the Knoxville of 2012, well, it probably won’t be for the tonnage ...
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2011: An Ode
Published 12/28/2011 at 12:00 p.m. 0 comments
Everything sounds better if you rhyme it.
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Christmas in the City, 1911
Published 12/21/2011 at 11:59 a.m. 0 comments
Christmas’ days of bloody mayhem, of drunken riots and fiery explosions and destructive pranks, were mostly behind it. The Knoxville Christmas was settling down a little. Since the closing of the saloons four years ago, Christmas had become almost eerily ...
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Dad
Published 12/14/2011 at 4:37 p.m. 1 comment
Eulogies are easier to write when they’re about people you’ve met only once or twice. A limited perspective focuses the mind, challenges you to find out what you can discern from that glimpse. With someone you’ve seen and talked to ...
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The Cross Mountain Mine Disaster
Published 12/7/2011 at 11:28 a.m. 0 comments
Chances are only a few Knoxvillians were even awake the next morning when 92 miners reported for work before dawn to begin working with picks and mules at the Knoxville Iron Company’s Cross Mountain Mine, about 30 miles northwest of ...
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On Lectures in Bars, Campaign Spending, and Phil and Jim
Published 11/30/2011 at 1:25 p.m. 0 comments
The capacity crowd that turned out for the TEDx lecture night at the Square Room a couple of weeks ago was a small revelation to me. The idea that people would buy tickets to hear ideas is not a new ...
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The Fractured Legacy of a Kingston Pike Novelist
Published 11/23/2011 at 11:57 a.m. 1 comment
My first free morning after hearing about the angel’s broken arm, I strolled to the northern end of Gay Street, and Old Gray Cemetery. It’s a gorgeous place in the morning sun, its many oaks in full color.
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How Lakeshore Helped Create Bearden
Published 11/16/2011 at 3:53 p.m. 3 comments
Some cynics suspect the mostly upscale Bearden area has been quietly trying to shake off its mental-hospital stigma for years, and is finally succeeding. But we should remember that the institution about to close has long been central to the ...
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Just How Ugly Are Those Two Buildings on Walnut?
Published 11/9/2011 at 11:40 a.m. 3 comments
Next Wednesday, the Downtown Design Review Board will be considering St. John’s Episcopal’s proposal to demolish two old brick buildings on Walnut Street, across from the library. At the initial hearing, last month, a church leader cited the expense of ...
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Phil Pollard, 1967-2011
Published 11/2/2011 at 2:45 p.m. 4 comments
The fact that Phil Pollard was mortal might have seemed impossible, a week ago: Few people ever seemed quite so spontaneously, joyfully, arrogantly, irrevocably alive as Phil.
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How Others See Knoxville
Published 10/26/2011 at 12:01 p.m. 6 comments
You may get the impression that Knoxville is the stealth drone of cities, off the American radar. Hardly any city of its age and metropolitan size is so little recognized by name abroad.
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Feb 2nd 2011
Jackie Walker, Hall of Famer At Last
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Jan 14th 2009
Civil Rights Fighters: The Archive





