Black Music Foundation

Started in 1976 by James Hendrix, the non-profit lasted until the early 1990's.

Nashville Banner July 16, 1988.

History

Founder James Hendrix had participated in both the Nashville and Detroit soul scenes in the 1960s before becoming more involved in the gospel community here upon his return from Detroit in the late '60s. Aside from running his own Carrie Records label and publisher, he also performed, wrote, and taught, both piano and voice. Having studied music at Pearl High in the 1950s, upon graduation he enrolled at Fisk University, where he spent two years before moving to Detroit.

In 1976, Hendrix founded the Black Music Foundation for the purpose of promoting black music, particularly "the traditional characteristic of Negro Spirituals and or songs born out of the Black experience," per its charter. Building upon a lifetime of music education, Hendrix included an instructional elementː "to conduct seminars in the instruction of music (instrumental and vocal)." Building on his years of experience in the music business, he included "and in the dynamics of the music and phonograph business, as a means of employment and efficiency."

A newspaper article from December of 1976, promoting a sponsored theatrical production by the foundation at Meharry, elaborated on the goals of the foundation. From an educational perspective to include seminars and workshops, from a professional perspective to assist in legal matters, and even more notably to provide physical space, including "facilities for offices, rooms for private teaching and rehearsal; space for large group rehearsals (choirs, bands, etc), and equipment for recording sessions (demo or master), and to establish a black music hall of fame."

Since his early formative years, Hendrix performed both instrumentally and vocally in churches, in Nashville before moving to Detroit, later in Detroit, and upon his return to Nashville. An obituary from 2000 mentioned that Hendrix returned home to Nashville in 1967 to accept a choir director position. Afterwards, according to a biographical newspaper article in 1985, he worked for five years as Director of Music for the American Baptist Theological Seminary and "has directed choirs at Westwood Baptist, King Solomon Baptist, and Twelve Robes Baptists churches throughout the years." The address for Twelve Robes, 1310 Lischey Avenue, served as the official address for the foundation in both 1984 and 1985, according to paperwork filed with the state.

Indicating the intersection of the spiritual and professional aspects of his music practice, the officers for the foundation (which amended its name to the National Black Music Foundation) in 1985 included the pastor for the church, Rev. William T. Vernon as vice-president and Ms. Lady Corder Chapman, of the famous Corder family of gospel singers, as secretary. A falling out among the congregation later resulted in a legal squabble, making the newspaper in 1988, and ending the Lischey Ave address as its headquarters.

The mid-1980s also saw renewed interest in the foundation under new leadership provided by entertainment director and performer, Jimmie Baker. A write-up by Robert Oermann in 1986 referenced a benefit show to honor local bluesman Johnny Terrell. The article mistakenly referencing the foundation as 'newly-formed' indicates a prior period of relative inactivity, coinciding with the disagreement within Twelve Robes Baptist. This show featured such local greats as Jimmy Church, Earl Gaines, Freddie Waters, and Johnny Jones. In 1988, within a weeklong review of black music history in Nashville, The Tennessean mentioned the Black Music Foundation among several other local black music promotional groups, while also referencing the work done by Jimmie Baker with the foundation. As his tour schedule grew in the late 1980s and early 1990s with Motown bandleader Choker Campbell, combined with the increasing age of James Hendrix, the foundation slipped into inactivity, eventually dissolving in the early 1990s.

James Hendrix entered a nursing home in 1995 and passed away in 2000.

"I Remember Tom"

Published by the Black Music Foundation, a pamphlet written by James Hendrix details the life of noted club owner, Tom Wilson, who also owned Nashville's Negro League baseball team, the Elite Giants. The ballpark, also owned by Wilson, was located in South Nashville in the Trimble Bottoms area north of the fairgrounds. When the team and league folded, Wilson demolished the stadium and built the Paradise Ballroom, which hosted numerous jazz and big band greats. Often the only venue in town accessible for traveling musicians, the ballroom also catered to white audiences in a special reserved section of the segregated venue.

Published in 1983, the pamphlet pays tribute to the former club owner, both of the baseball club and a jazz club, through various interviews with former neighbors and ballplayers. In the foreword, Hendrix expresses his desire to see the legacy of Wilson further researched and celebrated. One of the first mentions of Wilson outside of occasional newspaper articles, the pamphlet serves as a reminder of the importance of community history. True to the wishes, the next few decades would see an increase in historical research into the Negro League period, helping to cement the lasting impact of Wilson as a baseball club owner in Nashville. In true Hendrix fashion, the pamphlet concludes with a musical treatment written by Hendrix, further elaborating the intersection of music and history in Nashville.

References

State of Tennessee, Secretary of State fillings, 1976-1994.

The Tennessean newspaper

"Pastor 'diverted' 50,000 dollars, suit says." The Tennessean, Tuesday, February 2, 1988.

The Nashville Banner newspaper

Hendrix, James. "I Remember Tom." Nashvilleː Black Music Foundation, 1983.