BestConcertEver_rm_0918.indd 116 8/14/18 7:08 PM VIRGINA´S GREATEST SHOW ever There´s not a single place in Virginia where the contributions and accomplishments of all of the singers, shooters, rockers, rappers and players who lived in Virginia can be considered. But imagine there was — for one night only. Virginia´s best and loudest, the dear and dearly departed sharing the same stage and time for a once in a lifetime event, on an impossible bill. It´s been a year since the Famefest landed on Brown´s Island, and music fans still aren´t sure what happened. By Craig Belcher Illustrations by Kristy Heilenday RICHMONDMAG.COM 117 BestConcertEver_rm_0918.indd 117 8/14/18 8:16 PM BestConcertEver_rm_0918.indd 118 8/14/18 7:08 PM " Could this be real? " usic fans were perplexed when the with sheer talent, the next act wasn’t afraid to shout names of dearly departed musicians to get the audience’s a ention. M and singers were among those on the Sister Rose a Tharpe, despite her recent induc- bill for the Virginia Famefest concert tion to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, wasn’t recog- last year on Brown’s Island. nized by many in the audience, based on the polite Some assumed that the roles of Virginia’s most response to the announcement of her name. legendary singers and musicians would be played by Tharpe soon won over the crowd with a studied actors, or even holograms, and hoped they’d be pre y confi dence that defi ed them to fi nd her less than good. A er surrendering mobile phones and other compelling. Her fl owing white evening gown and recording devices to event staff , the sizable crowd her Gibson guitar also made an impression. The was understandably anxious. Some of us looked former Barton Heights resident launched into rous- for the technology we assumed would be used to ing renditions of gospel songs she’d made popular approximate the presence of beloved artists who, like “Rock Me” and “Didn’t It Rain.” Yes, it was a gospel to the best of our knowledge, were no longer with singer named Rose a, who shopped at Thalhimers us. Others milled about aimlessly as the morning downtown, performed at the Mosque and created portion of the concert ran slightly behind schedule. rock ’n’ roll. Then, without preface, the voice of Maces Spring While the sky remained clear, there were some native June Carter Cash cut through the morning tears and laughter in the crowd as Tharpe prosely- air like a scythe, leading the Carter Family band in tized, bantered and fl irted between songs. She didn’t a stirring performance of “Can the Circle Be Unbro- want to leave the stage and said as much, adding, ken (By and By).” Her voice was clear and strong. If “But I got to go anyhow.” this was a recording, it was one from Cash’s prime. A er these performances, there was brief inter- You’d think that an artist showing up for a concert mission while stagehands set up mic stands, moved a er passing away in 2003 would shock and awe an monitors and tuned guitars. A group of music nerds audience, but many appeared indiff erent, at least at and audiophiles were overheard confabulating near fi rst. Perhaps they were there to see Jason Mraz or the stage. “Just like her,” they said. “That was unreal,” Dave Ma hews Band? they whispered. “I don’t believe it. It can’t be,” said The Carter Family exited the stage a er a short one. “Animatronics,” claimed another. set, having won over many of the disinterested with their harmonies and conviction, which have made Country, Funk and Flair the band — still performing today with newer mem- If we all believed the old axiom that the only certain- bers — a folk music mainstay for generations of fans. ties in life are death and taxes, we were comforted by If the Carters planned to overcome disinterest the realization that if the fi rst part of the saying RICHMONDMAG.COM 119 BestConcertEver_rm_0918.indd 119 8/14/18 7:21 PM Parliament, and if that wasn’t clear, he has “That was unreal,” they some choice words for the band’s leader, George Clinton, on a song from his fi rst album, called “Mutiny on the Mamaship.” whispered. “I don’t The drummer and former Brander- mill resident performed some P-funk believe it. It can’t be,” staples (“Cosmic Slop,” “Maggot Brain”) along with some jams of his own (“Funk said one. “Animatronics,” ’N’ Bop,” “Lump”) before cu ing his hand on the edge of a tom-tom. Bandaged but claimed another. unbeaten, he le it all on the stage. Major Harris, who, like Brailey, was born in Richmond, was the voice of the was looking iff y, the second was still ironclad. During The popular R&B group The Delfonics and enjoyed a semi-suc- Statler Brothers’ set, among the casually dressed men, cessful solo career. He strode onto the stage in an unbut- women and children in the crowd roamed undercover toned shirt with white tab collar, a few gold chains and agents from the Internal Revenue Service, given away by vintage wire-frame glasses. His mid-sized afro was backlit their earpieces and holstered calculators. If any of the art- as he made good use of his time, touching on songs from ists died with an outstanding tax bill, the Man was here to The Delfonics and closing with his hit “Love Won’t Let Me collect. The Statlers didn’t notice and kept with the gospel Wait” as cicadas chirped, almost in time. harmonies that have made them Staunton’s fi nest and one Scat singing is a lost art, maybe because it sounds so of country music’s most awarded acts. easy to do that no one bothers to try. Ella Fitzgerald made The Statler Brothers’ performance, which followed a it look eff ortless that night, improvising sounds like a jazz brief set from The Golden Gate Quartet, made plain their trumpeter as she riff ed with diff erent instruments and connection to gospel music. They were known as country improvised lyrics. After her performance of “A-Tisket, singers, but it was their gospel foundation, evidenced by A-Tasket,” backed by the Richmond Symphony, it really fl awless harmony, that made them. It was also a reunion didn’t ma er to the audience or the audiophiles within for the group, which featured only two brothers, had no whether it was actually Ella or not. Whoever she was, she one named Statler and disbanded in 2002. sounded good. Mutiny, led by one of the fi rst Virginians inducted to Fitzgerald, a native of Newport News, was a national the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Jerome “Bigfoot” Brailey, treasure during her career, which spanned from the 1930s brought some funk and roll to the a ernoon. to the early ’90s. She acted in fi lms, was a guest on televi- Brailey joined Parliament Funkadelic a er a short stint sion shows and did commercials, accomplishments that as a session musician and co-wrote the group’s hit “Give Up weren’t easy to come by for African-American women in the Funk (Tear the Roof Off the Sucker).” His time with the her time. Today in Newport News, a theater bears her band ended on a sour note, with Brailey walking off a tour name, and there is a statute of her in the Yonkers, New bus in a snowstorm a er a disagreement over fi nances. York, neighborhood where she grew up. The name of his band referred to his turbulent time in She was a diffi cult act to follow, but the show went on. One of the most infl uential gospel groups Worthy Performers of all time was born and bred in Richmond. Not even a fantasy concert can The gospel quartet known as the Harmonizing pretend to feature all of Virginia’s Four started in the 1920s and continued greatest musicians and performers. recording and performing into the 1960s. It’s been a long time coming, and The group achieved global praise and per- respect is due. Here’s more on some formed at the funeral of President Franklin of the faces from our cover, just a The Delano Roosevelt. Over the years, members few of the names to be considered came and went, but their sound remained Harmonizing distinct and revered. for another Famefest. Four 120 SEPT/ 2018 BestConcertEver_rm_0918.indd 120 8/14/18 8:16 PM A Duel and a Misdemeanor duo on this day of reunions and apparent resurrections While the stage was reset with a grand piano and a Ham- was Clipse. The brothers from Virginia Beach were known mond B3 organ facing each other for a double-header per- for their rhymes about cocaine crimes over beats produced formance from R&B singer and pianist Stu Gardner and by fellow Virginians The Neptunes. But fans were only jazz legend Lonnie Liston Smith, more people crowded half-disappointed when Pusha T strode on stage alone, onto the island. Smith and Gardner are both sons of wearing a white T-shirt and designer Adidas sneakers. gospel singers who were born in Richmond, but outside His twin brother, once known as Malice, had abandoned of their instrument of choice, the similarities end there. the group when the consequences of slinging criminal Smith played behind jazz greats such as Miles Davis and slang got too real.