In recent months, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame has been active, inducting Allen Toussaint, Benny Spellman and Ernie K-Doe at the Mother-in-Law Lounge, Louisiana LeRoux at the Voice of the Wetlands Festival, and Coco Robicheaux at the House of Blues.
Where is the Hall of Fame? Online, at the moment.
Initially created by Del Moon in 1980, the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame (LMHOF) failed to prosper until Mike Shepherd began its recent revitalization in 2005. Shepherd began to notice how many local musicians were simply fading away without being properly honored. “We were losing our artists,” Shepherd says. “John Fred became very ill and we lost him (in 2005). That was a wake-up call. Something absolutely had to be done.”
At this point, the LMHOF is simply a Web site—a “virtual museum,” it calls itself. Its inductions have been documented online at LouisianaMusicHallOfFame.org, but no hall actually exists yet. Shepherd hopes to renovate the Loew’s State Palace Theater in New Orleans and convert it to their flagship institution—a plan floated in 2004 when Pres Kabacoff and Troy von Otnott, the developer of the ill-fated Grammy Hall of Fame, proposed a “Louisiana Music Experience” for that location. An agreement is largely in place, he says, and he is jumping through many of the financial and political hoops necessary to make it happen. If Shepherd can acquire the building and renovate it into a brick-and-mortar museum, he envisions it to be one of several facilities across the state which will embody Louisiana’s musical past, possibly with a café and performance space attached. “We’re just waiting for a domino to fall,” Shepherd says.
Thanks for the notice. The only music hall of fame was in Nashville when I started the first nonprofit. As a part time volunteer director I tried to make this go for seven years but even with the sitting Sec. of State, a ranking music marketing director for the state govt. and many leading personalities and business types on the board, plus an offer of free land, the seed capital could not be found from either public or private sources in the midst of the oil patch recession of the mid 80's. No one else took up the mantel until Mike Shepherd stepped up, formed a legit nonprofit and pursued this project on behalf of the artists and the state's legacy. He has poured significant personal time and treasure into the effort and has amply demonstrated his aim is true.
This project is more than “simply a web site” as the public inductions have honored artists and families with official recognition via a Governor's certificate and publicity releases. For the rest of us, Mike has painstakingly collected and immense volume of digital memorabilia and hundreds of hours of performances – some heretofore lost to the public – that can now be shared and enjoyed by the entire world via the Virtual Museum. As amazing as these accomplishments have already been, this is more than simply a museum project. As in my originally proposed development, the current nonprofit shares the vision for significantly impacting education, cultural preservation, tourism and – perhaps most importantly- being the change agent for reviving the entire state's music industry that once led the nation in its totality but has languished and lacked leadership for now over three decades. There are many other organizations doing significant work in focused areas and LMHOF seeks to help integrate and amplify all positive activity for music across the state as well as add new programs that can only result in raising all boats.
While I currently reside out of state I have wholeheartedly endorsed this long-overdue project and now offer my volunteer time to assist Mike as much as I can. I encourage anyone who cares enough to read this article and my comments to lend your support in whatever manner you are able. This is no time for people to hide in silos or practice parochial politics. What is needed is for artists, organizations, public and private resources to join together and change the dynamic. We have the music…let's now have the will and the vision to restore it to its rightful place as both a creative and economic force in the world.
Thanks again to Offbeat for the article – please continue to help raise awareness about our activities.