Four days after site plans were approved for a waterfront Music Heritage Park behind the Jacksonville Center for the Performing Arts, the first 30 music artists who will be enshrined amidst the music notes and treble clef have been selected.
A Downtown Investment Authority DIA special committee of local historians, musicians, authors and industry professionals met for a second time on May 19 to finalize the final 16 persons/bands who’ve contributed significantly to the city’s and to the country’s musical culture.
Nominees must've met at least one of three selection criteria: first, that the nominee must’ve been either born, raised or launched a music career in Jacksonville or Duval County; second, the nominee must've spent a significant amount of time in Jacksonville/Duval County; third, the nominee must’ve demonstrated significant accomplishments and longevity in the music industry.
After a blind vote, Jacksonville strategic initiatives coordinator, Ina Mezini, tallied nominations. 15 artists received nine or more votes, which was majority support. These included stalwarts like James Weldon and John Rosamond Johnson, Southern rockers like Lynyrd Skynyrd and more cultural contributors like Limp Bizkit.
At the May 19 meeting, the committee combined the Johnson brothers to create another opening. Committee members discussed the relative merits of the remaining 28 artists who received partial support — 20% to 50% of committee support (or three to eight committee votes).
This included discussions of bands like 69 Boys with members from different cities (Jacksonville and Orlando in this case.)
“It would be nice to finally recognize 69 Boys,” Jacksonville musician, documentarian and historian Nicholas “NICKFRESH” Puzo told the committee. “I knew Van Bryant personally back in the day, and he worked very hard to make sure not only that the 69 Boys got on the map, but also that Jacksonville got on the map.”
This also included discussion of lesser known bands like Rein Sanction that might’ve impacted the era and the genre in which they fall.
“They were out of Riverside, and they were big. They were signed to Sub Pop Records,” committee member Michael Ray FitzGerald said to the group. “They self-destructed after one or two albums, but their music was really groundbreaking. Stylistically, they were very important.”
FitzGerald is a media scholar, musician and former university instructor who is the author of five books including the award-winning “Jacksonville and the Roots of Southern Rock.”
After the 30 initial Walk of Fame inductees were selected, the committee selected three alternatives in case artists and/or artist estates don’t approve of the recognition (Because he is so famous, Ray Charles, for example, may be a challenge.)
These include mid-twentieth century crooner Billy Daniels, disco-era R&B singer Jackie Moore and early 2000s indie rockers, Black Kids.
As industry professionals in one form or another, committee members wanted to make sure that each generation and genre were fairly represented.
Artists not selected will remain on the consideration list for inductions further down the line — perhaps in a year or two.
There will also likely be observations for those folks who impacted the music industry, but were not a part of specific bands.
Without further ado, here are the original thirty artists selected to Jacksoville’s Walk of Fame in Music Heritage Park:
1. 38 Special
2. 69 Boys
3. 95 South
4. Allman Brothers
5. Blind Blake
6. Charlie “Hoss” Singleton
7. Classics IV
8. Frederick Delius
9. Glenn Jones
10. Gram Parsons
11. Jahaan Sweets
12. JJ Grey & Mofro
13. Johnson Brothers (James Weldon Johnson & John Rosamond Johnson)
14. Lil Duval
15. Limp Bizkit
16. Longineu Parsons, II
17. Lynyrd Skynyrd
18. Ma Rainey
19. Mae Axton
20. Marcus Roberts
21. Molly Hatchet
22. Pat Chapelle
23. Quad City DJs
24. Ray Charles
25. Shinedown
26. Tedeschi Trucks Band
27. Tim McGraw
28. Ulysses Owens, Jr.
29. Walter Orange
30. Yellowcard
Jacksonville Business Journal