Museum - Indiana Entertainment Foundation

Happy Halloween from Indiana! https://youtu.be/i4ZNZXsVYWs

Still a classic!

Indy Jazz Fest is virtual this year here’s the details about how, when and what you’ll experience!

From Sarah Scharbrough Music, It is such a treat and honor to be included among these names!! This Saturday, Oct 17, Anderson University is hosting an Anderson University Virtual Homecoming Concert (I gotta give a bit more context for my excitement because I’m an oversharer and, well, it’s my page. ) One of the things that’s most exciting to me is that almost every single AU alum on this list is a friend and/or has impacted me personally. Having worked at Gaither studios th...rough the years and singing backup for some of Sandi Patty’s albums, I’m always amazed at their talent and heart. Jeffrey and I did one tour with our friends in Sidewalk Prophets - can’t even remember what states or when - it’s all a blur; have partnered often and on my Christmas album with Alanna Story; played/sung on albums that Lonnie Fowler also worked on; recently sang at an event with Myron El II; and worked with Leah Ashton Letta and Curtis Anderson when they were students and I was working on staff with student worship teams. And maybe some of the others, but I don’t know yet who all of the others are. I say this to say that I know firsthand how beautifully gifted all of these people are and this interwoven web is AMAZING and far-reaching. To collaborate in one evening, even virtually, after following each of their careers, holding them in high esteem, well it’s a joy and privilege!!! I hope you might tune in! See more

IEF has received a grant from Indiana Historical Society via the Heritage mini-grant program. With this grant we'll be purchasing a laptop and DSLR camera so that we can properly digitize memorabilia of all types. Some of these images will be added to the forthcoming Indiana Music Virtual History Museum and some will be added to our folder on Indiana State Library's Indiana Memory project; those images become available through the national library search system. Huge thanks to Indiana Historical Society! You can visit our folder on Indiana Memory at this link: https://cdm16066.contentdm.oclc.org//collecti/p16066coll74

Ringo Starr, drummer for the world’s most famous band, was walking toward their barn with her dad, Jack, a state trooper, and two of his colleagues. https://www.indianapolismonthly.com//remember-that-time-th

Sounds about right.

From noted Indianapolis photographer Lora Olive, RIP Eddie. 2015 Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

We’re sad to learn Al Stone aka The Rock has died. Says Scott Ballantine, Bass player, singer, bandleader, record producer, recording engineer, radio man (he literally started WNAP, one of the first FM rock stations in the country), great Dad, wonderful, loving Grandpa and last but not least, great and loyal friend. I will miss you, Al Comments Dave Fulton, It's with enormous sadness that I post here that the original Co-Program Director of WNAP has passed away. Al Sto...ne was just a kid out of college who was lured away from WIFE by Fairbanks to help launch this crazy startup radio station on the FM band, WNAP. Al left after a year or so to become a teacher. He did voicework, and had the entrepreneurial itch to start several companies. He was an author and scholar. Around 2007, Al and I hatched the idea of a documentary about rock and roll radio in Indianapolis, which became Naptown Rock Radio Wars. That film wouldn't have been made were it not for Al's enthusiastic moral support. RIP Mr. Stone. See more

From WFYI broadcaster Kyle Long: The first episode of Echoes of Indiana Avenue will premiere this Sunday evening at 7pm on 90.1 WFYI. For the first show, it made sense to pay homage to one of the earliest, and biggest stars of Indiana Avenue: the blues pianist / singer-songwriter Leroy Carr. Along with Bessie Smith, Leroy Carr is recognized as one of the most important figures in early blues music. Leroy cut his debut record in Indianapolis in 1928. The track was titled How... Long Blues and it permanently changed the course of American popular music with its slick, urban cool. Among the many artists influence by this track, Muddy Waters would recall that he learned to play the blues by imitating Leroy Carr. Though Carr died young at age 29 in 1935, he recorded over 100 sides in his brief career. Carr was a masterful composer of blues music, and wrote many pieces that became blues standards, including Blues Before Sunrise and In the Evening, When the Sun Goes Down. Carr’s songs have been recorded by virtually every major blues star, from B.B King to John Lee Hooker - and continue to be performed today by artists like Gary Clark Jr. For the first edition of Echoes of Indiana Avenue, we will trace the global impact of Carr’s work by listening to some of the best cover versions of his songs. I’ll be digging deep into my own archives, and spinning rare discs like the one pictured here. This is a 1961 EP recorded by the New Orleans born pianist and vocalist Champion Jack Dupree, and released by the Denmark based label Storyville. This record was released nearly 30 years after Carr’s death, and provides a good example of the enduring global appeal of Leroy Carr. Tune in to Echoes of Indiana Avenue for an hour of music from an artist I consider to be the most important Indianapolis songwriter ever. See more

On September 30, 1952, the game show Two for the Money premiered on NBC, hosted by Herb Shriner. Raised in Fort Wayne, Shriner played harmonica at the local music store during high school and briefly performed on vaudeville. In 1940, NBC hired him to perform comedy on the radio. During World War II, Shriner served in the special services unit and performed USO shows for two years in Europe. When he returned from war, he performed on Broadway and achieved television fame with... Two for the Money. Traces Magazine of Indiana and Midwestern History noted that "After a 'small-town Indiana' story or two, he introduced a pair of contestants who received five dollars for every correct answer given within fifteen seconds." For four years, Shriner hosted the show at the height of his professional success. He frequently returned to Indiana and, in homage to his home state, named his daughter Indy and son Kin, after Abe Martin cartoonist "Kin" Hubbard. Learn more with this Traces article: https://bit.ly/3iXixua The image below, showing Shriner playing harmonica for patients at a Veterans’ Hospital, is courtesy of Allen County Public Library Digital Collections.

From Tom Alvarez: There was that time I directed Kurt Vonnegut in a PSA for The Children's Museum of Indianapolis. The spot was taped at the WRTV-Channel 6 studios in 1984. I just received a request from the Kurt Vonnegut Museum and Library to include this photo in an exhibit. I found him funny, unpretentious and cooperative. Having read most of his books, I admit I was more than a bit star struck.

Says Hoosier journalist Sarah Bahr, In print in today's New York Times: My obituary for Indianapolis theater visionary Bryan Fonseca, who died of complications from the coronavirus Sept. 16 (they nicely gave me some extra inches!). https://www.nytimes.com//obi/bryan-fonseca-dead-covid.html Fonseca Theatre Company

From our friend Larry Goshen: INDIANA ENTERTAINMENT HISTORY. All right all of you young and old buckaroos. Did you know that these four cowboy movie stars were born right here in Indiana? well, there you go!