MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

2001 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Representative Bailey, Cameron

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING MR. ABIE "BOOGALOO" AMES ON BEING NAMED THE 2001 ARTIST'S ACHIEVEMENT AWARD WINNER OF THE GOVERNOR'S AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE IN THE ARTS.

WHEREAS, Mr. Abie "Boogaloo" Ames will be honored on February 9, 2001, for being named the 2001 Artist's Achievement Award Winner of the Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ames began playing the piano 75 years ago, practicing on an old worn-out upright acquired for his sister which felt more comfortable to him; and

WHEREAS, while his brothers and sisters were playing baseball outdoors, Mr. Ames would sit and listen to the radio, playing what he heard on the piano; and

WHEREAS, at the age of 14, Mr. Ames moved with his family to Detroit, where he had his own successful Detroit-based band in the 1940's; and

WHEREAS, during the early years of Motown, Mr. Ames worked as a session player in the Motown Studios; and

WHEREAS, in the 1960's, Mr. Ames moved back to the Mississippi Delta where he remains a living legend, a human library of jazz and blues songs; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ames has performed in countless blues festivals, including the prestigious Chicago Blues Festival; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ames has received numerous awards for his achievement including a Mississippi Arts Commission Folk Arts Apprenticeship in 1993, the Greenville Arts Council Lifetime Achievement Award in 1998 and was inducted into Greenville's Walnut Street Blues Walk in 1999; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to recognize and commend outstanding Mississippians such as Mr. Ames, whose many years of music and entertainment has touched the lives of so many:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend Mr. Abie "Boogaloo" Ames for being named the 2001 Artist's Achievement Award Winner of the Governor's Awards for Excellence in the Arts and express our best wishes of success in all his future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Mr. Abie "Boogaloo" Ames and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.