House Resolution 102

A RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING BILL FERRIS FOR WINNING TWO GRAMMY AWARDS FOR "VOICES OF MISSISSIPPI: ARTISTS AND MUSICIANS DOCUMENTED BY WILLIAM FERRIS" AND FOR HIS DEDICATED LIFELONG WORK IN PRESERVING SOUTHERN FOLKLORE AND MUSIC FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.

WHEREAS, renowned folklore archivist, historian and professor, Bill Ferris, a native of Vicksburg, Mississippi, took home the Grammy Award for Best Historical Album on February 10, 2019, for "Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris," which was compiled from three decades of his field recordings of gospel singers, blues singers and storytellers; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ferris also won a second Grammy Award for Best Album Notes for David Evans' liner notes in the 120-page hardback book that accompanies the four-disc box set, a ten-year project that he actually has spent most of his adult life working on by capturing, documenting, assembling and preserving Southern folklore and music for future generations; and

WHEREAS, born in Vicksburg in 1942 and growing up on his family's farm in a rural community south of town, Mr. Ferris began recording local gospel music as a teenager in the 1950s, when he realized that the beautiful hymns he had heard during Sunday services at Rose Hill Church as a child were sung entirely from memory, and when the singers were no longer there, the music would simply disappear; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ferris felt a personal responsibility to preserve those services, and he began with audio recordings and photographs and later filming the services, and his early work with gospel music grew into recording amazing blues singers who lived a few miles from his family farm, as well as many colorful storytellers; and

WHEREAS, "Voices of Mississippi" connects the otherwise disparate voices of musicians, artists and storytellers, a broad spectrum of voices who have a rich, textured musical expression of language, voices of unknown people whose stories would otherwise be forgotten, and knowing that they were transitory gave Mr. Ferris a sense of urgency to record those voices to preserve this valuable treasure of history; and

WHEREAS, upon receiving the Grammy Award for his project, Mr. Ferris said that because the Grammy is the pinnacle of recognition for the field of music, the award brings these voices of Mississippi musicians to a wider audience, and it helps people understand that the roots of blues and rock 'n' roll and gospel and country music are all in Mississippi; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Ferris' work is archived and digitized in the Southern Folklife Collection at the University of North Carolina and has served as a powerful teaching tool for over 50 years in institutions of higher learning where he taught, including the University of North Carolina, Jackson State University, Yale University and the University of Mississippi, where he became the founding director of the Center for the Study of Southern Culture in 1978; and

WHEREAS, currently a professor and an associate director of the Center for the Study of the American South at the University of North Carolina, Mr. Ferris has received a number of awards for his prodigious work on all aspects of Southern folklife, including a Pulitzer Prize nomination for co-editing and Encyclopedia of Southern Culture and helping Quincy Jones compose the score for the film "The Color Purple," and he has written and edited 10 books and created 15 documentary films, most of which are about African-American music and folklore from the Mississippi Delta; and

WHEREAS, initially inspired by the music and stories of the people in his rural farm community near Vicksburg, Mr. Ferris became the keeper of Southern folklife through his dedicated lifelong documentation of the American South, and particularly church gospel hymns, Delta Blues and work songs of Mississippi, and the recognition of his life's work in preserving Mississippi's unique contributions to American music with two Grammy Awards has brought his remarkable works to the attention of many more people throughout the United States and the world; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of the House of Representatives to recognize and commend outstanding Mississippians such as Bill Ferris, whose valuable life works and contributions to American society and preservation of Southern folklife and have brought honor and pride to the people of the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, That we commend and congratulate Bill Ferris for winning two Grammy Awards for "Voices of Mississippi: Artists and Musicians Documented by William Ferris" and for his dedicated lifelong work in preserving Southern folklore and music for future generations, and extend best wishes for continued success in all of his future endeavors.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to Bill Ferris and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.