'Beale Street Caravan' continues to grow

" Beale Street Caravan brings blues to the masses. "

By Norm Shaw

The Beale Street Caravan is on a roll and shows no signs of slowing down in the new year.

The Caravan is the locally created, nationally distributed radio show produced by the Blues Foundation. Introduced about three months ago, The Beale Street Caravan can now be heard in 80 percent of the top radio markets in the country, according to Blues Foundation marketing director Doug Bacon. It can be heard locally at 11 p.m. on Saturdays on WKNO FM 91.1.

"We had hoped to be on 50 radio stations when we started, but we kicked off in more than 170," Bacon says. "Today we are in 221 markets, and 18 of the top 25. Obviously, we're very pleased."

The show, hosted by the Memphis Horns (Andrew Love and Wayne Jackson), and the increased exposure it brings to the blues is a key element in the ongoing blues revival (see related story on Page 8). Bacon says it also is very important for the foundation because it helps spread the foundation's message.

The foundation's credibility, in turn, has helped the radio show.

"A lot of people agreed to air the show before they even heard it because of the consistent level of quality of things done by the Blues Foundation," Bacon says, citing the annual W.C. Handy Awards and Lifetime Achievement Award as examples.

The Blues Foundation has hired a Los Angeles-based consultant to help get the show to more markets. She has identified more than 450 stations that could be airing the show. The goal is to get another 50 in the first six months of 1997, Bacon says.

Stations do not pay to air the program. It is paid for by sponsors, including by grants from the Hyde Foundation, Gibson Musical Instruments, the Memphis Arts Council, the Memphis Convention & Visitors Bureau, Icehouse Records, and Ward Archer. The show is produced at MPL Film and Video in Memphis with Sid Selvidge serving as producer and Daren Dortin serving as associate producer. Former Blues Foundation executive director David Less remains the executive producer.

The Beale Street Caravan features live music from different events each week, including blues festivals, past Handy Award shows and other events and venues. It also includes reports from such people as Atlantic Records co-founder Jerry Wexler, who talks about legendary recording sessions; bluesman Keb' Mo', who discusses new releases and bands on the blues scene; John Hammond, who provides history and perspective; Tracy Nelson, who spotlights "blues ladies"; and blues news from producer Bob Porter.

"We're very excited about the coming year," Bacon says. "We're working on a comparison to National Public Radio's Blues Stage, which went off the air last year. It was on 191 stations, so we're doing well. And everyone has been very pleased with the show."