Dorsey Slated for Honor on Gennett Walk of Fame

Before he became the “Father of Gospel Music,” Thomas A. Dorsey was an accomplished blues pianist and vocalist. His solo work; collaborations with Tampa Red, Jane Lucas, and others; and accompaniment of blues diva Ma Rainey were captured on disc by a variety of labels, including Richmond, Indiana’s famed Gennett Records.

On September 8, 2007, the Starr-Gennett Foundation will unveil a Walk of Fame on the site of the original Gennett recording studio and Starr Piano factory in Richmond. The Walk will honor major artists who recorded at the Gennett studio. Among the first ten inductees of the Walk of Fame is Thomas Dorsey, known by several blues noms de plume but most memorably as Georgia Tom.

Dorsey – as soloist or as part of a blues ensemble – recorded several titles in Richmond during 1929 and 1930 for the Gennett and Champion imprints.

In an article written for the Winter 2007 issue of the Association of Recorded Sound Collections Newsletter, Elizabeth Surles, project coordinator for the Starr-Gennett Foundation, explained, “[E]ach Walk of Fame marker features a colored mosaic tile representation of the inductee. The mosaic is contained in the likeness of a Gennett phonograph record cast in bronze.”

Other charter Walk of Fame inductees include Louis Armstrong, Bix Beiderbecke, Jelly Roll Morton, Gene Autry, King Oliver, and Hoagy Carmichael.

The Starr-Gennett factory area, where the Walk of Fame will be located, is being developed into a riverside park. It will feature interpretive signage throughout the site. “One remaining factory building on the site has been rehabilitated,” Surles remarked. “Referred to as the ‘logo building’ because of the prominent ‘Gennett Records’ logo on the west side of the structure, the building has been renovated into an open-air pavilion and has already been host to a number of community events.”

The Starr-Gennett Foundation was created to promote and preserve the legacy of Gennett Records and its parent organization, the Starr Piano Company. For more information, visit www.StarrGennett.org.