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RES-2003-022 Resolution of Appreciation for Tommy Thompson
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RES-2003-022 Resolution of Appreciation for Tommy Thompson
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Last modified
6/30/2011 3:22:48 PM
Creation date
6/30/2011 3:22:47 PM
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BOCC
Date
3/24/2003
Meeting Type
Regular Meeting
Document Type
Resolution
Agenda Item
5a
Document Relationships
Agenda - 03-24-2003 - 5a
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\Board of County Commissioners\BOCC Agendas\2000's\2003\Agenda - 03-24-2003
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ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS .3 - ~ ~''~ ~~ ~ <br />RESOLUTION /~~ <br />IN HONOR OF TOMMY THOMPSON OF THE RED CLAY RAMBLERS <br />WHEREAS: Tommy Thompson was born in West Virginia in 1937, graduating from Kenyon College <br />in 1959, and spending the next four years as an officer in the U.S. Coast Guard in New <br />Orleans, the cradle of jazz; and, <br />WHEREAS: in 1966, while pursuing a graduate degree in Philosophy at the University of North <br />Carolina at Chapel Hill, Tommy Thompson and his banjo formed the Hollow Rock String <br />Band, devoted to the old-time dance music of the southern Appalachian Mountains; and, <br />WHEREAS: In 1972, Bill Hicks,~Jim Watson and Tommy Thompson formed The Red Clay Ramblers, <br />a band that was characterized by its distinctive Tar Heel sound; and, <br />WHEREAS: Marcia Wilson founder of the Cat's Cradle, which was the only music venue club in the <br />area that provided a stage setting, and who enthusiastically encouraged the regular solo <br />performances of Tommy Thompson and with the Red Clay Ramblers; and, <br />WHEREAS: The Red Clay Ramblers' fusion of blue grass, folk, blues and Vaudeville helped the band <br />develop a unique, eclectic style, that helped the Ramblers develop a wide following of <br />devoted fans from The United States to Canada, and through Europe to the Middle East <br />and Africa; and, <br />WHEREAS: in 1975, Tommy Thompson and the Ramblers joined the off-Broadway cast of Diamond <br />Studs, a musical about the life of Jesse James, where Thompson earned critical acclaim <br />for his portrayal of Cole Younger and Jesse James' mother, Zerelda Samuels; and, <br />WHEREAS: The Ramblers headlined the first Festival for the Eno in 1980 and became even more <br />popular when they were introduced to the national audience of public radio through their <br />performances on Garrison Keillor's, A Prairie Home Companion; and, <br />WHEREAS: The Red Clay Ramblers appeared on Broadway and enjoyed a long association with <br />writer/director Sam Shepard, who cast them as the medicine show band in his 1993 <br />movie, Silent Tongue; and, <br />WHEREAS: in September 1994, Tommy Thompson played his last gig with the Ramblers at <br />Carrboro's ArtsCenter; and, <br />WHEREAS: Tommy Thompson's drop-thumb clawhammer fell silent on January 24, 2003, when this <br />talented, larger-than-life figure of North Carolina musical lore, passed on to heaven, <br />"...just across the Blue Ridge where the high meadows lay, and the galax spreads <br />through the new mown hay"; <br />NOW; THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Orange County Board of Commissioners celebrates the <br />outstanding creative, cultural and intellectual contributions of Tommy Thompson's life <br />and his deeply rooted commitment to civil rights and progressive achievements during his <br />life, and mourns the loss of this great cultural resource, who came to represent the music <br />of the Tar Heel State to a worldwide audience. <br />----7 <br />This the twenty-fourth day of March 2003. ~~~GGC ~~~ %~~`~c''1_`_ <br />L. <br />Margaret W. Brown, Chair <br />Board of County Commissioners <br />
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