Feed The Blues

It seems like a long time ago. December 2019. We began hearing reports of a new illness going around. To be honest, we all thought it was not going to come here. It was Covid 19. It came and all of a sudden, we were hearing stories about some of our Memphis musicians contracting this disease. Then we started hearing where some people were not surviving this thing. Soon, there were other things happening around this thing. Musicians were not getting gigs anymore due to clubs and such closing during the lock downs. To be honest, it got kind of scary.

We were hearing about our local players that were worried about how they were going to exist. The list of things they were worried about was getting longer. By December of 2020, we at Radio Memphis felt that maybe there was something we could do to help. There had always been that thought that just maybe we could take one thing off that list of needs and worry. So we established a food bank and named the project “Feed The Blues”. It was named that because we were hearing stories of the more at-risk folks that were largely impacted by this thing. So maybe, we could put together a monthly campaign and drive to make sure we could put something on the plates and in the bowls of these artists and their families to help get them through this ordeal.

We never thought it would last this long and it has.

Along the way there were those who passed and left behind widows and family who could do nothing to eat. Their only source of income had been gig money that had since stopped coming in. They were living hand to mouth one gig at a time. So, Feed The Blues was started in earnest to help. A call was put out to gather non-perishable food and other things like toiletries and socks. We asked and you answered. Soon we had quite a collection of goods that arrived at our studios. There a couple of grocery stores who also helped with donations and supplies. Then it happened, volunteers from the Memphis Blues Society came in and delivered our first round of groceries.  Our friend and colleague Mark Caldwell stepped in and kept it organized and here we are. It has been the same thing every single month since December of 2020.

Volunteers and the members of the public have been instrumental in keeping this thing alive. We thank all of you for your help. Words can never convey our gratitude.

Since it started, we found that most who want to do something and help out have been doing so monetarily. Hence this post. The picture at the top of this post is linked directly to The Memphis Blues Society donation page. When you click that, you’ll be sent to the Pap Don McMinn Musicians Fund. It is a PayPal link and allows you to throw some money in there. There is no limit. Whatever you can give is plenty. Everything helps. You can even contribute monthly automatically.

If you would like to volunteer your time, we could use that, too. Just drop a line Mark Caldwell and he can get you started. Sometimes all we have to give is our time and that has value, too.

The impact we have had so far, has been tremendous and we could always use your help. There is a story often repeated among those who are helping this project. A grocery bag was delivered to one of the musicians who broke down in tears and said, “I thought we had been forgotten.”

If you want to see more, there is a Facebook page with more information and contacts you can use to answer any questions you might have.

As always if you are a Memphis musician who needs help, ask to get on our list.

Thank you!