Third Annual Red Tops occurred October 21, 2000
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Dance
and Reception honoring the Red Tops Band
Cocktail
Buffet 7:30- 9:00
Dance
8:30- Midnight with music performed by the Ben Shaw Band with guest performer
Rufus McKay
Saturday,
October 21, 2000 at the Southern Cultural Heritage Complex Auditorium,
Corner
of Cherry and Crawford Streets, Downtown Vicksburg
We were saddened by the passing of Walter Osborne, Sr.
Walter Osborne, Sr. Playing the Drums at the 1998 Red Tops Revisited Event
Photos of the 1998 Red Tops Event
(Vicksburg) The
roof will be rocking as the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation (SCHF)
presents the Third Annual Red Tops Revisited in the SCHF Auditorium on October
21, 2000 from 7:30- midnight. The event honors
the work of the Red Tops, a popular dance band that played across the Mid-South
during the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s.
“We
are proud to honor this band and its members again this year,” Executive
Director Ted Smith said recently. “The
Red Tops played an important role in the lives of so many people in Vicksburg
and across Mississippi for many decades.”
The evening will
begin with a cocktail buffet from 7:30 to 9:00 p.m., during which guests can
mingle with original members of the Red Tops.
Then be prepared to dance “the night away” (or at least until
midnight!) to favorite Red Tops’ tunes played by the Ben Shaw Band with
special guest performances by the Red Tops original lead vocalist, Rufus McKay.
Reservations
are required and tickets are available at the SCHF office.
The cost is $35 if purchased
by October 13 and $45 after October 13 and at the door.
The Southern Cultural Heritage Complex’s (SCHC) Auditorium is located
at the corner of Cherry and Crawford Streets in Downtown Vicksburg.
Don’t miss out on the fun! Call (601) 631-2997 or visit
www.southernculture.org for more information.
Brief History of The Red Tops
On June 20, 1953 the Red Tops made
their professional debut at the Sequoia Hills Club in Bovina, Mississippi.
The group included Osborne on drums; Rufus McKay on vocals and bass;
Willard Tyler, Joe Custard, and Jimmy Bosley on trumpets; Napoleon Fleming,
Curtis Dunning, “Doc” Raymond, Louis Spencer, and Anderson Harwick on
saxophone; and Jesse Hayes on guitar. Following
their Bovina debut, the Red Tops popularity quickly spread throughout the
region. The band played at the University of Mississippi, Tougaloo
College, the Wagon Wheel, Ruby’s Night Spot, the Town and Country, the
Rosedale Courthouse, Mink’s, the Blue Room, the Hippodrome, Alcorn State
University, numerous high school auditoriums and country club ballrooms, and
many other venues. In 1957, the Red
Tops recorded a 45 rpm record at Sun Studios in Memphis which featured
Greenville, Mississippi, songwriter Floyd Huddleston’s “Swanee River Rock”
on Side A. Six weeks after its
release, the record landed the No. 1 spot in “The Week’s Top Tunes” on the
WMPS radio station in Memphis.
Much
of the Red Top’s success can be equated to their disciplined management, fine
showmanship, and superior musical talent. Walter
Osborne, the eldest Red Top who served as the band’s manager, insisted that
band members arrive punctually to performances and rehearsal; that they keep
their band uniforms cleaned and pressed; and that they refrain from drinking and
socializing while on a job. Unlike
other dance bands of the their time, the Red Tops always stood while they played
and performed their sets from memory. Although
they were proficient music readers, the Red Tops opted to perform sans sheet
music so they could be free to move about the stage during their humorous skits,
such as the pantomimes they included with “Drunk”, “Sheik of Araby”, and
“Baseball Game.”
The band’s large repertoire included popular songs such as “I’m in
the Mood for Love” and “Sweet Georgia Brown” as well as a number of
waltzes, fox-trots, rumbas, sambas, and swing selections.
Trumpet player Joe Custard and saxophonist Curtis Dunning served as
musical arrangers for the band. The
Red Tops’ repertoire was so large that the group often played at three or four
dances without repeating a number. By
far the song requested most often by Red Tops’ audiences was “Danny Boy”.
When Rufus McKay began singing “O Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are
calling,” teary-eyed girls wearing new evening gowns sat down on the floor
with their dates to listen attentively to the moving sounds of their beloved Red
Tops.
Reprinted from the Red Tops compact disk liner notes.
Information About Last Year's Second Annual Red Tops Revisited
November 6, 1999
Second Annual Red Tops Revisited Draws a Crowd of 300
More than 300 people turned out for the Second Annual Red Tops Revisited Reception and Dance held in the Auditorium of the Southern Cultural Heritage Complex on Saturday, November 6, 1999. The event, like the 1998 Reception and Dance, commemorated the work of the Red Tops, a popular dance band which played across the Mid-South during the 1950s, ‘60s, and ‘70s.
The evening began with a reception featuring a cocktail buffet, and a festive air filled the auditorium as those in attendance renewed old friendships and visited with the original members of the Red Tops present, including Jimmy Bosley, Jesse Hayes, Walter Osborne, Sr., Rufus McKay, Louis Spencer, and Willard Tyler, Sr.
Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation Executive Director Ted Smith offered a welcome, followed by introductions and acknowledgements from Program Chair Betty Barnes Jackson, who led the audience in singing “Happy Birthday” to Walter Osborne, Sr., as he was soon to turn 96 years old.
Then the Ben Shaw Band took to the stage and, with the first notes of the Red Tops’ hit, “Swanee River Rock,” an excited crowd took to the dance floor. Original Red Tops vocalist Rufus McKay, who flew in from Nevada for the event, joined the band during both sets and particularly pleased the audience with two soaring renditions of “Danny Boy.”
“The work of Bill and Betty Dorman, Betty Jackson, Alice Portwood, and other friends of the SCHF made this wonderful event possible,” Smith commented that night. “Ever since taking this job, I have been hearing about the Red Tops Revisited of 1998. Experiencing the great excitement and joy of this evening, I can now understand why.”
The Red Tops Revisited was supported by contributions from Fred and Kay Farrell, Don and Deanna Miller, John and Rebecca Stepan, Ed and Betty Jackson, Bill and Betty Dorman, and Landy and Peggy Teller. Additional support was provided by BancorpSouth, River Hills Bank, Sam Nicholas, and Fred Peyton.
Plans are underway for the Third Annual Red Tops Revisited to be held in the fall of 2000.
We were saddened by the passing of Walter Osborne, Sr.
Walter Osborne, Sr. Playing the Drums at the 1998 Red Tops Revisited Event