On January 21 1963, Sarah E. Howard became the first African American student to integrate Dollarway High School. She later went on to...

Janette Davis, also known as Jan The Pride of Pine Bluff, was a pop singer known for being a regular on Arthur Godfrey’s numerous...

Larry Totsy Davis was an electric blues musician best known for releasing and co-writing the song Texas Flood, which later launched the...

Blues musician Big Bill Broonzy served as an ambassador sharing the blues with international audiences across Europe and influencing...

On March 13, 1867, Anshe Emeth became the first Jewish congregation to receive a charter from the Arkansas state legislature. Anshe Emeth...

Hailing from Pine Bluff, Arkansas, Joshua Altheimer was among the most talented pre-World War II blues pianists. He played alongside “Big...

His signature slide electric guitar opening laid the foundation for his eleven-year recording career, with nearly 80 titles released on...

Pine Bluff native Smokie Norful is a world-renowned recording artist, musician, composer, pastor, and entrepreneur who has launched the...

Pine Bluff native and World War I veteran, Leroy Alfred Johnston, was a member of the Harlem Hell Fighters military band that introduced...

Hailing from Arkansas, Queen Sylvia Embry was among Chicago’s few professional female blues singers and bass players, recording albums,...

With over six decades in the music industry, racking up awards and playing alongside greats like Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Etta James,...

Pine Bluff resident Carl McVoy, a rockabilly musician, was instrumental in introducing his younger cousin Jerry Lee Lewis to the...

During Prohibition, bootlegging was popular along Pine Bluff’s bayou. Many poor African Americans were arrested on bootlegging charges...

Arkansas native, William Froug, spent his life cultivating his two passions, producing popular television series like The Twilight Zone,...

After decades spent performing the Blues, James “Tail Dragger” Jones is best remembered for his magnetic performances and his decorated...

Pine Bluff native, Edward H. Wilson opened the Hotel Olga in Harlem in 1920. From the 1920s and 30s, Hotel Olga became the unofficial...

Richard Berry Harrison was an actor and teacher of the dramatic arts and elocution at several colleges including Branch Normal College,...

George W. Thomas was the first to publish boogie-woogie songs, which were key in the development of Country Music, Rhythm and Blues, and...

Miles Davis, one of the most influential musicians in the development of jazz music, got his early love for music while spending time at...

John Brown, an abolitionist, led the American abolitionist movement in the years preceding the Civil War. Among his allies were August...