Jackson Free Press

"A significant part of our mission is education," explains Malcolm White, executive direction of the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. "Both getting Mississippi music education in the public schools and educating the general public about Mississippi's extraordinary story in the development of America's popular music." To that end, the fourth annual Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame (MMHOF) induction ceremony is complemented this year by two new events, a youth talent search and a seminar on the music industry. The latter, to be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Thursday, Aug. 7, at 6 p.m. ($20 at the door), features *NSYNC vocalist Lance Bass and a panel of music industry heavyweights, who will provide insider's tips about breaking into and succeeding in the entertainment industry.

The Youth Talent Search takes place on Friday and Saturday mornings, with an expected 200 young people competing for a prize package including studio time, an audition with a major label, and a spot on the MMHOF ceremony on Saturday night.

The Music Industry Seminar, White says, was added to help educate the interested public, the Youth Talent participants and, more importantly, their parents—who often act as their managers and agents—to understand the ins and outs of the "business" of the entertainment industry. "And by sponsoring the Youth Talent Search we connect [the Hall of Fame] to our youth and our youth to our musical heritage. When a young man or woman from Booneville or Batesville shares the stage with [2003 inductees] Little Milton, Lance Bass and The Canton Spirituals, that makes for a lasting impression that can't be taught or bought."

Other inductees scheduled to accept their awards at the ceremony at Thalia Maria Hall on Saturday are jazz/blues artist Olu Daru (father of rapper Nas), country songwriter Hank Cochran, and the Williams Brothers, owners of Jackson gospel label Blackberry Records. This year's inductees are Mary Wilson of the Supremes, legendary blues songwriter Willie Dixon, jazz composer Gerald Stanley Wilson and music educator Willard Palmer. The event will feature performances by the Canton Spirituals and Cochran, author of dozens of hits including the Patsy Cline hit "I Fall To Pieces," who will be accompanied by Red Lane. The ceremony will be taped for rebroadcast on Mississippi Public Television later this year.

Tickets for the induction ceremony, which begins at 7 p.m., can be purchased at all BeBop Records stores. For more information about the youth talent search, call Boyce Green at 605-1842 or e-mail [e-mail missing] The MMHOF's Web site is http://www.msmusic.org