Jackson Free Press

Marvin Jamison is not your typical butcher. Yes, he wears the white butcher's hat and coat. He can slice a fine cut of meat or convince the pickiest eater to try something different. But he is best known for his beautiful voice belting out over the I-55 Kroger intercom.

It started with a young lady asking him to sing "Happy Birthday" and snowballed from there. People began requesting Elton John and The Righteous Brothers songs. Jamison used his creativity to turn each one into a jingle for the store's weekly meat specials. Now, customers flock to Kroger hear his tunes.

"I haven't heard you sing today! When are you going to sing?" they ask.

He knows them all by name, and greets them with his room-brightening grin or a hug. This is a man who cares about people.

"The best thing I ever did with the singing was after Hurricane Katrina," Jamison says. "We had these huge bunkers in the front of the store for people to donate food. People would come along and say, 'Marvin, sing us a song,' and I took my singing and turned it into a tool. I told them if they would donate something to the hurricane victims, then I would sing. We filled so many bunkers with food. I felt like if they liked my singing so well, it's not about praising me. Let's do it for somebody else."

For all his outgoing songs, Jamison also has a guarded side. He grins when asked his age and changes the subject when pressed on his wife and daughter.

"They are private people."

Jamison feels strongly about Jackson. He has been all over the world with the Air Force but says Jackson always called him back home. He's a realist about the city, however. He recognizes the changes in the last 20 or 30 years but hopes for more.

"Parents today hold the power to change the future. We have to start with these kids," Jamison says.

"Sometimes, my meat cutters will have a person out front from a different ethnic background, and they will say to me, 'Marvin, I can't understand them.' I always send them back and say, 'Listen to them.' You know, I've been there, in foreign places, trying to explain myself. Everybody needs to be heard. You just have to sit back and listen to them, and you might learn something. Because when it comes down to it, we are all the same."

Marvin Jamison can be heard most days at the Kroger store on I-55 in Jackson.

Previous Comments

ID

82539

Comment

Front page story of Southern Style a few years ago on Marvin. Ledge scooped ya. ;-)

Author

Kingfish

Date

2006-11-03T11:43:01-06:00

ID

82540

Comment

Yeah, but most of our readers were too young to see it then. ;-D

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2006-11-03T12:09:41-06:00

ID

82541

Comment

you mean most of your readers are only 3 years old?

Author

Kingfish

Date

2006-11-03T12:15:30-06:00

ID

82542

Comment

This would explain the special upcoming "POOPIE!" issue... Cheers, TH

Author

Tom Head

Date

2006-11-03T17:53:56-06:00

ID

82543

Comment

I wondered who that guy was. I almost had a heart attack the first time I heard him becaus eit was so unexpected. As you can tell, I startle easily. :-)

Author

LatashaWillis

Date

2006-11-03T23:47:55-06:00

ID

82544

Comment

Marvin is a real calling card for that store. I hope that management appreciates him as much as customers. What a guy!

Author

justjess

Date

2006-11-08T10:43:30-06:00

ID

82545

Comment

I remember the story in the CL. This one is better. So there. (nyahh!) He is an awesome guy. We don't get to that Kroger often, but it is a high point of the trip for me. It's great to see someone working and that happy!

Author

Lady Havoc

Date

2006-11-08T14:17:30-06:00