Jimmy Driftwood
“Arkansongs,” a regionally-syndicated radio program based in Little Rock, is celebrating a quarter century on the air with an event at the University of Central Arkansas on Sunday.
Featuring an exhibit of Arkansas music artifacts as well as storytelling and songs by the show’s host, Stephen Koch, “25 years of Arkansongs” will take place at UCA’s Windgate Center for Fine and Performing Arts at 2 p.m.
Both UCA and the Old State House Museum have lent memorabilia to the exhibit, which will include the 1959 Grammy award for Song of the Year won by Jimmy Driftwood, a washboard that belonged to Jim “Dandy” Mangrum, and Louis Jordan’s saxophone. In addition to those legends, Koch will speak about artists like Almeda Riddle, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Sippie Wallace, Ronnie Hawkins and Levon Helm.
Co-founded by Koch and Keith Merckx, “Arkansongs” first aired in 1998 and began as a live show on 88.3 KABF-FM. Now, each weekly episode is broadcast to 12 stations throughout Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. You can find an archive of nearly 200 episodes here.
For more info about the event and the history of “Arkansongs,” Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Sean Clancy has you covered.
