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Singing the h'attes
Grafton Blues
Until recently, most residents of Grafton,
Wis. (10,312), had little idea tliey were living on musically sacred
> ground.
Nearly 80 wars ago. Grafton's now-long-demolished Wisconsin
Chair factory operated a small recording studio and record-pressing
company. Paramount Records, which spun out some 1,600 blues,
jazz and gospel records between 1929 and 1932 and led the nation
in discovering pioneering blues musicians. But few townspeople had
any memory—or realized die significance—of Grafton's historical
role as a musical mecca where dozens of black performers traveled from
the Deep South to make records that, decades later, shaped the sounds
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of blues-influenced rock acts such as Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones,
Joe Cocker and Eric Clapton.
“Some of the remaining older generation knew about it,” say’s
Grafton resident Kris Marshall, 41. “But I don't think they realized its
relevance and impact on music today.”
While townspeople were largely unaware, some record collectors
and music historians from across die nation, and even around the
world, were fascinated with the town's musical history “It appears that
everyone knew about Paramount and Grafton." says Village President
Jim Brunnqueli, “except for the village of Grafton."
When a record collector from Oregon visited Grafton in 2(X)2
looking for remnants of Paramount, it triggered a reawakening. Upon
learning that the pioneering recording studio and record pressing plant
had operated on the street where she lives, resident Angela Mack,
37, launched a website, uieu.paramountshonie.org , and a campaign to
publicize the fact that blues legends, including Charley Patton, “Son”
House. Louise Johnson and Skip James, once had recorded in her
hometown.
Energized, Grafton officials—who had been seeking a suitable
redevelopment theme for several years—began working to incorpo
rate a musical design in the downtown plaza. Now a Walk of Fame
resembling a giant keyboard adorns the new Paramount Plaza, with
names of noted Paramount artists to be etched annually into its
(Continued on page 15)
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Page 12
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