Five named to The MAX Hall of Fame

Jan. 18—Five individuals with deep ties to Mississippi's rich cultural heritage are the latest inductees into the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience Hall of Fame.

Musicians Sam Cooke, W.C. Handy and Marty Stuart and writers Alice Walker and Ida B. Wells were named to the hall of fame Tuesday during a ceremony in the grand rotunda of the State Capitol in Jackson.

The five new members, who will be formally inducted during a Dec. 15 ceremony at The MSU Riley Center, join such stars as Elvis Presley, Oprah Winfrey, B.B. King, Sela Ward and Jim Henson, as well as less publicized but no less accomplished geniuses such as Margaret Walker Alexander, William Eggleston, Richard Wright and George Ohr.

Sam Cooke of Clarksdale (Jan. 22, 1931 — Dec. 11, 1964) was a trailblazing recording artist who helped shape the soul and pop scene with hits like "Cupid," "Chain Gang" and "Everybody Loves to Cha Cha Cha." Born in Clarksdale, Cooke grew up in Chicago as the son of a minister. In 1948, he joined the gospel group the Soul Stirrers, and six years later, began to branch out into secular music.

Cooke released his first number one single, "You Send Me," in 1957 and continued to top the charts with hits like "Wonderful World," "Twistin' the Night Away," "Bring It on Home to Me," and "A Change is Gonna Come" (released posthumously). He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

W.C. Handy of Clarksdale and Florence, Alabama (Nov. 16, 1873 — Mar. 28, 1958) was an African-American composer and a leader in popularizing blues music in the early 20th century.

Handy's contributions in shaping what would be called the blues were infuenced by the African-American musical folk traditions that he experienced during his travels and performances. After years on the road, Handy settled in Clarksdale in 1902, where he immersed himself in the local variation of the blues.

After a move to Memphis, Handy wrote and published the first commercially successful blues song, "Memphis Blues" in 1912, followed by "The St. Louis Blues" in 1914. He worked steadily in the '20s, '30s, and '40s, promoting the blues, composing dozens of songs, and authoring an autobiography.

Often referred to as the "Father of the Blues," his legacy lives on through Alabama's annual W.C. Handy Music Festival.

Marty Stuart, (b. 1958) a Grammy Award-winning country music artist from Philadelphia, got his start performing with Lester Flatt and Johnny Cash before launching a successful solo career.

One of country music's most versatile musicians, Stuart is an eclectic artist, moving between honky tonk, rockabilly, country-rock, traditional country, Western music, gospel, and bluegrass. Stuart is an accomplished photographer was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2021. He currently tours with his band, The Fabulous Superlatives.

Alice Walker (b. 1944) of Jackson and Eatonton, Georgia, is a novelist, essayist, poet, and activist. Her works focus on African American culture, and particularly on women.

After graduation from Sarah Lawrence College, Walker moved to Jackson and became involved in the Civil Rights movement. She accepted a teaching position at Jackson State University and a writer-in-residence at Tougaloo College and remained in Mississippi until 1971.

Walker's career as a writer took off with the publication of "The Color Purple" a novel that won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and was adapted for the big screen, garnering 11 Academy Award nominations. Her commitment to important causes, along with her talent as a gifted writer, has placed her among an elite group of legendary authors of our time.

Ida B. Wells of Holly Springs (Jul. 16, 1862 — Mar. 25, 1931) was an African American journalist, abolitionist and feminist who led an anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s.

Wells wrote about race and politics in the South while working as a journalist and publisher. A lynching in Memphis in 1892 led her to begin an anti-lynching campaign.

She researched and reported on lynchings; published an examination of lynchings in America; and led a protest in Washington D.C. calling for reforms. She established several civil rights and women's rights organizations including the National Association of Colored Women and the NAACP.

In 2020, Wells was awarded a Pulitzer Special Citation "for her courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence ... during the era of lynching."

Wells left a legacy of social and political heroism—she fought against prejudice, no matter what potential dangers she faced.