Musicfest poster pays tribute to "Sweet Man" Willie Bloom
By SANDRA BRAND
Times Editor Just image, you are standing upstairs in the old Osceola Times building... looking out the window. Willie Bloom's tunes are playing on the old record player... straight ahead is a familiar sight, the beautiful historic courthouse. Then you look to the far left... your imagination takes you to the white cotton fields... or is that a Hawaiian Blue steel mill in the distance. This year's Osceola Heritage Musicfest Poster, painted by local artist Greg Newsom, tells a story of our heritage as we embrace our future. Osceola's own "Sweet Man," Willie Bloom, captured Southern cotton workers' sentiment with his legendary Blues music dating back to 1918. Bloom, whose recordings included "Osceola Blues," played alongside musical giants such as W.C. Handy, Jimmy Lunceford, Fats Pichon, Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, and Fats Waller. William Russwurm Bloom was born in Phillips County, Arkansas on Dec. 11 1897 to Joseph Bloom and Pinkie Humble. The couple had six children, but were divorced by 1910. At this point, Pinkie and her children were living in Helena where she was taking in laundry to make money. In 1915, Pinkey moved her family to Memphis and by 1920 she was remarried to Valentine Bush. Now playing jazz piano, William was hired at the Metropolitan Theater on Beale Street. It was during this time that Willie Bloom met and played with many of the musical legends performing around the Memphis area. After playing with several groups in Mississippi County, Bloom decided to make Osceola his home. He soon married and the five-piece Willie Bloom Orchestra became a local favorite. The orchestra began playing at community functions throughout northeastern Arkansas. Bloom also participated in many local parades and was known for playing an upright piano in the back of a decorated wagon. During the late 1940s, Bloom opened up a club in Osceola. It was fittingly known as "Willie Bloom's Place." In it's beginning, the club was a real juke joint complete with music, drinking, and lots of gambling. Surprisingly, it was eventually turned into a cafe and became the town's popular teenage hangout. During the early 1960s, Bloom was persuaded to record with the Variety Recording Company of Jonesboro. In 1963, his first and only album was released with 13 songs. Bloom passed away in Jan. 1972. |
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