Mabel Louise Smith was born in Jackson Tennessee (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972). In the early nineteen thirties the young Mabel won an amateur singing contest in Memphis, and decided that performing was for her.

By Walter Rutledge On April 4, 1968, forty- four years ago today, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated. King was booked in room 306 at the Lorraine Motel, owned by Walter Bailey, in Memphis.

Valaida Snow (June 2, 1904 – May 30, 1956) was an African American jazz musician and entertainer. She was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.