I had a feeling that a musician performing at the Museum of History might be something special, but I was impressed when the top Youtube result when searching “Ironing Board Sam” yielded a video recording of a 1965 performance.
Ironing Board Sam was a successful performer 50 years ago, and appeared even on TV. He had ups and downs, and like so many Southern Musicians, did not earn or save nearly enough to live off of it. This is where the Music Maker Relief Foundation comes in, which provides elderly, often impoverished musicians another opportunity to record an album and have a decent living.
The Music Maker Relief Foundation (in Chapel Hill) does an awesome job giving these elderly artists another chance. How old is Ironing Board Sam? Well, a young Jimi Hendrix once played in his band, long before he was famous. That’s how old he is. And he performs this Sunday at 3pm at the NC Museum of History in downtown Raleigh.
With Hanukkah, Christmas and Kwanzaa over (not to forget Winter Solstice and Festivus), the “holidays” and all their diverse festivities are slowly coming to an end… but one more is still due: Dia de los Reyes Magos (or Twelfth Night, or Dreikönigstag) is celebrated on Jan-6 in regions of the world with a strong Catholic influence (Spain, Mexico, Italy, parts of Germany and Switzerland) and marks the day when the Three Kings arrived at the birth place of Jesus. For kids in Spain or Mexico, this is actually the holiday, since gifts are given on Three Kings’ Day, and not on Christmas.
