The Black Inductees in the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame
These remarkable people have contributed to everything from the great American songbook to the soundtrack of our lives and our playlists
The West Virginia Music Hall of Fame (HOF) has done a fantastic job of inducting Black musicians from a wide variety of genres. Inductees include people who made an international and national impact, and they’ve acknowledged those who impacted the region. Here is a list:
Class of 2007
Born: 1924, Fairmont, Marion County, WV
Died: 2005, St. Louis, Missouri
According to HOF, “Johnnie Johnson is regarded as one of the architects of rock ’n’ roll piano.” He was a long-time collaborator with Chuck Berry on many of Berry’s hits, including “School Days,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” “Carol” and “Nadine.” Over the years, he worked with Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Albert King, and others. In 2001, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
His historical marker is located in Fairmont WV
GPS Tag: 39° 29.006′ N, 80° 8.179′ W
Born: 1908, Wheeling, Ohio County, WV
Died: 1941, Conneaut, Ashtabula County, OH
The West Virginia State College alum was considered by critics as one who could have eclipsed his now-legendary peers Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young, and John Coltrane. He performed alongside Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Harry James, Benny Goodman, Ella Fitzgerald and Gene Krupa. Charlie Parker named his eldest son after Berry, who died at the age of 33 in a car accident.
Born: 1938, Slab Fork, Raleigh County, WV
Died: 2020, Los Angeles, CA
The son of a coal miner, Bill Withers had a recording career that lasted all of 18 years, but it was such a lucrative career he earned three Grammy awards, induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock Hall of Fame, and two of his songs are in the Grammy Hall of Fame. Bill Withers’ song “Ain’t No Sunshine” was inducted into the Library of Congress’s prestigious National Recording Registry in 2024.
His historical marker is located in Beckley WV
GPS Tag: 37° 45.961′ N, 81° 10.444′ W
Class of 2008
1915-1999, Charleston, Kanawha County, WV
Born in Washington, Pennsylvania, Ann Baker was discovered by Louis Armstrong and played with his band on Broadway. She spent time as a member of Billy Eckstine’s band, where she performed with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Miles Davis, and Art Blakey. In the late 1940s, Baker retired in Charleston, West Virginia, where she married barbecue restaurateur Delaney “Wag” Wagner and remained active as a jazz singer in a club the couple owned.
Born: 1897, Bluefield, Mercer County, WV
Died: 1962, New York City
His song “Them There Eyes” has been covered by Diana Ross, Stan Kenton, Louis Prima and Chaka Khan though it was popularized by Billie Holiday. He penned “Sweet Georgia Brown,” which became the Harlem Globetrotters’ theme song. Before leaving the state of West Virginia for New York City, he was the first African-American to own a music publishing business. Pinkard was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984.
Class of 2009
Born: 1924, Salem, VA (Raised in Princeton, Wyoming County, WV)
Died: 2012, Princeton, Wyoming County, WV
Nat Reese was inspired by itinerant blues musicians who’d play WV coal camps. His HOF profile states, “He began playing the guitar as a young man and performed in various string bands that played throughout the coalfields in the days before racial integration.” After graduating from Bluefield State College, he began traveling the world as a part of a gospel group. He has been honored with the West Virginia Vandalia Award and the John Henry Award. He performed at both the Smithsonian and National Folk Festivals.
Class of 2011
Born: 1902, Huntington, Cabell County, WV
Died: 2000, St. Petersburg, FL
Mary Smith McClain, known through her career as “Walking Mary” and later “Diamond Teeth Mary,” was a blues singer and entertainer. From her HOF profile: “she spent the 1920s and 1930s performing in a variety of medicine and minstrel shows. She toured with the USO and sang at the Apollo Theater, The Cotton Club, and at the White House, where her show-stopping charisma received standing ovations.”
She was still performing at 97 when she died.
Born: 1941, Wheeling, Ohio County, WV
Billy Cox was one of Jimi Hendrix’s favorite bassists. Jimi only had two. Of the two, Bill Cox knew – and played with Hendrix – longer than Noel Redding. He also played a series of legendary shows with Hendrix and the late drummer Buddy Miles as the Band of Gypsys. After Jimi’s death, Cox played with Charlie Daniels and Stevie Ray Vaughn. And the Cort Company released the Billy Cox “Freedom” model bass to recognize his contribution to rock music.
Class of 2013
Born: 1894, Alderson, Monroe County, WV
Died: 1984, New York City
Ada Beatrice Queen Victoria Louise Virginia Smith was the queen of Europe’s Café Society. As the owner of the Paris nightclub Chez Bricktop, she knew royalty from multiple nations as well as some of the era’s notable culture-makers. Cole Porter wrote “Miss Otis Regrets” for her. She opened nightclubs in Mexico City and Rome before returning to the United States. According to WVMHOF, “She continued to perform as a cabaret entertainer well into her 80s. In 1972, Bricktop made her only recording, “So Long Baby,” with Cy Coleman.”
Her historical marker is located in Alderson, WV
GPS Tags: 37° 43.465′ N, 80° 38.582′ W
Formed in 1938, Coalwood, McDowell County, WV
The Swan Silvertones were one of the greatest gospel quartets of the ’50s and ’60s. The group was founded in 1938 by Claude Jeter, an Alabama native who moved to McDowell County to work in the mines. One of the original members was Solomon Womack, whose nephew, Bobby Womack, became a star in soul and rock.
Class of 2015
Born: 1942, Jamaica, Queens, NY
According to the Hall of Fame site, “Moving to West Virginia in the mid-’60s to attend West Virginia State College, pianist Bob Thompson is perhaps the state’s best-loved musician and ambassador of jazz. He has touched many people’s lives both as an entertainer and a teacher.” Bob is also known as the musician’s musician, having performed in Brazil, South Africa, and Scandinavia. He’s appeared on BET as the house pianist on the NPR show Mountain Stage, and several tours abroad have made Thompson a visible presence in the jazz world for more than 40 years. He continues to reside in West Virginia and is considered one of the state’s greats.
Born 1941, Montgomery, Fayette County, WV
John Ellison left West Virginia for Rochester, NY in the late 1950s. He formed the group The Soul Brothers Six, and the rest is history. He penned the hit, “Some Kind of Wonderful,” which has been covered by more than 62 different artists and sold more than 42 million copies. You’ve also heard it in movies and on TV commercials. Over the years, Ellison has collaborated, toured, performed, and recorded with artists such as Patti LaBelle, Diana Ross, James Brown, Smokey Robinson, and Little Richard.
Born: 1918, Middlesboro, KY
Died: 1999, Montreal
As a child, Harry Vann Walls moved from one Appalachia town in Kentucky to Charleston, WV. His first piano teacher was his mother, and the second was the holiness church. As a teenager, he left home and toured the South with carnivals, circuses, and variety caravans. He ultimately returned home to Charleston and worked as a musician in local clubs as well as in the coal-mining camps. Within a short period of time, he was the house pianist at Atlantic Records, where he recorded with Ruth Brown, LaVern Baker, and other artists. On a tour to Canada, he landed in Montreal, met his wife, and stayed until his death. In 1997, he was bestowed a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.
Class of 2020
Born: 1949, Bluefield, Mercer County, WV
Died: 2024, Mt Carbon, Fayette County, WV
She was West Virginia’s Queen of Gospel Music. According to her obituary, “Dr. Ethel Caffie-Austin started playing piano, publicly, at the age of six, accompanying her father during his services at the Word of Truth COGIC.” She earned an English degree from the West Virginia Institute of Technology. Dr Caffie-Austin was an educator in public schools for more than 30 years. Dr. Caffie-Austin conducted Folk Life Cultural workshops, residencies, and sabbaticals throughout West Virginia, the United States, and abroad.
Class of 2023
Clarence “Fuzzy” Haskins & Calvin Simon
Haskins, 1941-2023, Elkhorn, McDowell County
Simon, 1942-2022, Beckley, Raleigh County
Clarence and Calvin went straight from the coalfields of West Virginia to becoming two of the most important musicians in the formation of the P-Funk sound. Fate would bring them together after their families moved to New Jersey. They met in Plainfield, NJ, at George Clinton’s barber shop, where Calvin was a barber and Fuzzy was a patron. Both were members of the Parliament, then the Funkadelic, and then Parliament-Funkadelic. In 1997, Prince inducted Fuzzy, Calvin, and 15 other members of Parliament-Funkadelic into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2019, they were given Grammy Lifetime Achievement Awards.
Born: 1942, Ironton, OH
Died: 2008, Fort Myers, FL
Winston Walls was the son of Harry Vann Walls. He grew up in Charleston, West Virginia, and played drums and piano in his teens. He was hired by Bill Doggett as a drummer, but during breaks, he replaced Doggett on organ and built his career as a keyboardist. He worked with George Benson, Lou Donaldson, Al Green, Brother Jack McDuff, Pointer Sisters, Charley Pride, Sonny Stitt, Ike & Tina Turner, and Dionne Warwick. He kept a home in Charleston and in Florida, where he died.
Class of 2025
The Valentinos/The Womack Brothers
Friendly Womack Jr. born 1941 Maitland (McDowell County)
Curtis Womack (1942-2017) Charleston (Kanawha County)
Bobby Womack (1944-2014) Cleveland, OH
Harry Womack (1945-1974) Cleveland, OH
Cecil Womack (1947-2013) Cleveland, OH
Call the Womack family a West Virginia musical dynasty. Cleveland born Bobby Womack is the most famous — he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009 — the family is rooted in Northfork, deep in McDowell County. All five brothers were songwriters. The group’s 1962 release, “Looking for a Love,” became a Billboard Top 10 R&B hit and sold more than 2 million copies. On the strength of that song, the group went on its first secular tour opening for James Brown. Friendly Jr., the sole surviving brother, continues to record and release gospel songs.
Visit the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame’s website for a wealth of information from their interactive map, virtual museum, photo gallery and hours of their museum located in the Charleston Town Center.
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