Chan chosen for RI Music Hall
Woonsocket’s John Chan among 2018 inductees to RI Music Hall of Fame
PAWTUCKET – To become an innovator in the music scene – regardless of whether you’re a performer, club owner, or technician – you need to chart your own path. That was what unified the 10 inductees to the Rhode Island Music Hall of Fame’s Class of 2018.
Hall of Fame Vice Chairman Rick Bellaire during Friday’s induction announcement at the Hope Artiste Village complex on Main Street said that the members of the Class of 2018 weren’t content following in the footsteps of others, but rather their objective was to build their own legacies.
Among the inductees were Woonsocket restaurateur John Chan, whose restaurant – Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining – has served as a space for jazz and blues musicians to ply their trade for more than 40 years.
Bellaire said that it can be “a tough row to hoe to maintain a listening room, especially when you’re presenting jazz, folk, and blues music, but he’s made it into an art form.” After Chan became an ardent jazz fan during his formative years at Providence College, he transformed his parents’ restaurant from a Chinese dining room to a hotbed of happening music.
Since adding music in 1977, Chan’s has become known nationally as a “premiere listening room,” Bellaire said. While Chan has brought national names
to Woonsocket, he’s remained equally committed to providing playing time for local talent in their quest for international success.
Chan on Friday said it was “a great honor” to be a part of the 10-member Hall of Fame class. He’ll be inducted alongside artists he considers friends and he’ll be joining an elite group as an inductee, as many whose images are on floor-to-ceiling exhibits inside Hope Artiste Village have performed at Chan’s.
“It’s just a great family and community of musicians who are passionate about their art,” Chan said.
Another local innovator whose face will grace the walls of the Hall of Fame is Pawtucket’s own David Blue. He’ll be inducted posthumously, as he died in 1982 at age 41, but his influence on Rhode Island’s music scene continues to this day.
Bellaire said Blue, also known as David Cohen, got his start on the Providence folk scene in the trendy coffee houses of the East Side, but it wasn’t long before he was recognized by national names such as Bob Dylan or Pete Seeger. One of Blue’s biggest contributions to music was when he penned the song “Outlaw Man” for The Eagles, which was included on their 1973 album “Desperado.”
“He’s very famous around the world, but not too many realize he’s from Rhode Island...” Bellaire said of Blue. “This year, we recognize him.”
The theme of prominent and innovative blues performers receiving the long-awaited induction continued as Bellaire welcomed James Montgomery. Montgomery first made his mark as a musician in the Detroit area but after moving east to Boston, he formed “The James Montgomery Band.”
Calling him “one of the greatest bluesmen of his generation,” Bellaire said that Montgomery’s band, along with Aerosmith and The J. Geils Band, helped to bring the music industry’s focus back to Boston after the psychedelic era of the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Since coming to Rhode Island, Montgomery has hosted radio shows syndicated out of Newport, become a community activist, and participated in countless musician and veteran causes.
Raising the bar and setting the standard isn’t just for those on the stage. That’s apparent by the induction of Andrew Polin, Bob Mor- rissey, and LeRoy Bennett. The Ocean State trio were welcomed to the Hall of Fame for their prowess in the field of stage lighting and design.
Bellaire explained that before they came along, touring acts would go from theater to stadium and use whatever was available. He said some acts even would stop in at a local Benny’s to buy colored bulbs or pick up scrap wood from a lumberyard. That changed when Polin, Morrissey, and Bennett of Warwick decided to be “forward-thinking” and realize “it’s about making the star look good and presenting them in the best possible light.”
In the 1970s, they became lighting designers for the rock band Boston and Bennett in the 1980s would go off on his own and become lighting director for Prince. As Bennett’s reputation grew, so too did his client list, which Bellaire says has included The Who, Paul McCartney, Van Halen, David Bowie, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Jay-Z, and Beyonce. Thanks to his work with those performers, he’s also headed up lighting and production at Rock and Rock Hall of Fame induction ceremonies and Super Bowl halftime shows.
Also inducted in the Class of 2018 were country songwriter Tom Ghent, music educator and professor Lloyd Kaplan, blues guitarist Paul Murphy, and composer Mike Renzi.
Robert Billington, chairman of the Hall of Fame, said he was honored to celebrate Rhode Island’s music heritage and history by welcoming those who have spent their lives “enriching the state through the music they performed, wrote, and shared.”
“When we do our unveiling, make no mistake, if you miss it, you’ve really missed something,” Billington said. “This will be wallto-wall people, because they want to see those drapes come down. Our inductees are amazing stars of the show that day, it’ll make the strongest person weak-kneed when Rhode Island celebrates their history.”
This year’s jazz inductions will take place on Thursday, April 26 at Chan’s, 267 Main St. in Woonsocket. Chan and Renzi will be honored. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and will include a performance by Mike Renzi. Tickets can be purchased at www.chanseggrollsandjazz.com.
On Friday, April 27, the folk and songwriter inductions will honor Ghent and Blue and will feature a performance by Ghent and a tribute to Blue by Hall of Fame inductees Mark Cutler and Bill Harley. This event takes place at POP! Emporium of Popular Culture, 219 Park St. in Providence. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and can be purchased at www.emporiumofpopularculture.com.
On Sunday, April 29, eight new inductee exhibits will be unveiled followed by the Blues, Educator, and Sideman induction concert honoring Montgomery, Kaplan, Murphy, Bennett, Morrissey, and Polin. The unveiling ceremony for all 2018 inductees is at 2 p.m. inside Hope Artiste Village, 999 Main St. A concert follows at 3 p.m. at The Met with a performance from The James Montgomery Band and a Paul Murphy tribute jam session featuring past inductees and collaborators.
The unveiling of the inductee exhibits is free and open to the public, but a ticket will be required for entrance to the concert at The Met. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door and can be purchased at www.rhodeislandmusichalloffame.com. Tickets will go on sale starting Feb. 27.