A Memphis horn legend with a 100-year-old sax
Sam and Dave. Lennon and McCartney. George and Ira Gershwin.
None of those remarkable musical collaborations lasted more than 20 years.
But if longevity is rare in artistic as well as romantic unions, nobody told Memphis music legend Floyd Newman.
Even the relationship between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards — who first met at a Kent railway station on Oct. 17, 1961 — is a fledgling enterprise compared to the partnership of Newman and his one and only baritone sax.
Newman and sax go way back
Newman and his wife, Dorothy, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary Aug. 5. But Newman and the musical instrument that accompanied him on tour and on record with B.B. King, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Dionne Warwick and Isaac Hayes have been together since 1949, when Newman’s father
Stax Museum 15th anniversary celebration
Featuring music by The BoKeys with vocalists Percy and Spencer Wiggins, plus a tribute to Floyd Newman and his 100-year-old saxophone. 6-8:30 p.m. Thursday, Stax Museum of American Soul Music, 926 E. McLemore Admission: free (plus free admission to the museum all day) Visit staxmuseum.com.
spurring protests and resulting in some cities declaring themselves “sanctuary cities,” which typically means they don’t hand low-priority immigrants to ICE. Memphis and Shelby County officials have never claimed they are sanctuary jurisdictions but say they don’t make arrests because of immigration status.
More recently, Memphis police arrested Spanish-language reporter Manual Duran as he covered a protest in front of the Shelby County Criminal Justice Complex in Downtown. Duran, a native of El Salvador who owns online news outlet Memphis Noticias, appeared at a court hearing where charges were dropped. Immediately afterward, federal agents arrested and transferred him to Louisiana, where he awaits possible deportation.
Tennessee lawmakers approved legislation Wednesday requiring local law enforcement officials to comply with ICE requests to hold immigrants who entered the country illegally, and withholding state funding from any governments that don’t comply. Gov. Bill Haslam had not signed the bill as of midday Thursday.
While the sheriff’s candidates take a similar stance on helping ICE, Cobb was the most outspoken in his opposition to the arrests of unauthorized immigrants. Unless they’ve committed a crime, he said, “they have a right to be here.”
“I understand some of the repercussions that have been threatened and even enforced,” Cobb said of the crackdown on sanctuary cities. “But my position doesn’t change: I consider it a human rights issue.”
If anyone doesn’t like the status quo, they should advocate for changing federal law, said Lane, who added that he objects to the “vilification” of ICE agents enforcing the law. But as far as enforcing the law, Lane said he wants federal agents and sheriff’s deputies to stay in their own lanes, cooperating when the law requires.
Lane said he wants to focus SCSO resources on finding violent offenders, whatever their immigration status.
“To me, the focus is on violent crime, violent crime, violent crime,” he said.
Bonner said he would follow the law, “whatever the law says,” but wouldn’t disclose his personal opinions about cooperating with ICE, citing his current position at the SCSO.
But he wouldn’t ask deputies to “round up immigrants,” he added.
“That’s ICE’s job,” Bonner said. “There are more pressing crimes.”
Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter at @ryanpoe.