PANOLA COLLEGE IS PROUD TO PRESENT –

MUSICAL HERITAGE OF TEXAS:
SOUTHERN GOSPEL, COWBOY SONGS & ELVIS 

On April 10, 2003, Panola College and the B.F. and Mary Payne Fund for the Preservation of Texas Culture will present Musical Heritage of Texas: Southern Gospel, Cowboy Songs & Elvis. 

Mr. Steve Davis, Chairman of the Department of Social Sciences at Kingwood College, will present “Elvis in East Texas,” the story and music of young Elvis Presley when he toured East Texas in 1955. Recently Mr. Davis visited Carthage and Shreveport researching the appearance of Elvis here and at the Louisiana Hayride.  

Mr. Davis is a member of the Texas State Historical Association, Southern Historical Association, and the East Texas Historical Association. He received the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Fellowship (2000), Silver Merit Award from the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (1996), and has twice earned the Teaching Excellence Award (1991 and 1984).  

Following Mr. Davis, Pipp and Guy Gillette will present authentic cowboy songs, poetry and stories depicting the real cowboy and the history of ranching in America.  The brothers have produced several albums of cowboy songs including Home Ranch (1992), Cinch Up Your Riggin' (1994), Lone Star Trail and most recently The Gillette Brothers, Live From The Camp Street Cafe & Store.

They have played at major events around the country including: the Western Heritage Classic in Abilene, Texas; the Cowboy Symposium in Lubbock, Texas; the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; the Lincoln County Cowboy Symposium in Glencoe, New Mexico; and the National Arboretum in Washington, DC.

The Gillette Brothers received the 1998 Will Rogers Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Advancement of Contemporary Cowboy Music-Best Duo/Group by The Academy of Western Artists.

“Last September in Nacogdoches I enjoyed the privilege of being on a program with Steve Davis and Pipp and Guy Gillette,” said Panola College history professor and author Bill O’Neal. “We had a standing room only crowd to hear our presentations on the musical heritage of Texas. Steve Davis and the Gillette Brothers were so captivating that I wanted to bring them to Carthage. The Murphy-Payne Lecture Series will provide our students and citizens an opportunity to enjoy these entertaining and knowledgeable men.”