A tragic story from the Memphis Blues Community and a loss for Blues radio

Picture courtesy of WEVL Volunteer Radio

The Blues Silence a D.J. Who Knew Them Well

MEMPHIS — Violence and heartbreak have long shaped the music that makes this city synonymous with the blues. But when the police were alerted to the slaying of Dee Henderson, a disc jockey whose soft voice piloted “Cap’n Pete’s Blues Cruise” on the city’s volunteer radio station, WEVL, for 26 years, the death seemed more like the lyrics of the Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters songs he so loved than his friends and fans could stand.

I had the opportunity to meet and "hang with" blues great Ms. Denise LaSalle and her band when she came up to Alaska in the mid-1990's. The band told me a lot about the fabulous Beale Street Blues Scene where they came from. I've always wanted to go to Memphis and check it out for myself...more than I even wanted to check out New Orleans.

I'd heard of Cap'n Pete when I was doing some research a few years ago. True Blues DJs and aficionados are hard to come by (we're lucky in Alaska to have our own "Atomic Mama," Amy van Singel and Todd Glazer) because there are so few places in radio for them. Blues shows are usually on public radio and often are lovingly produced and aired by volunteers like "Cap'n Pete."

Through the station, Mr. Henderson became a reluctant celebrity. A brake mechanic by trade, he happened across WEVL’s Americana programming when it was a 10-watt secret only enjoyed by central-city residents. Mr. Henderson installed an FM antenna at his home, amplified the signal and was captivated.

Over time, he relayed enough blues knowledge during frequent calls to WEVL that the station manager, Judy Dorsey, and others gently cajoled him into becoming a disc jockey.

He was dubbed Cap’n by friends for his love of fishing and Pete because “he looked like a Pete,” said one of his daughters, Sandra Palmer, and his folksy demeanor made him one of WEVL’s most popular personalities.

Magnifying the loss, Henderson died just a few days before Steve Ladd, 63, "the host of a WDIA Saturday morning blues show died of complications from a brain aneurysm."

This is a huge tragedy for the family, as Henderson was shot by his own grandson:

On July 15, Mr. Henderson was felled by shotgun blasts in the backyard of his longtime family home. The police were called by Mr. Henderson’s grandson, Cortez Thomas, 30, who was later charged with first-degree murder in the case.

Reading this story made me think about how we don't appreciate the folks who freely provide the wealth of their experience to us until it is too late. With the deaths of those two Blues DJs, there are now folks in Memphis who will never experience Blues music the same way.

Let's not let that happen here:

"9th Alley Blues" on KNBA 90.3 FM, Sunday at 7:00 PM

"The Twilight Show" on KSKA 91.1 FM, Saturday at 8:00 PM

Tragedy on Elmendorf--BG Thomas L. Tinsley, 3rd Wing Commander, dies of a gunshot wound--UPDATE: Was Tinsley under extra pressure?

Photo courtesy of USAF, Tinsley Bio

Per the ADN:

The commander of the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base died of what is being described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest at his on-base home Sunday night, the Air Force said this afternoon.

The Air Force is investigating and can't say whether the shot that killed Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Tinsley was accidental or a suicide, Col. Richard Walberg said in a press conference.

Tinsley did not leave a suicide note.

Tinsley was declared dead around 10:30 p.m., according to a statement issued by the Air Force early this morning.

A video of the press conference with Col. Richard Walberg can be found HERE.

***UPDATE***

I know that this is an ongoing investigation and they are unsure if it is suicide or an accident. However, I knew that the Air Force has been under a huge shake-up for the last two months and wondered if that had put any extra pressure on BG Tinsley. Here is a story from June 5th:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary Robert Gates ousted the Air Force's top military and civilian leaders Thursday, holding them to account in a historic Pentagon shake-up after embarrassing nuclear mix-ups.

Gates announced at a news conference that he had accepted the resignations of Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Michael Moseley and Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne - a highly unusual double firing.

Gates said his decision was based mainly on the damning conclusions of an internal report on the mistaken shipment to Taiwan of four Air Force electrical fuses for ballistic missile warheads. And he linked the underlying causes of that slip-up to another startling incident: the flight last August of a B-52 bomber that was mistakenly armed with six nuclear-tipped cruise missiles.

The report drew the stunning conclusion that the Air Force's nuclear standards have been in a long decline, a "problem that has been identified but not effectively addressed for over a decade."

These incidents began in August of 2006.

Later in the article:

Gates also announced that "a substantial number" of Air Force general officers and colonels were identified in the Donald report as potentially subject to disciplinary measures that range from removal from command to letters of reprimand. He said he would direct the yet-to-be-named successors to Wynne and Moseley to evaluate those identified culprits and decide what disciplinary actions are warranted - "or whether they can be part of the solution" to the problems found by Donald.

This from BG Tinsley's resume:

August 2005 - May 2007, executive officer to the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

I found this headline, from today:

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Air Force's logistics chief resigned Monday, saying the recent leadership shake up by Defense Secretary Robert Gates has hurt his ability to do his job.

In a sharply worded memo obtained by The Associated Press, William Anderson said the changes limit his ability to take care of the airmen and their families with the vigor they deserve.

"I can no longer draw on a critical mass of leadership within the Pentagon who share your vision for the support necessary to lean forward to aggressively support these American heroes," Anderson said in a memo to Bush.

This could all be coincidental and completely unrelated to the sad events of Sunday. However, the timing struck me as potentially significant.

Let me also be clear: I am NOT insinuating that BG Tinsley did anything wrong. It is also far from my intention to add to the pain of the family at this time. As an almost-15-year former employee of the military, I learned that excellent, caring officers are tarnished by controversy because the responsible big-wigs deflect the blame. I hope this is not the case with BG Tinsley.