The Clay County Performing Arts Center will honor local blues legend Bud Garrett Saturday.
Garrett was a lifelong citizen of the Free Hill community. Clay County Historian Thomas Watson said Garrett was attracted to playing the guitar. As Garrett grew up, he leaned more into playing the blues. Watson said in 1962, Nashville came calling after Garrett had spent several years playing locally.
“He recorded a couple or three songs in the Excello Studio that you know, that is still world famous for you know, for blues music, the traditional blues music,” Watson said. “And he recorded some sides down there with a backup band, and we still have those.”
Watson said Garrett also loved playing marbles and even invented his own mechanical marble-making machine. The concert will take place on Saturday at the Historic Clay County Courthouse. The concert will begin at 7pm.
Watson said Garrett was not afraid of letting people know where he was from everywhere he went.
“Most of his shows, when he opened up his shows, like at the Smithsonian, the first thing he would do was introduce himself and tell folks where he was from,” Watson said. “You know, that he was from Free Hill out in Clay County, TN. He was just so proud of that, and he spread lots of good things about the county.”
Watson said Garrett was an African American man during a time when segregation was widespread throughout America. Watson said Garrett was one of the friendliest and most outgoing people from the Free Hill community. Watson said thanks to many wonderful people like Garrett, Free Hill was more welcoming to African Americans during that time.
“He was accepted no matter where he went,” Watson said. “Like I said, he played cake walks, dances for white people, for colored people, it didn’t matter. His popularity didn’t have any boundaries of race, culture, or anything like that. He was just someone that everyone liked.”
Watson said Garrett would play songs in between marble games. Watson said one interesting fact about Garrett is that in the 90s, Garrett passed away while playing marbles with a couple of friends out on his marble yard.
Watson said the concert will have a backup band, and Garrett’s recordings will be played to simulate a live performance. Watson said Garrett’s songs were beloved as they had such purity about them. Some popular songs Garrett produced are “It Hurts Me Too” and “You Can’t Tell Which Way The Train Went By Looking At The Track”.
The concert will take place on Saturday at the Historic Clay County Courthouse. The concert will begin at 7pm.
