History of the Colorado Music Hall of Fame

April 5, 2019June 24, 2020

Before 2011, efforts to remember and immortalize influential musicians from Colorado in a single music history museum had all failed. Then, in collaboration with former Denver Post journalist Gary “G” Brown, Chuck Morris took on the task of bringing the Colorado Music Hall of Fame to life. Morris’s career as a concert promoter and artist manager had started in 1969; over the years, he’d watched countless musicians from all over the state rise to fame. Morris and Brown envisioned creating an organization that would recognize more than one style or aspect of music. They created the Hall as a nonprofit with the mission of celebrating musicians working in all genres, as well as individuals and organizations that have impacted the scene. For these music enthusiasts, the only limitations were the Colorado state lines.

From a Modest Start to a Permanent Home

With a board of dedicated industry and community leaders and a list of future inductees, Colorado Music Hall of Fame began the work of preserving and displaying the stories and artifacts of this state’s musical legacy. The Hall presented induction events that celebrated the artists and inductees and educated fans about Colorado’s rich musical heritage. Early Hall exhibits were housed in the 1stBank Center in Broomfield and then, thanks to Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and Governor John Hickenlooper, the Hall moved to its permanent home at the Trading Post at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, a Denver Mountain Park and one of the world’s best music venues.

Honoring Musicians of Colorado

In 2011, its first year, the Colorado Music Hall of Fame inducted just one musician, Grammy Award-winner John Denver. The other inductee was the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre. Since then, the Hall has inducted more than 25 individuals, organizations and musicians, including Judy Collins; Firefall; Colorado’s successful surf-rock band, The Astronauts; Flash Cadillac, which appeared in the George Lucas/Francis Ford Coppola movie American Graffiti; the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band; Poco; Glen Miller; five-time Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Dianne Reeves; Charles Burrell, the classical bassist known as the “Jackie Robinson of classical music” for his work as the first African-American musician to be hired by a national symphony in 1949; and many more. In 2018 the Hall added inductees 97.3 KBCO, the legendary Boulder radio station that is celebrating over forty years on the air and helped create “album-oriented” Triple A radio, and Chuck Morris himself, who is responsible for the success of such artists as Lyle Lovett, Big Head Todd & The Monsters and who, along with Bill Graham’s company, opened the Fillmore Ballroom in Denver. During that celebration, Governor John Hickenlooper received the Barry Fey Visionary Award for his unwavering support for Colorado-based music and musicians.

Exhibits in the Trading Post tell stories about much of the state’s music history in such displays as Jazz Masters, Live and on the Air, 20th Century Pioneers and Rockin’ the 60s. Others are devoted to individual inductees, supported by the artists themselves or their families. For example, John Denver’s wife made generous donations of clothing, instruments and other items from Denver’s personal belongings. The Judy Collins exhibit includes a beautiful dress from the singer and the original lyrics to some of her songs.

Come Celebrate Colorado Music History

With a mission to educate, empower and inspire future musicians in this great state, the Colorado Music Hall of Fame offers an important educational experience. Schools and other organizations can tour the self-explanatory exhibits for free from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily; on concert dates during the Red Rocks summer season, the Hall, which is located in the Trading Post just to the east of the main stage, often stays open until 7 p.m. The exhibits, films, and artifacts make learning about Colorado’s musical influences simple and engaging for everyone. Simply drop by the Hall or contact us to schedule a guided visit.

Hickenlooper Has a Winning Soundtrack for his Campaign

March 12, 2019June 23, 2020

On March 4, former Colorado governor John Hickenlooper made it official: He’s running for president. He joined an already crowded Democratic field, but as Hickenlooper’s March 7 kickoff rally at Denver’s Civic Center Park showed, he’s got a winning soundtrack for his campaign.

The rally included performances by local singers SuCh and Mary Louise Lee, and ended with a three-song set by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats.

Hickenlooper was a music fan long before he became a successful brewpub owner, much less a popular politician. And as mayor of Denver and then governor of Colorado, no one did more to support this state’s music scene than John Hickenlooper.

“I have never known a politician so involved and caring of the Colorado music community as John,” said promoter Chuck Morris, who had to miss the rally because he was at a concert in Uganda with Michael Franti. “When tragedies like the Boulder floods and fires hit, John was there, helping us reach out to artists to come and perform, helping get donations from corporations and literally emceeing and partaking in the events themselves.” At the rally, the former mayor of Jamestown lauded Hickenlooper’s work dealing with the 2013 floods.

In his push to elevate Colorado’s music industry, Hickenlooper did not just respond to emergency requests, though. As mayor of Denver, he helped propel Red Rocks Amphitheatre to its top-tier status, tripling the number of shows at this legendary venue to more than 100 a year. He used property tax discounts to encourage live music downtown, and today Denver rivals Nashville and Austin for the number of spots booking music. He also worked with established organizations like the Colorado Symphony and Swallow Hill so that they landed on solid footing. And certainly, one of his lasting legacies as governor is Take Note Colorado, a statewide initiative he introduced to provide access to musical instruments and instruction to every K-12 student in Colorado.

Hickenlooper’s support of the scene has earned him many fans, including musicians themselves. “Old Crow Medicine Show, The Lumineers, One Republic, The Fray, Bonnie Raitt and Dave Matthews are only a few of the acts that he calls friends, and he is usually seen when they appear in our great city,” Morris added. “My favorite story is when the Denver Art Museum called me to get a band to surprise him when John was awarded the Man of the Year at its 2019 gala. It took five seconds of asking The Avetts to fly all the way from North Carolina and surprise John with a beautiful show to end the evening. The look on John’s face was priceless. If there is one person who personifies the greatness of Colorado music for the last 25 years, it would be hard to top John Hickenlooper.”

Hickenlooper was honored with the Barry Fey Visionary Award at the December 2018 induction ceremony for the Colorado Music Hall of Fame. How to top that? Running for president, of course, backed by a winning soundtrack.

Zephyr: The True Story of a Colorado Legend

February 13, 2019June 23, 2020

Anyone who ever saw Candy Givens perform with Zephyr in 1969, or through the band’s years when it released albums on ABC, Warner Bros., Red Sneakers, BGO, and One Way-Casablanca Records all the way into the 1980s, never forgot the vocal power and sheer energy of her presence. She was simply “a force of nature,” says Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald, Animal Planet veterinarian-comedian and a former bodyguard for the Rolling Stones. Whether Zephyr was opening for Jimi Hendrix at the legendary Denver Pop Festival, playing Mammoth Gardens or tearing the roof off Art’s Bar & Grill in Boulder, this was the band to see in that incredible era that produced artists like The Who, Buffalo Springfield and Janis Joplin and the Holding Company.

Candy Ramey and the Origins of Zephyr

Candy Ramey was born in 1946 into a family that’s been described as “gamblers and small-time outlaws” living in a log house overlooking the lake near Evergreen, just west of Denver. When she was eleven, they moved out of the mountains to Applewood, near Golden. Candy’s love of music and her powerful voice got her voted the “most likely to become a famous singer” in her senior year at Golden High School. She attended Northern Colorado University in Greeley, intending to become a teacher. But music was her focus, and she and her high school buddy, Doug Lubahn, hitchhiked to California. Lubahn looked for jobs as a bass player and ended up playing bass on the first two Doors albums. Candy moved on to San Francisco to join friend Connie Kay there; she made her radio debut playing guitar and singing “Greensleeves” on a Chinese language station. After a year on the coast, she returned to Colorado and moved to Aspen, joining another high school friend, Doug Whitney, in the Piltdown Philharmonic Jug Band. It was there that she met David Givens, a songwriter, guitar and bass player; they moved to Boulder and were married in October 1968. Their band, Brown Sugar, played from Denver to Salt Lake City, California and back to Boulder that fall. Brown Sugar would eventually transform into Zephyr.

At the time, Boulder was a gathering place for great musicians and had an incredibly diverse music scene. Rick Roberts from The Flying Burrito Brothers and Firefall; Jock Bartley from Graham Parsons and Firefall; Poco; Freddi Henchie & the Soulsetters; Flash Cadillac; Joe Walsh & Barnstorm and Steve Stills were all drawn to the mountains and Caribou Ranch recording studios. After a monumental jam with guitar wizard Tommy Bolin at The Buff Room on the hill, Candy and David Givens joined keyboard and flutist John Faris and Bolin, the leaders of the band Ethereal Zephyr. With the addition of Robbie Chamberlin on drums, the band members began composing and arranging music drawing from their experience playing pop, blues, jazz, country, and folk music. They burst onto the Colorado music scene with several explosive shows starting at The Sink in Boulder, where they worked with Chuck Morris to promote a Barry Fey-style buzz about the band, and then at the University of Colorado’s Glenn Miller Ballroom, opening for John Mayall; Mackie Auditorium with Tim Leary; Reed’s Ranch with the Grateful Dead; and various free concerts at the Boulder Band Shell and other locations in the mountains around Boulder.

After playing in Phoenix, where they met musicians like Steve Miller, Vanilla Fudge and David Lindley’s band, Kaleidoscope, they moved on to New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, where they played the Avalon Ballroom, The Whisky A-Go-Go, and The Boston Tea Party. Everywhere they went, their no-holds-barred shows earned new fans, especially at the Denver Pop Festival, where they played on two memorable evenings. Through these shows, they spent time in Boulder, preparing to record their first album in the fall of 1969 in Los Angeles. Their self-titled debut album was released on ABC Probe, a division of ABC Records, in February 1970. With Candy’s stage presence, songwriting, vocals and harp; Bolin’s magical guitar solos and the power of the Zephyr rhythm section, plus the band’s blues/jazz/rock performances on shows with Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Leslie West’s Mountain, Mad Dogs and Englishmen, Spirit, Fleetwood Mac, and pretty much every top group of the era, the band established a fan base across the U.S., Canada and internationally in Europe, Japan, and Australia.

The stage was set for Zephyr with Candy Givens to become the logical heir to the Janis Joplin, Grace Slick dynasty of powerful, women-fronted bands in the late 1960s.

But logic and destiny rarely unfold in a way that confirms inevitability. Zephyr’s second album was recorded for Warner Brothers with famed producer/engineer Eddie Kramer in New York at Electric Lady studios with Bobby Berge on drums. Carly Simon, who was recording her first album at Electric Lady with Kramer, invited David Givens to play bass on several tunes, including her first hit, “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be.” Sadly, Jimi Hendrix died the day before he was to return to New York to complete the legendary album Cry of Love. While Eddie Kramer and drummer Mitch Mitchell finished the album, the Zephyr sessions were put on the back burner – never to be properly finished. Going Back to Colorado came out in 1971 on Warner Brothers Records. It was favorably reviewed in Rolling Stone by famed critic Lester Bangs; Colorado writer Gil Asakawa wrote, “She had a powerful throaty voice that could scream the highest rock and roll notes but swoop down to the lowest moaning blues.” Despite slow album sales, Billboard chose Zephyr, along with Eric Clapton, as most likely to succeed. The magazine was half-right.

Record labels of that era chose favorites, and they did not promote Zephyr’s album the way it should have been pushed. Whether because of half-hearted promotion by Warner Brothers or mismanagement, Zephyr did not achieve the commercial success that fans thought the band deserved. “Warner Brothers released Tommy and Bobby when they quit the band,” recalls David Given. “And Barry Fey turned his attention to Tommy after a dispute we had over failed promises and life insurance. Eventually, our band was blackballed out of the big-time music business. We were consigned to a career of playing ski towns and along the Front Range, up into Wyoming and down into New Mexico, as we beat our heads against the wall that our management erected around us.”

Bolin would go on to replace Joe Walsh in Barnstorm and then record and tour with Deep Purple, a legendary psychedelic-rock band of the ‘70s. He eventually launched a solo career, but that was cut short just as Bolin began to gain the recognition he truly deserved. He died in Miami on December 4, 1976, of a drug overdose.

David and Candy Givens formed a new band and recorded Sunset Ride, which may be the album most remembered by their fans. Candy’s songwriting, vocals, and harp were at their apex. On guitar, Bolin was replaced by Jock Bartley, who would later go on to co-found Firefall with Rick Roberts. They also added Michael Wooten on drums, who subsequently toured and recorded with Carol King and Leftover Salmon. The album was produced by David Givens, and he wrote the majority of the songs for this second Warner Brothers release.

For the next ten years, Zephyr’s lineup continued to evolve with Otis Taylor (award-winning trans-blues artist), Eddie Turner (blues guitar great), boogie-woogie piano legend Rob Rio, Bobby Berge on drums and a host of other local and national luminaries. The band produced one more album in 1982, Heartbeat, and the video for that release used elements of animation combined with performance footage that was groundbreaking for its time. Zephyr disbanded shortly after, though, and all the players went on to successful careers with other projects. Candy and David Givens were planning a blues album when Candy died in Boulder of a drug-related accidental drowning on January 27, 1984.

There are hundreds of stories in the annals of any community about musicians who never got a fair shake. Whether you are talking about New Jersey’s South Side Johnny being eclipsed by the career of Bruce Springsteen or Livingston Taylor being overshadowed by his more famous older brother James, the music business is not fair, nor just. In a perfect world, Warner Brothers would have capitalized on the remarkable talent of Candy Givens, and Zephyr would have received the attention it deserved.

But thanks to David Givens, the music and the legacy live on. In 2014, Greg Hampton and David Givens remastered and repackaged the band’s first album, Bathtub Album, on Purple Pyramid Records and then gave the same treatment to “Going Back to Colorado,” adding previously unreleased live and studio recordings in a boxed set titled Leaving Colorado for Sunset Boulevard Records (both of which are still available). David is currently remixing “Sunset Ride” and “Heartbeat” from the original multi-track recordings for release this year. And there is still several albums’ worth of unreleased studio recordings that he intends to release in the future.

In 2019, The Colorado Music Hall of Fame will induct Candy Ramey Givens and Zephyr into the Hall of Fame. While it’s impossible to turn back time to give Zephyr its due, this band deserves to be recognized as one of the country’s most incredible, female-fronted groups that, while rooted in blues-rock, transcended that genre to create its own unique niche in Colorado music history.

Who Was John Denver?

February 4, 2019June 23, 2020

A legendary artist whose love for the state of Colorado shines through the lyrics of his music, John Denver was a creative visionary and one of the most beloved singer-songwriters of his time. His imaginative mind and peaceful spirit still influence millions today through the legacy of his music.

Starting Out in the Music Industry

John Denver was born on New Year’s Eve 1943 in Roswell, New Mexico, as Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. His father, “Dutch,” was a record-breaking pilot in the United States Air Force, and because he was born into a military family, young John lived in a number of places while growing up. His grandmother gave him his first guitar, and he got his first major break during an audition for the popular Chad Mitchell Trio. Chad Mitchell was leaving the group, and he was chosen as the new lead singer over 250 other hopefuls. Young Deutschendorf started writing songs at an early age and made demos of some of them, including a 1967 song he called “Babe, I Hate to Go.” In 1969, Peter, Paul & Mary, the most popular folk group of that decade, had their first and only No. 1 hit with a cover of Denver’s renamed “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” By then, Deutschendorf had chosen the new professional name of John Denver to honor what he said was his “favorite state, Colorado” and also because the newly named Mitchell Trio could not fit Deutschendorf on the marque. The Mitchell Trio morphed into Denver, Boise and Johnson (Michael Johnson, who wrote “Bluer Than Blue”) and disbanded in 1969.

Success as a Solo Artist

Less than two years later, Denver was zooming up the pop charts with “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” the first of many hits. He soon became a household name with “Rocky Mountain High,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” “Annie’s Song,” “Back Home Again” and “Thank God I’m a Country Boy.” The strength of Denver’s popularity was measured in record sales that few other artists have achieved, including eight platinum albums in the U.S. alone.

A cheerfully optimistic image marked Denver’s 1970s heyday, when he emerged as one of the five top-selling recording artists in the history of the music industry. Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert, the couple who co-wrote Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” created the Starland Vocal Band, and the clean-cut, all-American group became the first act signed to Denver’s new Windsong label in 1975; “Afternoon Delight” was Windsong’s first and only No. 1 single.

Collaborations with Other Artists

Denver starred alongside celebrities as diverse as opera singer Beverly Sills, violinist Itzhak Perlman and flautist James Galway. Frank Sinatra was the “Friend” in Denver’s John Denver and Friend television special, and their back-to-back co-billing at Harrah’s Tahoe was one of the most sought-after tickets in the casino hotel’s history. Denver and Placido Domingo recorded “Perhaps Love,” a song written by Denver, as a duet, earning the Spanish tenor considerable recognition outside of the opera world.

Environmentalism and Humanitarianism

Due to his popularity, John Denver was given a platform to pursue his passions for environmental and humanitarian causes. He founded the Windstar Foundation in 1976 as an education and demonstration center dedicated to the creation of a sustainable future. He was known for his close friendship with Jacques Cousteau, the most famous underseas explorer of the 20th century; he wrote “Calypso” in 1975 as a tribute to Cousteau and his research boat of the same name, which sailed around the world for oceanic conservation.

Denver took his music beyond American shores, traveling to mainland China (where he was the first Western artist to do a multi-city tour) and the Soviet Union (the first time an artist had been invited to give public performances since the cultural exchange agreement expired in 1980), as well as Europe, the Far East, Australia, New Zealand and Latin America. His charitable activities included a trip to Africa to publicize the food crisis there, and act as spokesman for UNICEF’s fundraising drive.

Movies and the Muppets

When Denver guest-starred on The Muppet Show, he began a life-long friendship with Jim Henson that spawned two television specials with the Muppets ensemble. Denver’s movie debut alongside George Burns in the comedy Oh God! was a solid hit. He also starred and guest-starred in many television productions, including the seasonal special A Christmas Gift, filmed in the Rocky Mountains in 1986. He guest-hosted The Tonight Show on multiple occasions and hosted the Grammy Awards five times.

Denver was a photography buff for three decades, taking picture of people and places during his many tours around the country and abroad. Denver’s father had taught him how to fly, and their shared passion for flying brought them closer together. Denver, a licensed pilot, died at the age of 53 when his experimental aircraft crashed into the Pacific Ocean in October 1997.

John Denver & Colorado Tourism

John Denver’s effect on the world of music is felt the strongest in Colorado, where “Rocky Mountain High” is one of two official state songs. People from all over the world have fallen in love with the images he portrayed of the mountains and countryside surrounding his adopted state, and want to experience some of that beauty in person. John Denver fans can enjoy a variety of landmarks celebrating his life and career, including the Colorado Music Hall of Fame; Denver was the Hall’s first inductee in 2011.

Visit our website to learn more about the John Denver music exhibit and the musician’s inspiring life, as well as to see upcoming events on the CMHOF schedule for 2019.

The Lumineers Play at the Colorado Music Hall of Fame

January 29, 2019June 23, 2020

With their rootsy blend of Americana and indie rock, The Lumineers deliver foot-stomping, dynamic live performances that draw crowds to sold-out shows. Their message and authentic passion for the music resonates with audiences around the world, making them one of today’s most beloved, inspiring bands.

Passionate Storytelling

New Jersey natives Wesley Schultz and Jeremiah Fraites began collaborating and playing gigs in New York City in 2005. Moving from covers to writing original music, they experimented with various styles while working several jobs just to pay rent. In doing so, they discovered that while New York was a fantastic place to grow creatively, they couldn’t make the time to focus on their music. They moved to Denver in 2006 to explore a more affordable market.

As it turned out, the move to Denver and teaming up with classically trained cellist Neyla Pekarek was the change they needed to kickstart their professional music career. A recent college graduate, Pekarek was planning a career in music education when she took a chance and answered a Craigslist ad for a cellist. Open mic nights allowed the lineup to test new material at such Denver venues as the Meadowlark and Larimer Lounge. In the process, The Lumineers attracted the interest of Onto Entertainment and signed with the management company, which funded the band’s first recording. The eponymous album was produced by Ryan Hadlock at Bear Creek Studio in Seattle, and “Ho Hey” was released as the first single. It was part of the CW’s Hart of Dixie season finale, and a Seattle morning show DJ began playing it twice in a row daily, declaring it the best song of 2012 and fueling a national buzz. The song went on to reach #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Triple A Radio Charts for eight straight weeks, culminating in two Grammy Award nominations in 2013.

In 2016 the band released Cleopatra, and the single “Ophelia” went to #1 on the Triple A Charts for thirteen weeks. After that, The Lumineers embarked on a world tour that included shows with Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers and U2. Now Schultz and Fraites are working on their third album with new members and an exciting new sound, and the band is poised to become one of Colorado’s most successful acts.

Colorado’s Deep Musical Roots

For more than a century, Colorado has been a mecca for musicians.

Denver’s love affair with music blossomed in the 1920s, at the height of the jazz age with Paul Whiteman. Musicians such as Billie Holiday and Charlie Parker played at the Rossonian Hotel in Five Points, and artists as diverse as Charlie Burrell, guitarist Bill Frisell, Chet Baker, and Frank Sinatra hung out in establishments ranging from El Chapultepec to the Roxy. In the 1960s, bluegrass and folk took center stage, with Judy Collins and the Denver Folklore Center moving into the spotlight. John Denver

found a home in Aspen and artists from Townes Van Zante to Little Feat found an audience at venues like Chuck Morris’s Ebbets Field. Through the years, everything from hip-hop to punk, funk, and country have found a place here. Denver audiences have always been full of passionate, adventurous music lovers. No single style or sound dominates the scene, unlike at many other urban music centers. Artists come to Denver to make great music, so it’s no surprise that The Lumineers found their voice here.

Earning Their Place in the Spotlight

After spending years in local venues, The Lumineers have gone from a hardworking Denver act with incredible talent to an international headliner. On December 3, 2018, the band played at the Colorado Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony for longtime Colorado promoter and artist manager Chuck Morris and 97.3 KBCO. The gala also included performances by Isaac Slade and Ben Wysocki of The Fray, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Billy Nershi from String Cheese Incident, Amos Lee, Leo Kottke, Vince Herman and Drew Emmett from Leftover Salmon, and Big Head Todd & The Monsters with Hazel Miller and Chris Daniels and the Kings. Such diversity is at the heart of Colorado’s music scene. To learn more, visit our website to read about everyone from John Denver to Dianne Reeves, as well as events and inductions coming in 2019.

Who Is Otis Taylor?

January 10, 2019February 4, 2019

Otis Taylor is a critically acclaimed blues musician whose work speaks to the tragic, haunting legacy of America’s treatment of the disenfranchised, often, specifically, African-Americans. His songs provided emotional resonance in popular movies and hit television shows, and his albums have proved themselves to be a soundtrack to the darkest moments one can experience.

Yet, as he puts it in his official website’s biography, “I’m good at dark, but I’m not a particularly unhappy person. I’d just like to make enough money to buy a Porsche.” Furthermore, before his songs reached critical fame, he achieved a level of local celebrity in Denver, not for the genius of his music, but because, as a teenager, he rode to school on a unicycle while strumming his banjo.

Early Life

Born in Chicago, Illinois, in 1948, Otis Taylor was only a child when his uncle was shot to death. Seeking to raise their son in a safer environment, his parents moved the family to Denver. There, Taylor fell in love with blues music and the banjo. However, after learning of the racially charged history behind the popularity of the instrument, he developed his guitar and harmonica skills.

As a young man, Taylor toured Europe and North America as a professional musician, and played for a short time with Zephyr, with famed vocalist Candie Givens, and later with the Legendary 4Niktors. In 1977, Taylor stepped away from his passion to become an antique dealer. During this time, he also utilized his experience as a master unicyclist and coached a nationally ranked cycling team.

Music Career

It took until 1995 for Taylor to restart his musical career. He began by playing an intimate show in Boulder, and one year later he released his first album, “Blue-Eyed Monster.” His impactful second album, “When Negroes Walked the Earth,” brought critical acclaim and started a prolific period that saw him produce nine albums from 2001 to 2010, many with the Telarc International.

During this period, he also stretched the definition of blues, originating a fusion genre Taylor dubbed “trance-blues.” This musical form calls for repetitive looping beats that create space for urgent lyrics falling on the darker end of the emotional register.

Taylor brought this genre to the music festival space when he created and performed in the first ever Trance Blues Festival. Staying true to his Colorado roots, the festival plays every year in Boulder.

Over the years Taylor’s deep baritone voice and consistent push for expansion of the blues genera have earned him a number of prestigious accolades including, Down Beat magazine critics’ Poll that named “Taylor’s Truth is Not Fiction” as Blues CD of the Year for 2002 and Living Blues readers’ poll awarded him “Best Blues Entertainer” title in 2004. In 2005, Down Beat named Taylor’s “Double V” as Blues CD of the Year, “Definition of a Circle” as Blues CD of the Year for 2007 and “Recapturing the Banjo” as “Blues CD of the Year, 2008.”

Contact Colorado Music Hall of Fame

For more about Otis Taylor and other Colorado music legends, visit the Colorado Music Hall of Fame’s website. As 2018 winds to a close and 2019 are about to begin, keep a close eye on the calendar for future musical events.

Chuck Morris & KBCO

November 20, 2018June 23, 2020

Colorado has a rich musical history. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the contributions of legendary music promoter Chuck Morris, and 97.3 KBCO that got its start in Boulder, Colorado. Morris and 97.3 are set to be inducted into the Colorado Music Hall of Fame this December 3rd at the Paramount Theater. Read on to learn more about these two titans of the Colorado music scene and get tickets to be part of this historic community event.

Chuck Morris

Originally from Brooklyn, New York, Chuck Morris established himself as a Colorado music industry institution. After leaving the Ph.D. program in political science at the University of Colorado in Boulder, Morris was offered a job managing The Sink, a restaurant and bar on the Hill where he brought in acts as varied as Tommy Bolin and Flash Cadillac. With partner Herb Kauvar, they bought and re-opened Tulagi nightclub. At Tulagi, Morris brought Boulder the first real concert hall experience, bringing in Linda Ronstadt, the Eagles, ZZ Top, Bonnie Raitt, and The Doobie Brothers on their very first tours.

In 1974, he brought his prolific ear for music to Denver where he booked early tours of Richard Pryor, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Steve Martin, and Carole King at Ebbets Field Nightclub with his financial partner Barry Fey. Morris recently told The Daily Camera, “I thought I would be doing this music thing for six months and then go back to graduate school. That was 50 years ago.”

Since then, Morris has continued to drive the Colorado music community as a world-class promoter and an artist manager, and most recently in a bid to bring a 4,000-seat theater to downtown Denver called the Mission Ballroom opening in 2019.

KBCO

97.3 first went on the airwaves in 1977 and established itself in the Boulder community as the premier station for playing both well-known artist’s deep album cuts and discovering young unknown artists. At the time, there were no stations that gave airtime to indie bands and performers, and KBCO found a massive audience hungry for new, upcoming bands and performers. The strength of KBCO’s increased transmission power brought the station to the entire Front Range and that combined with their deep community involvement, from Kinetics to the Studio C sessions released on CD. This supported The Boulder Valley Aids Project and Food Bank of The Rockies with millions of dollars in fundraising that led to 97.3 KBCO becoming not just world-class rock, but a Colorado music icon that is as vibrant today as it was when it started in the 1970s. From their featuring of local artists on “Local Edition” to their hosting of the national Triple A Radio Convention and its long history of environmental activism, 97.3 KBCO is more than just radio; it is the music of our lives.

Be a Part of Colorado History

The inductees will be honored on December 3rd at the Paramount Theater. More than seven musical acts will pay tribute including The Lumineers, Leo Kottke, Isaac Slade of the Fray, Amos Lee, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, members of Leftover Salmon, String Cheese Incident, and surprise guests – plus

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper leading a “roast” of Morris this is a not-to-be-missed event. To attend this fun event and honor some of the most prolific members of the Colorado music scene, grab tickets here. If you’re interested in learning more about Colorado’s musical history, visit the Colorado Music Hall of Fame and check out our exhibits that range from 20th Century Pioneers to John Denver.