The city of Hot Springs Arkansas is currently hosting its annual 10-day Arts and the Park Festival. As part of the celebrations, Hot Spring native and musical legend Henry Glover was inducted into the Arkansas Walk of Fame at Historical Steams Nightclub on May 1.
May 21st is declared Henry Glover Day.
Glover was one of the first successful and influential black music managers in the early 20th century. Initially, Glover worked under the independent and white-owned record label King Label. Glove has written or produced many songs, including “Teardrops on Your Letter” for Hank Ballard & the Midnighters and the number 1 hit “Peppermint Twist” for Joey Dee and The Starliters.
Glover’s own song “Drown in My Own Tears” has been covered by music giants such as the late Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. Glover has nearly 50 credits for writing and 1,500 credits for composers, partly due to how much of his work has been covered or sampled.
In addition to being an influential writer and producer, Glover was also a musical engineer, trumpeter, and engaged in numerous musical genres. African Americans were often immersed in “racing music,” and Glover is considered a trailblazer because his career has included country, blues, R&B, pop, rock, and jazz music.
As the city of Hot Springs celebrates Glover’s legacy, former Murphy Arts District CEO and former Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President Terry Stewart shared how he learned about Henry Glover’s legacy and career .
“Music and the history of music have always been very important to me,” said Stewart. “The learning curve of this story never stops for me, and now that I’m in Cleveland, Ohio, I’ve learned more about King Label in Cincinnati. King Label was the first Racially Integrated Ohio company we know of because Syd Nathan who ran the company hired people of various races and Henry Glover was one of them and one of the most important. “
Though Glover had a profound impact on the music industry, his history is not known nationally or in his home state of Arkansas.
“The general public, Arkansas or not, had no idea who Henry Glover was,” Stewart said. “He had his own record, but none of his records was really a big hit. The records he wrote and produced were the hits. “
One of the problems that help hide stories like Glovers is the lack of venues, bands, or organizations that could help maintain the influence of previous artists, according to Stewart.
Stewart said he was grateful to artists like Bruno Mars for keeping the sound and influence of the musical eras of the past in his music.
“I’m so excited that ‘Leave the Door Open’, his new record, is at the top of the charts,” said Stewart. “He’s got several records now, the sound of which goes back to the 1950s and 1960s and pushes the boundaries of success, which is impressive because the dominant genre right now is hip-hop or hip-hop-related singing … I can definitely do that to some extent say Bruno’s music is influenced by Henry Glover. The music that Glover wrote, produced and played is still part of the original skeleton of rock and R&B. “
But unfortunately, Stewart said he feels that there aren’t enough artists like Mars that could raise some of the artists of the past.
“There is never enough ink, media, or voices to bring these people to the top because most of their music, except for a few, has disappeared in the records archives.”
“I’m really happy that Hot Springs is honoring him and hopefully more people will be interested in his legacy,” added Stewart. “The musical legacy in Arkansas is much bigger and broader than many people realize. This is a good place to start and hopefully it will motivate someone to write a book about Henry Glover. “