Once in a lifetime you may experience a brief moment when the stars align and something truly extraordinary happens. This was the case in October 2004, when four of the greatest living blues legends were assembled in Dallas, Texas for one incomparable night of music. At the time they ranged in age from 89 to 94 and all had received the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship Award, the highest honor in the USA for traditional arts.
These musicians have devoted their entire life to playing the blues, and staging such an epic event was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Once reunited, the old magic reemerged. It was if they were long lost school buddies. There was a time when Dallas was viewed as an epicenter for the blues. It was home to such legends as Blind Lemon Jefferson, Huddie “Ledbelly” Ledbetter, T-Bone Walker, Freddie King and others.
The Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas and the Magnolia in Fort Worth catered to well-dressed audiences who were transfixed by the soulful shouts of Johnny Taylor, the screaming Telecaster of Albert Collins and the eerie cry of Albert King’s Flying V. On October 16th, 2004, Dallas once again reclaimed its place as a blues capitol when the four remaining elders of the blues reunited on the stage of the historic Majestic Theater for a grand performance. It was a night that was 90 years in the making, but will live on for eternity.