We reported last week on the death of Memphis blues stalwart Wilroy Sanders. Sanders funeral is still scheduled for today, but the location has changed. The funeral will now be held at Parkway Gardens United Presbyterian Church at 1005 East Shelby Drive at 11 a.m. today. Burial will follow at the the Forest Hill Irene VA cemetery.

Sometimes it's easier to show than tell so here's a video-laden blog post to give readers a taste of all the sonic goodness that went down this past weekend at the 22nd annual Folk Alliance Conference in Memphis. This year's event attracted more than 1700 attendees, featured 200 official juried, performances, and 300+ unofficial private showcases. There were also more than 50 workshops and panel discussions like this old time banjo summit.

In addition to the Downtown Marriott's conference and ball rooms, which were reserved for concerts and workshops, three stories of the hotel were reserved for nearly round the clock performances. Each hotel room became a miniature club or concert hall featuring a different act every half hour.

The 2010 Folk Alliance Conference is in town this weekend. Some of the best parts of this event are closed to the general public but here's a peek at what's happening at the Downtown Marriott.

"Uncle Wilroy had been kind of going down this summer. He had been diagnosed with lung cancer but had been able to work through it [for a while]. He went into hospice care a few weeks ago," Ivory said.

"We're still trying to determine how many grandchildren, how great grandchildren," said Ivory, who is assisting Sanders' widow, Dorothy Mae Tucker Sanders, with funeral arrangements.

A Korean War veteran, Sanders presided over the vital Green's Lounge scene and, along with such artists as Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, and Othar Turner, was a key figure in the Mid-South's fruitful traditional blues scene in the 1990s. He was featured in the 1999 documentary and soundtrack album Will Roy Sanders: The Last Living Bluesman on Shangri-La Projects.

"There were a lot of people who really adored him and really appreciated his music, but I didn't feel like — and I don't think he felt like — he ever really got his due," Ivory said.

CHARITY SINGLES

Why can't I get behind the concept?

This wiki entry on the "We Are the World" answers everything:

“The dispute started when Stevie Wonder announced that he would like to substitute a line in Swahili. After a few rehearsals, a full-fledged creative conflict broke out. Geldof pointed out that Ethiopians do not speak Swahili. Michael Jackson then proposed to keep his original line “Sha-lim sha-lingay” but after a few rehearsals, it too ran into opposition, because it does not have a meaning. Eventually Al Jarreau cried, “We can make a meaning” and came up with “One World, our word” which was changed one last time in “One world, our children.”

Need a more sordid look behind the scenes of your favorite charity recording session? Check out the A.V. Club's "We Care A Lot,", which chronicles the "self-congratulatory, celebrity-bozo circle-jerk" behind Artists Against AIDS Worldwide's "What's Going On," Hear N' Aid's "Stars," the West Coast Rap All-Stars's "We're All In The Same Gang," and more.

SONG STEALING

And apparently Men At Work's Colin Hays appropriated elements of the Australian folk song "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree" when penning the '80s smash "Down Under."

Is nothing sacred? Nope, which leads us to part four, due later today...

Bobo recorded the album with local producer/engineer Doug Easley. The album is said to continue the romantic journey Bobo chronicled on his first two albums, Too Much Love and I'm Your Man, this time reflecting the impact on Bobo's life of a new wife and son.

In advance of the release, Goner is offering fans a Valentine's Day sneak preview of one of the songs from Sucker. You can hear it on the Goner Blog here.

Six months after his death, the legacy of producer Jim Dickinson still looms large.

Go here to read my take on the South Memphis String Band, the latest project from DIckinson's eldest, Luther.

And go here to read a portentous note from Birdman Records owner David Katznelson, who released several of Dickinson's albums, including his crucial '72 solo effort, Dixie Fried, originally issued on Atlantic, and Spectrum Meets Captain Memphis, a collaboration with British musician Pete "Sonic Boom" Kember.

Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of Katznelson's piece to the five-and-a-half minute MP3 of Dickinson boldly reading poet Vachel Lindsay's "The Congo." The opening track of Fishing With Charlie & Other Selected Readings, it's as if Dickinson never left the room.

UNIMAGINATIVE BAND NAMES

Exhibit B: The rising British country band The Gilded Palace of Sin. Way too obvious. They're fans of Gram Parsons. But "it’s kind of like taking Exile On Main Street as a moniker," as Popmatters noted last month.

Exhibit C: "Cheeky" dance producer Joy Orbison. Sure, it has more of a ring to it than his given name, Peter O'Grady, but, as noted on Buddyhead, appropriating the moniker of the "Crying" crooner makes for an "astonishingly terrible" name for a DJ.

Make it stop!

HYPER GENRE CLASSIFICATION

So I almost choked on my coffee yesterday when I was listening to NPR and heard Fresh Air's Terry Gross describe Galactic as a "funk/jazz/hip-hop band."

Reviewer Ken Tucker redeemed himself a few minutes later when he rephrased the statement with this: "Galactic is a funk band that's always moving forward, while mindful of the past."

But I couldn't get "funk/jazz/hip-hop" out of my mind.

A Google search for "ridiculous music genres" turned up this gem of a blog entry from audio tuts+, which explores "Spacesynth," "Epic Doom-Metal," "Lowercase," "Bitpop," and "Nintendocore," this thread about the subgenres of death metal, and a brief diatribe about "progressive bluegrass."

If you're describing yourself as an "electroclash" fan (which the Village Voice defines as "the common ground between Fashion Week and college radio") you're over-thinking it.

This morning, the Memphis & Shelby County Music Commission's second annual Conversations with a Legend series got an early kick-off with Boo Mitchell's reminisces about Poppa Willie Mitchell on WREG's Live at 9 program, seen above.

Tomorrow a.m., Marvell Thomas will be discussing his father Rufus Thomas — a.k.a. the World's Oldest Teenager — on Live at 9.

From there, the series moves to the Fogelman Executive Center at the U of M, where, on Thursday, February 11th, 18th, and 25th, the likes of Big Star drummer Jody Stephens, saxophonist Herman Green, Elvis' pal George Klein, radio pioneer Art Gilliam, and the sons and daughters of Isaac Hayes, Rufus Thomas, Willie Mitchell, and Sam Phillips will discuss all things Memphis music.

Call 576-6850 or go here for more info.