El Dorado will host a one-of-a-kind celebration of art and the state’s musical heritage this fall. At 7 p.m. on Thursday, October 3, the South Arkansas Arts Center will welcome the author and artist behind a new book profiling Arkansas women in music.

From Almeda To Zilphia: Arkansas Women Who Transformed American Popular Song (Et Alia Press, 2024) profiles artists who’ve influenced music around the world in ways we’re still discovering. These women’s stories have too often been overlooked, forgotten, or never told. Working from hard-to-find historic photographs, vivid and colorful portraits by renowned artist Katherine Strause make plain the strength and artistry of these cultural pioneers. Strause will discuss her artistic process at the event, while her 30 portraits from the book will be on display at the SAAC during the month of September.

With a thoughtful forward by professor Dr. Cherisse Jones-Branch of Arkansas State University and a heart-wrenching afterword by acclaimed country music songwriter Erin Enderlin, From Almeda To Zilphia: Arkansas Women Who Transformed American Popular Song is written by award-winning journalist Stephen Koch.

Author Koch is a musician as well as writer and host of the public radio segment Arkansongs, which is syndicated throughout the Midsouth and heard locally in South Arkansas on Red River Radio. Koch is also author of Louis Jordan: Son of Arkansas, Father of R&B, about the former El Dorado resident who went on to have more than 50 top ten hits in the 1940s, starred in movies, and influenced James Brown, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, and countless others. Koch will perform a few songs by some of the artists from the new book, as well as discuss their cultural impact.

Despite their collective legacy, many of the women featured in Koch’s new book have not gotten their due. As the title indicates, From Almeda To Zilphia takes readers from A to Z across the decades, featuring a wide cross-section of inspirational creatives with the common thread of ties to Arkansas. Part history, part art, and all music, From Almeda To Zilphia covers a variety of musical styles, including gospel (Rosetta Tharpe), opera (Marjorie Lawrence), blues (Sippie Wallace), folk ballads (Almeda Riddle), dance-pop (Beth Ditto), classical (Florence Price), and country music (K.T. Oslin).

There are surprises from the greater South Arkansas area too, like Maya Angelou of Stamps’s brief career as a calypso singer; Stephens native Barbara Hendricks, who became an opera star as well as an internationally-recognized advocate for refugees; and Rison’s Carrie Rivers Cash, who first saw that her son, Johnny, had “the gift.” From Almeda To Zilphia: Arkansas Women Who Transformed American Popular Song is published by Et Alia Press, a “small press for big voices,” headed by Erin Wood, a writer and author in her own right.

For more information about the book, contact: Erin Wood, Director, Et Alia Press: [email protected]

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Arkansas has played an outsized role in American culture, especially its music. Come celebrate this heritage with us!

Tickets are FREE for students, $10 for SAAC members, and $15 for the general public.

Refreshments and a book signing will follow the program.

Maya Angelou • Eva Ware Barnett • Gretha Boston • Grace Brim • Maxine Brown • Shirley Brown • Violet Brumley • Carrie Cash • Carolina Cotton • Iris DeMent • Beth Ditto • Bonnie Dodd • Caroline Dye • Dale Evans • Ollie Gilbert • Barbara Hendricks • Zilphia Horton • Kenni Huskey • Mable John • Marjorie Lawrence • Ketty Lester • Rose Marie Mc Coy • Roberta Martin • Patsy Montana • K.T. Oslin • Florence Price • Almeda Riddle • Rosetta Tharpe • Vena Townsend • Sippie Wallace