Renowned blues singer film a blast from the past

Otago Daily Times

13-07-2025

Thirty-four years ago, Derek McCullough was in Memphis as a judge for the World Barbeque Championships.
At the time he owned Double D's Bar and Grill and operated in the Arts Centre.
It was a memorable time in Memphis, the home of the blues and the birthplace of rock and roll – he got the opportunity to meet legends BB King and Ruby Wilson.
McCullough, who is now chair of the Mt Pleasant Memorial Community Centre and Residents Association, asked Wilson if she would perform at the first Blues, Brews and BBQs which he was organising at Hagley Park in 1993.
To his amazement she agreed and the rest is history.
'She was great, she was a blues diva of the first ilk, knew exactly what she liked,' he recalls.
'Just stunning, in a club setting she had the audience in the palm of her hand, a real professional performer with an amazing voice.'
Now a slice of that memorable day resurfaced last week with footage of her performance which has never been played before, McCullough says.
CTV filmed the festival and it was played on Friday as a fundraiser for the Mt Pleasant Community Centre 'Raise the Roof' campaign.
It helped pay for a louvered roof for its front deck costing $130,000. So far more than $35,000 has been raised.
McCullough was clearing out his attic, looking for items to use for the community centre's Art in the Attic fundraiser earlier in the year when he came across a VHS copy of the festival.
He transferred it to a USB stick and played it on his TV to make sure it worked.
'It just took me right back to those days, those heady days,' he said.
As part of the trip to the barbecue event in Memphis in 1991, McCullough was invited to the opening of BB King's Blues Bar on the iconic Beale Street, where Ruby Wilson was the featured singer.
He had grown up listening to blues music, so when he had the opportunity to meet BB King, it was a surreal moment for him.
'Incredible, a little boy from Nelson meeting BB King was a real treat. He was very humble, a great guy and charming,' said McCullough.
Wilson toured and sang in Beale Street clubs for almost 40 years, until she died in 2016 from a heart attack aged 68.
She took to the stage at Hagley Park for Blues, Brews and BBQs on January 31, 1993.
'Before long she had them (crowd) all up right up the front.
'When you see the film, you'll see why she was considered the Queen of Beale Street,' he said.
She was backed by Christchurch band The Coalrangers. Wilson toured New Zealand when she was out here.
Her opening act was at Turangawaewae in Ngaruawahia, the official residence of the Māori monarch.
She performed for Te Arikinui Dame Te Atairangikahu, who Wilson also met and befriended in Memphis, said McCullough.
'That was a real honour (for Wilson) to be invited to that,' he said.
Wilson did not charge a performing fee at the Hagley Park event, McCullough instead paying for her accommodation, expenses and transport while on tour. He had a sponsorship from Continental Airlines to fly her to New Zealand and back.
'She just appreciated the opportunity to come to New Zealand,' said McCullough.
She also spent a night at a blues club in Manchester St, two nights at the famed Gluepot in Auckland and one night in Wellington.