Published: August 28, 2008 01:06 pm         

Blues marker to honor Piney Woods School

PINEY WOODS — Mississippi Supreme Court Justice James E. Graves Jr. will unveil a Mississippi Blues Trail marker at Piney Woods School in Rankin County on Friday.

The Piney Woods School marker will honor the Mississippi Blind Boys and Sam Myers. The marker is a part of the Blues Trail in Mississippi, a project of the Mississippi Blues Commission.

As one of the most popular groups following World War II, The Five Blind Boys of Mississippi were a groundbreaking gospel quartet who first formed at Piney Woods. They were one of the first gospel groups to have a song chart on Billboard.

Also schooled at Piney Woods was Myers, who studied trumpet and drums, leading to a musical scholarship at Chicago’s American Conservatory of Music.

Myers’ best known composition is “Sleeping In the Ground.”