Charlotte jazz great Loonis McGlohon to get bronze statue on city’s Trail of History
Loonis McGlohon, the late Charlotte jazz musician who starred worldwide over a decades-long career, will be immortalized in bronze on the city’s statue-lined Trail of History, trail organizers said this week.
The Trail of History’s board selected McGlohon as the first person from the arts to be honored with a larger-than-life statue along Little Sugar Creek Greenway in midtown.
The trail, honoring those who’ve shaped Charlotte’s history, stretches through a popular part of the greenway, from 7th Street at Central Piedmont Community College south to Morehead Street.
The board of the privately funded, non-profit trail selects the historical figures to be recognized and raises the money for the sculptures.
Civil rights icon Julius Chambers was the ninth and latest person to be memorialized with a statue, dedicated in October.
The first sculpture, built in 2010, was the Spirit of Mecklenburg, depicting Revolutionary War Captain James Jack on horseback. Referred to as “Charlotte’s Paul Revere,” Jack delivered the Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence to Congress in summer 1775, according to the Trail of History.
Trail of History leaders are now raising money for McGlohon’s sculpture, including through a tribute event at Middle C Jazz in uptown next month. It’s unclear when the statue will go up.
‘Generous, humble spirit’
Jim Babb, retired president of Jefferson Pilot Broadcasting, recalled that his longtime friend McGlohon was “a generous, humble spirit to all who knew him.”
“Loonis’ vision for our wonderful city of Charlotte knew no bounds,” Babb said in an email. He and McGlohon were colleagues and close friends since 1956, when both worked at WBT AM radio, Babb said.
“He was a remarkable human being who loved this city and loved helping other people,” Babb told the Observer.
‘A town he clearly loved’
In a video on the Trail of History website, McGlohon’s son, Reeves McGlohon, said his father would tell you this about his planned statue: “You’re talking about me too much. You’re not talking about Charlotte enough.”
Loonis McGlohon died of lymphoma in 2002.
“The one thing that is most meaningful to our family is not that he’s being recognized for his artistic talents, which were incredible, but... as someone who made a difference in a town that he clearly loved,” Reeves McGlohon said.
Reeves McGlohon said his father performed across the U.S. and in such world capitals as London, Paris and Tokyo. Yet he always talked up Charlotte to the crowds, Reeves McGlohon said, recalling how he was in the audience for one of his dad’s London performances when Loonis McGlohon “went on a spiel” about his beloved Queen City.
“He had high expectations,” Reeves McGlohon said of his father, for whom the theater in Charlotte’s Spirit Square is named. “And he expected Charlotte to continue to be a great city (that would) grow and prosper.”
Army Air Force pianist
McGlohon was born in Ayden, south of Greenville in Eastern North Carolina, according to his bio on the Trail of History website.
He loved Big Band on the radio as a boy in the 1940s, and the organist at his family’s church taught him to play piano.
After graduating from East Carolina University, he enlisted in the military and became an “official pianist” in the Army Air Force, his bio says.
Once the war ended, he worked as music director at WBT AM radio and WBTV, and in 1949 married Nan Lovelace. The couple had three children.
Friends with Sinatra, Charles Kuralt
McGlohon also formed a jazz trio early in his career that performed three times at Carnegie Hall and at venues worldwide. He also accompanied Judy Garland at performances.
In 1980, longtime friend Frank Sinatra recorded two songs by McGlohon and McGlohon’s longtime musical collaborator, Alec Wilder. The songs were “South to a Warmer Place” and “A Long Night.“
In 1985, McGlohon and friend Charles Kuralt, the longtime CBS newsman, were commissioned to write a piece to celebrate the 400th birthday of their native state. They produced “North Carolina Is My Home,” a symphonic work with narration and vocals that became a recording, public TV broadcast and a book.
McGlohon was inducted into the NC Music Hall of Fame in 1999.
Fundraising for the statue
Supporters are raising $250,000 for the Trail of History statue and hope to complete the drive with a “Tribute to Loonis McGlohon and the Musical History of Charlotte” fundraiser from 7 to 9 p.m. April 27 at Middle C Jazz, 300 S. Brevard St.
Babb said it will likely take until early 2023 for the statue to be completed and dedicated.
His friend’s statue “will recognize a native North Carolinian with world-class talent and local roots,” Babb said. “It’s proof that good things can sprout here.”
This story was originally published March 10, 2022 at 6:00 AM.