Keyboardist Eddie Tigner has been selected to receive the 2009 Georgia Music Legend Award at the Barnesville BBQ & Blues Festival next month Tigner is familiar to local music fans. He filled in as the festival headliner two years ago when featured act Luther ‘˜Houserocker’ Johnson became ill at the last minute. Tigner, 82, joined Atlanta’s musicians union in 1947. He played keyboards for Elmore James, the first superstar of the slide guitar, and spent many years with The Ink Spots. Tigner will be the third winner of the award. Previous winners were Alan Walden of Capricorn Records fame and Newton Collier, who played horns for Otis Redding and others. Gregg Allman was nominated for this year’s award but is too ill to attend the festival. In other festival news, there is a strong possibility Willie Nelson will be in attendance. Nelson is the pitchman for Old Whiskey River bourbon, one of the sponsors of this year’s event.
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