House Concurrent Resolution 61

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING THE BAND DAVID AND THE GIANTS FOR THEIR POSITIVE IMPACT AND WIDE INFLUENCE ON THE MOMENTOUS OCCASION OF THE BAND'S 50TH ANNIVERSARY.

WHEREAS, music enthusiasts across the United States have enjoyed the riveting, invigorating and enthralling musicianship of David and the Giants, an outstanding band that has released 17 albums and recorded and performed together for 50 years; and

WHEREAS, formed by David Huff, Clay Huff, Ray Huff and Jerry Parker, David and the Giants began as a rock band in Laurel, Mississippi, that toured the Southeast during the 1960s, releasing its first single, a cover version of "Rockin Robin," in 1964, and in 1969, Keith Thibodeaux, best known as "Little Ricky" from I Love Lucy, joined the band, and with his arrival, it marked the beginning of the band's most commercially successful era; and

WHEREAS, David and the Giants often described their sound as having its roots in Southern rock, but the band's most successful recordings became popular in England in the 1970s and 1980s, with these songs having a sound called "northern soul," which were songs that featured a mixture of a Top 40 sound combined with the sound of horns and strings; and

WHEREAS, in 1969, David and the Giants achieved regional success in the southeastern United States with singles entitled "Superlove" and "Ten Miles High," and in the early 1970s, the band performed in concert with Styx, Black Oak Arkansas, Cheech and Chong, and Chuck Berry; and one of the members, David Huff, had the outstanding opportunity to be in the studio with The Rolling Stones when they recorded the song, "Brown Sugar" and spent some time in the studio with other artists such as Stevie Wonder and Rod Stewart; and

WHEREAS, David and the Giants converted to Christianity in 1977, and released their first Christian album, "Song of Songs" without label support, and it contained a mixture of both ballads and pop-rock songs, and the band continued to record albums with that same sound, until the band's fourth album, "Almost Midnight" was released, and this fourth album had a sound much closer to their musical roots, and the band continued with that original sound for their fifth album, "Heaven or Hell"; and

WHEREAS, the band signed with CBS Priority Records in the 1980s and had many album releases, and in 1989, their song "Here's my Heart" accidentally received airplay on the radio station in Columbus, Ohio, thanks to a mislabeled CD, and the station's program director enjoyed the song tremendously and decided to play it on the station, and afterwards, the station received an incredible public response to the song, and it was then added into the station's regular rotation; and

WHEREAS, David and the Giants continued to tour together until 1997, when the members collectively decided that it was time to focus on other endeavors in life, and after the members decided to disband, David Huff released a series of solo albums and continued to perform as a solo act, and he now operates a recording studio near Atlanta, Georgia; and

WHEREAS, the Huff brothers occasionally perform together as David and the Giants, and on December 9, 2007, they joined former drummer Keith Thibodeaux for a reunion concert at Emmanuel Praise Church in Monroe, Georgia, and also performed at the 2011 Nashville Amp Expo; and

WHEREAS, David and the Giants released their album, "Still Rockin" in September 2014, which is a live album that was recorded at New Life Church in Pearl, Mississippi, and in addition to the live recordings, the album features four songs recorded by the band at Huff Recording Studio in Athens, Georgia, and most recently, the band recorded a live concert album in August 2017 to celebrate 50 years of the band's music; and

WHEREAS, the band continues to perform in the United States and internationally, and in 2017, they were honored among other Mississippi musicians and songwriters by the Jimmie Rodgers Music Foundation in Meridian, Mississippi, and were awarded The Jimmie Award; and

WHEREAS, it is the policy of this Legislature to commend outstanding Mississippians such as the members of David and the Giants who have brought honor to their community and to the State of Mississippi:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and congratulate the band David and the Giants for their positive impact and wide influence on the momentous occasion of their 50th anniversary.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to the members of David and the Giants and to the members of the Capitol Press Corps.