H.R. No. 969



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, The Lone Star State lost a premier blues and jazz 
musician when Herbert William McKinny, widely known as Kinny Abair, 
passed away on February 15, 2003; and
	WHEREAS, This outstanding Texas musician was born on October 
16, 1938; since the age of five, when he learned to play a guitar he 
built himself, Mr. McKinny showed a remarkable aptitude for music, 
studying the violin in his youth and attending the Berklee College 
of Music in Boston as a young man out of the U.S. Navy; and
	WHEREAS, Influenced by such music notables as Brownie McGhee, 
Billy Bizor, Johnny Clyde Copeland, and Sam "Lightnin'" Hopkins, 
Mr.  McKinny swiftly rose to prominence as a jazz guitarist with a 
distinctive blues sound; and
	WHEREAS, Audiences across the United States and Europe 
enjoyed the fresh sound that emanated from his hollow body guitar; 
in addition to his touring, Mr. McKinny performed for the 
television miniseries A Woman of Independent Means, the movie 
RoboCop, and the critically acclaimed documentary The Strange 
Demise of Jim Crow; he also taught guitar lessons at Texas Southern 
University; and
	WHEREAS, This talented musician is being remembered on April 
19, 2003, with a live concert by "Aubrey Dunham and The Party 
Machine," a tribute to the enduring legacy of this esteemed Texas 
artist; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 78th Texas 
Legislature hereby honor the memory of Herbert William McKinny and 
extend sincere sympathy to his family, friends, and countless fans, 
and that when the Texas House of Representatives adjourns this day, 
it do so in memory of Kinny Abair.

                                                                          Wilson


                                                  ______________________________
                                                       Speaker of the House     

	I certify that H.R. No. 969 was unanimously adopted by a 
rising vote of the House on May 23, 2003.

                                                  ______________________________
                                                     Chief Clerk of the House