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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 1178
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In Memory |
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of |
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Cornell Dupree, Jr. |
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WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas joins the |
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citizens of Fort Worth in mourning the loss of Cornell Dupree, |
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Jr., who died May 8, 2011, at the age of 68; and |
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WHEREAS, Cornell Dupree was born in Fort Worth on December |
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19, 1942; he graduated from I. M. Terrell High School, and soon |
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thereafter, he began what would become an internationally |
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recognized career in music; and |
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WHEREAS, Cornell first expressed his talent for music by |
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playing the saxophone; at the age of 13, however, he traded it in |
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for a guitar after watching a show by bluesman Johnny "Guitar" |
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Watson; he was barely out of high school when fellow Fort Worth |
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native and legendary tenor saxophonist King Curtis Ousley |
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invited him to join his band in 1959; his family moved to New |
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York, and on his first night there, he played at Small's |
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Paradise, one of the most famous clubs in Harlem; and |
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WHEREAS, Cornell soon was playing on some of the biggest |
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rhythm and blues and jazz hits of the century and earning a |
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reputation as one of the most accomplished guitarists in American |
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music; he played with King Curtis for eight years and later |
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toured for some years with Aretha Franklin; modest and extremely |
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versatile, he recorded with such other great artists as Otis |
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Redding, Miles Davis, Barbra Streisand, and Stevie Ray Vaughan; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, An exemplary musical performer and a sought-after |
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studio musician, he also had three critically acclaimed bands |
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over the years, Stuff, the Gadd Gang, and Who It Is, and his |
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albums were immensely popular in Europe and Japan; and |
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WHEREAS, He was a masterful guitarist and an inspirational |
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figure in the music world; toward the end of his life, even when |
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weakened by his illness, he continued to compose melodies and |
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songs on his custom-made Yamaha guitars; and |
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WHEREAS, Cornell Dupree was beloved by his family and |
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friends, and he will long be remembered with affection and |
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appreciation by all who were privileged to share in his life; |
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now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 82nd |
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Legislature, hereby extend sincere condolences to the bereaved |
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family of Cornell Dupree, Jr.: his wife of 52 years, Erma; his |
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children, James Cornell Dupree, Cornell Dupree III, and |
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Celestine Dupree; and his nine grandchildren; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for |
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his family as an expression of deepest sympathy from the Texas Senate, |
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and that when the Senate adjourns this day, it do so in memory of |
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Cornell Dupree, Jr. |
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Davis |
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________________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that the |
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above Resolution was adopted by |
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the Senate on May 25, 2011, by a |
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rising vote. |
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________________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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________________________________ |
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Member, Texas Senate |