Exploring the History, Literature, and Culture of the Tar Heel State
“On June 13, 1903, Ambrose Jessup Tomlinson spent much time in prayer at the ‘fields of the wood’ in Cherokee County and had a revelation that the local Holiness church was the Church of God as prophesied in the Bible….
“In 1940, Tomlinson established a monument in Murphy at the site of his revelation. Before he died in 1943, he inscribed into the hillside in rock the ‘world’s largest Ten Commandments.’ The site today is a Bible park operated by the Church of God of Prophecy….”
“Billy ‘Crash’ Craddock, born in 1939 in Greensboro, earned the nickname ‘Crash’ while a running back on his high school football team.
“The young, handsome Craddock was signed by Columbia Records to compete with Elvis. During 1959 he had a No. 1 record in Australia and was greeted there by screaming crowds when he toured with Bobby Rydell, The Everly Brothers, Santo and Johnny and the Diamonds…”
— From his biography at the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame
After his teen idol career stalled, Craddock made a successful transition to country. In 2003 Greensboro named a bridge after him.
“Charlton Heston told more than 5,000 National Rifle Association members [at their convention in Charlotte] that he wants to serve an unprecedented third term as their president to complete a mission: ensuring Al Gore’s defeat in November…
“As Heston concluded his speech, he was handed a vintage musket, then gave an encore of his performance at his first NRA convention in 1990 in St. Louis, when he intoned the Second Amendment.
“‘So as we set out this year to defeat the divisive forces that would take our freedom away, I want to say those words again for everyone within the sound of my voice to hear and to heed, and especially for you, Mr. Gore.’
“Lifting the musket over his head, Heston grumbled: ‘From my cold dead hands!'”
— From the Associated Press (May 20, 2000)
Between 1971 and 1995 the Grateful Dead played 27 shows in North Carolina — that’s Charlotte (12), Greensboro (7), Durham (5), Chapel Hill (2), Raleigh (1).
This concert flyer isn’t fancy, but it’s packed with useful Charlotte-specific info for itinerant Deadheads, including North Carolina’s ban on nitrous oxide.
YouTube has the whole June 11, 1991, show — although “VIDEO TAPING IS PROHIBITED!!!” — and Setlist has the set list.