The Sixth Annual Louis Jordan Tribute, an annual two-day fundraiser for a memorial to honor the Brinkley-born R&B/rap/rock 'n' roll pioneer, is slated for Sunday and Monday, according to event founder
Stephen Koch.

* Sunday, July 7, will be a Louis Jordan film festival at the Darragh Center at the Main Library, 100 Rock St. in Little Rock, moderated by Ben Fry of KUAR radio and a film prof at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and featuring acoustic acts Suzanne Michel, Uncle Fred, Beatrice and more. Donations accepted, begins at 1 p.m. Refreshments will be offered.

* Monday, July 8 -- what would have been Louis Jordan's 94th birthday --features speakers and musical acts Eugene Porter of Arkansas Baptist College, Rich Cosgrove, The Bug Tussle Boys, Brenda & Ellis, Amy Garland Band, CeDell Davis and more at Cajun's Wharf, 2400 Cantrell Road, in Little Rock. $6 cover.

Monroe County-born saxophonist/vocalist Louis Jordan had more than 50 top ten hits in the 1940s and influenced the likes of Chuck Berry, James Brown, Bo Diddley, B.B. King, Ray Charles and more.

The Louis Jordan Tribute, sponsored by the radio program "Arkansongs," hosted by Koch and heard Fridays at 6:40 a.m. and 6:20 p.m. on KUAR FM 89, is an annual two-day fundraiser for a bust of Jordan being designed by artist John Deering.

The bust of Jordan will be placed in the R&B pioneer's Brinkley, Ark., hometown as part of the Louisiana Purchase bicentennial celebration in 2003. The outdoor sculpture will be part of the Brinkley train depot being renovated as the area's first-ever museum, which is tied in with the 2003 Louisiana Purchase bicentennial, since surveying for that expedition began at a swamp headwater between Brinkley and Helena, Ark., marked by a state park.

Through the efforts of the Louis Jordan Tribute, Louis Jordan was inducted into the Arkansas Entertainers' Hall of Fame in Pine Bluff, Ark., by the governor in fall 1998. Jordan's widow, Martha, attended the hall of fame induction and has been guest of honor at the tribute in 1998 and 2001. The event has raised about $5,000 and a few thousand more is still needed to complete the project.

The two-day Louis Jordan Tribute in Little Rock has been recognized by the Library of Congress's Living Legacies program and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.