“The Center of Nowhere,” a full-length documentary produced by roadie Dave Hoekstra about the rich musical history of Springfield, Missouri, will premiere at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Fox Theatre in downtown Springfield.
Hoekstra, a former writer at the Chicago Sun-Times who’s traveled and written about Route 66 extensively, told Ozarks Alive that Springfield’s central location, relative isolation and unique culture inspired the film.
“That’s why we talk about Springfield as the birthplace of Route 66, Springfield-style cashew chicken, Beverly Hillbillies, lakes and hills and the religious vibe that is similar to Memphis, obviously another great music town,” he says.
Here’s a highlight reel of the film. part of an ongoing “Songs of an Unsung America” series:
Hoekstra struck up a long friendship with the late Lou Whitney, who not only was an acclaimed producer of assorted rock and country acts for decades but led two locally popular bands, The Skeletons and The Morells.
The Morells recorded a rockabilly song and video about the long-gone Red’s Giant Hamburg along Route 66 in west Springfield.
Springfield also holds the distinction of hosting a popular country-music television program, “The Ozark Jubilee,” during the latter half of the 1950s.
Hoekstra said he interviewed almost 50 people for “The Center of Nowhere” and traveled to Springfield about 30 times.
He screened the film in May to the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville.
“… One consistent comment we got was how much they enjoyed all the colorful characters we assembled,” says the filmmaker. “There were laughs, smiles and some tears from the audience.”
It also shares final thoughts from some of those musicians who have since passed away. Folks like Lou Whitney, Bobby Lloyd Hicks and Merle Haggard.
“I really had to see this through for Lou and Lloyd. Merle Haggard, pretty sure this was his final on-camera interview. He agreed to talk to us before his Springfield show,” says Hoekstra, who says that working with folks like those was a high point of the project.
There is no admission charge to see “The Center of Nowhere.” More about the historic Fox Theatre is here.
(Screen-capture image from video of Route 66 in Springfield, Missouri)