SEARCH SITE
VIRGINIA LAW PORTAL
- Code of Virginia
- Virginia Administrative Code
- Constitution of Virginia
- Charters
- Authorities
- Compacts
- Uncodified Acts
- RIS Users (account required)
SEARCHABLE DATABASES
- Bills & Resolutions
session legislation - Bill Summaries
session summaries - Reports to the General Assembly
House and Senate documents - Legislative Liaisons
State agency contacts
ACROSS SESSIONS
- Subject Index: Since 1995
- Bills & Resolutions: Since 1994
- Summaries: Since 1994
Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2017 SESSION
WHEREAS, J. Plunky Branch of Richmond, a saxophonist, songwriter, and music and film producer has made numerous contributions to cultural life in Virginia and the United States and is a positive force for social harmony throughout the world; and
WHEREAS, Plunky Branch discovered his passion for intercultural music while he was a student at Columbia University in New York and made it his life’s mission to empower people through music; and
WHEREAS, equally talented at funk, jazz, rhythm and blues, African, reggae, gospel, and rap, Plunky Branch has released 25 albums through his independent record label, N.A.M.E. Brand Records in Richmond; and
WHEREAS, Plunky Branch has toured the world, building a broad and loyal fan base in the United States, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and England, where his song “Every Way But Loose” was a Top 10 hit in the 1980s; and
WHEREAS, in addition to touring Ghana as a cultural specialist for the United States Information Agency, Plunky Branch has explored musical opportunities in Japan and Brazil and researched and produced a documentary film on Afro-Cuban music; and
WHEREAS, Plunky Branch has opened shows for such musical icons as Patti LaBelle, Ray Charles, and Earth, Wind & Fire and delighted audiences at the New Orleans World’s Fair, the National Black Arts Festival, and the Hampton Jazz Festival; and
WHEREAS, one of the founders of the Richmond Jazz Society, Plunky Branch has inspired students as a lecturer and educator, serving as the director of the Jazz Ensemble at Virginia Union University and an instructor of music history at Virginia Commonwealth University; and
WHEREAS, Plunky Branch has served as a panelist for the Virginia Commission for the Arts, the Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts, and he was appointed to the Governor’s Task Force on Promotion of the Arts; and
WHEREAS, Plunky Branch was featured in the Library of Virginia’s Strong Men & Women in Virginia History series in 2015, and he released his autobiography, PLUNKY: JuJu Jazz Funk & Oneness, at a special event at the Library of Virginia in June 2016; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend J. Plunky Branch for his work to unite people through a shared love of music; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to J. Plunky Branch as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his exceptional musical legacy.