The Charleston Music Scene lost a matriarch last week when Mikki Harrah passed away after nearly a month in intensive care following a stroke. Hundreds of people know Mikki as the mother Lee Harrah and JoeLene Harrah Weaver. She was a presence at her son’s shows, and at Adamfest, the series of benefit concerts staged to help raise funds for her grandson, Adam Weaver, who battled cancer beginning in his teens.
Anyone who knew Mikki knows that she loved early rock and roll, and today we’re paying tribute to this fallen lady with the music of some of her favorite artists. Above you see Buddy Holly. Below you’ll find a full concert by Rick Nelson and a collection of other performances by rock and roll greats.
Mikki was one-in-a-million, a woman who passionately loved her family, 1950’s rock and roll, dancing and her Chiricahua Apache – Irish heritage. Everyone who met Mikki was touched by her strong personality, her unique voice and style and they will carry her memory with them for the rest of their lives.
An Artist at heart, Mikki was a proud 1959 graduate of Stonewall High School, who touched many lives in her 20 years of service with the Charleston Parking System, and her work at Guardsmark Security.
Mikki is survived by her children whom she was dedicated to and very proud of, JoeLene Harrah Weaver, a dispatcher for Metro 911 and acclaimed photographer for local musicians, and Joseph Lee Harrah Jr., a prominent singer with Charleston bands HARRAH and Bad Blood, and radio personality on internet radio. Many PopCult readers know Lee, not only as a singer, but also as a production assistant on Radio Free Charleston and as my co-host of Word Association with Lee & Rudy and the solo host of Harrah’s Hard & Heavy on The AIR.
In addition to her daughter and son, Mikki is survived by her grandchildren, for whom she lived, Adam Timothy Weaver and wife, Mandy, and TaBetha JoeLe Awaldt, and husband, Ryan; as well as her pride and joy, her great-grandchildren, MyLee Joe Harrah, Cara Jalene Weaver and Tyler Wade Grindstaff; and her two brothers, Pat B. Tucker and David L. Tucker along with a wealth of nieces and nephews.
Family and friends may call at Bollinger’s Funeral Home, Lee St., W., Charleston, between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m., Tuesday, January 17, 2017. Memorial service will begin at 7 p.m. Please join us in celebrating this amazing woman and her life.
Sorry to hear of Mikki’s passing..Had a meeting I couldn’t postpone this evening or I’d be there…Prayers!!