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MICK KOLASSA - KEEPING IT MERRY

By Lawrence Lebo

While the global pandemic has been hard for everyone, Mick
Kolassa has suffered considerable loss over the past couple of

years. He lost his wife, his mother, and many dear friends. It
didn’t stop him - rather it fuelled him - to release two new
albums in
the last year Mick Kolassa
titled Wasted Youth,
and Uncle Mick’s Christmas
Album.

Also known as “Michissippi Mick” for being

born in Michigan but living in Mississippi for
nearly 30 years, blues artist Mick Kolassa
recently made the move to Memphis. I guess
we can now call him “Uncle Michissippi
Memphis Mick”!!! Or we can call him Dr.
Kolassa! Mick holds a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical
marketing from the University of Mississippi.
He is the CEO and Managing Partner of
Medical Marketing Economics, LLC, and a

leading expert on pharmaceutical pricing and
value-based strategies.

Mick’s July 2021 release titled Wasted Youth
is a collection of 14 songs, 11 of which are
Kolassa originals, that were inspired by the
many recent losses Mick has endured. The
album is raw, honest, and deeply personal.
This is most notable on track 3, the Albert

King-ish tune titled It Hurts To Let You Go.
Straight forwardly said, Kolassa tells; “I can’t
believe the pain—It Hurts To Let You Go”.

As we enter the holiday season Kolassa brings
us Uncle Mick’s Christmas Album, a collection of original holiday blues, and blues interpreted
holiday classics! Uncle Mick has once again surrounded himself with top-notch musicians who bring
joyful energy to this work. On track 9, “Beale Street Christmas Jam”, the musicians each take turns
at fitting a classic Christmas song into a 12-bar 1-4-5 shuffle! And … in keeping with the holiday

spirit of giving, 100 percent of proceeds from the album’s sales will go to The Blues Foundation
(Mick is a former member of their Board of Directors) to split between two of its programs that are
close to Mick’s heart; the HART fund and Generation Blues. So, as a difficult past couple of years for
Mick comes to a close, Uncle Mick is out spreading the holiday cheer!

I asked Mick Kolassa to tell us about his life and his new releases. This is what he told me …….