Jean "Momma" Burch
Make your way to Blue Gene's on Church Street, a cozy karaoke bar nestled near Vibe and Play in Nashville's unofficial gay district, and you're likely to spot the slight frame of an arrestingly friendly woman perched near the entrance. Most nights, even as late as 2 a.m., Jean "Momma" Burch, the 80-year-old matriarch of the bar, and to some extent, the gay community at large, is likely applauding each karaoke performance and hugging nearly every patron who passes through Blue Gene's doors.
"I think she represents [something special], especially for the gay community," says Steve Mogck, Blue Gene's karaoke MC and Momma's honorary son, over a recent dinner at Applebee's along with Burch, her daughter Cindy and Cindy's fiancé Randy. "A lot of us haven't come out to our family, or are too afraid to," Mogck continues. "Or some have, and maybe were rejected. And she kind of represents that unconditional love."
Before meeting Mogck and becoming a regular at his karaoke nights, Momma had very little exposure to the gay community, but she swiftly came to love and identify with all of Blue Gene's patrons. A great-grandmother, Burch is originally from Richmond, Va., where she grew up a neighbor to The Carter Family. She lost her only son, James Burch Jr., to the Vietnam War; her husband, James Sr., died in 1989. In the mid-'90s, daughter Cindy endured what was, in Momma's words, "a very bad divorce," and the two decided to move South: first to Florida, where much of Momma's family resides, and eventually to Nashville. After all, Cindy is — by all accounts — a talented singer, and Music City felt right.
Cindy's also a karaoke hound, and she and Momma soon made Mogck's acquaintance at the now-defunct hotel bar The Long Branch, where he hosted karaoke nights. They later followed him to The Chute and eventually to Blue Gene's, where Mogck now hosts karaoke four nights a week. Momma says she's there for "most of them — year-round." That's even when Cindy can't make it. Cindy points out that loads of patrons vie for Momma's "honorary son" title, but Mogck is easily "No. 1."
"Ain't nobody ever gonna take Steve's place," says Momma.
To date, Momma has raised "between $3,000 and $4,000" for fundraisers the bar hosts through the Smoky Mountain Rodeo Association, which holds "Rodeo Nights" at Blue Gene's. (The SMRA is part of the International Gay Rodeo Association, an organization that — in addition to coordinating LGBT-welcoming rodeo events — raises money for various charities.) By requesting a dollar for every hug given to her by a patron, Burch has amassed dough for Alive Hospice, the Minnie Pearl Cancer Foundation and Angel Heart Farms, says Mogck. And for anyone who's ever spent an evening at Blue Gene's, even $4,000 seems like a modest sum for the most popular woman on Church Street.
Even if she seldom performs — she has been known to do a Loretta Lynn number on occasion — you can count on Momma being at Blue Gene's, perched by the piano, waiting with a hug and a round of applause, as if she'd known you her entire life.
