NCDOT names stretch of Stanly County highway after jazz icon

STANLY COUNTY, N.C. — Stanly County native and jazz saxophonist Lou Donaldson was honored in his hometown earlier this week.

The 95-year-old -- nicknamed “Sweet Poppa Lou” -- was recognized by the North Carolina Department of Transportation during a ceremony in Badin on Thursday morning.

A five-mile stretch of NC Highway 740 will now bear his name.

“Sweet Poppa Lou” thanked his mom, a music teacher, in a speech at the celebration.

“You know that the street should really be named ‘Lucy Donaldson,’ my mom, because saxophone was her favorite thing that happened to me,” he said at an event on Friday.

Donaldson was inducted into the state’s music hall of fame in 2012.

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