Word came down Monday about the demise of Pepper's Pizza, which abruptly shut down at the close of business that night. Pepper's was one of the most venerable food institutions of Chapel Hill's Franklin Street strip, and I'll miss the food and the vibe there; it was just the sort of place that made you know you were in a college town.

But even more than that, I'll miss the wall decor -- specificially, the North Carolina Musicians Mural painted by Birds of Avalon drummer Scott Nurkin, including portraits of George Clinton, Doc Watson, Ben Folds and other key musical figures. With Pepper's closed, the collection's fate is up in the air. But Nurkin says that he's heard from the music department at UNC-Chapel Hill about possibly acquiring the portraits for on-campus display in Hill Hall.

Stay tuned...

Tonight at 10, tune in for a great episode of "Unsung" on TV One featuring funk master George Clinton.

Clinton, still active after 50 years in the business, was born in Kannapolis, and although he grew up in New Jersey, when he says North Carolina, you can hear North Carolina. (Maybe he spent his summers Down South.)

The episode has some great information, with smart talking heads, explaining Clinton's place in music history. Clinton's funk, we're told is a mix of psychedelic rock with a deep groove. One person, noting Clinton's spaceship and alien motif, calls his an "Afro-futurist." NC native Maceo Parker chimes in on the discussion as well.

The best thing about the episode though, is that it reveals why Clinton, in part, is still active: he's broke. The man whose music has provide a thousand rap samples (and some say should be worth $100 million) has never gotten a dime for the samples because of shady dealings.

Sometimes a good idea can box you into a corner. That's my theory about what's happening with "Unsung" (10 tonight), the terrific TV One series that starts a new season tonight.

As suggested by the title, the series aims to bring deserved light to artists who have not gotten their due. And it has done some stellar episodes featuring Phyllis Hyman, Debarge, Minnie Riperton, and Donny Hathaway.

Tonight, though, the premiere episode features Teddy Pendergrass. Teddy? Unsung? And later, there are episodes featuring George Clinton and the O'Jays, both Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees.

For the past few years, Birds of Avalon drummer Scott Nurkin has been working on a very cool art project on a wall of Pepper's Pizza in Chapel Hill -- the North Carolina Musicians Mural, which includes Kanapolis George Clinton and 16 other luminaries (with a dozen or so more still to come). There will be a story about this in Sunday's paper; meantime, check out our online photo gallery, which includes most of the portraits.

ADDENDUM (6/28/09): And here's the story.

A: Superchunk, George Clinton and Annuals.

Q: What acts are cited as North Carolina's "all-time best band," "all-time best solo artist" and "best new band" in the Boston Phoenix's "50 Bands 50 states" feature, released just in time for the fourth of July?

(Thanks, Doug.)