How to Travel and Discover the Mississippi Delta Blues

The blues is quite possibly the most American of all musical forms and the Mississippi Delta region is rich with blues history just waiting to be explored. Born from slavery and hard times, the blues owes its legacy to the Mississippi Delta. Blues fans can retrace the origins of the Mississippi Delta Blues with a trip throughout the Delta that explores the birthplace of the Delta Blues.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Start your journey in Memphis, TN. Memphis is not just the home of Elvis, but also the gateway to the Mississippi Delta. Memphis' rich blues heritage is on full display on Beale Street where you can find great nightspots such as BB King's and Jerry Lee Lewis' nightclubs. Don't miss the Beale Street Walk of Fame where musical legends are permanently memorialized with sidewalk tributes. All of the great Mississippi Delta bluesmen made their way north through Memphis, giving this Southern city its rich blues tradition.

2. Head down the blues highway, better known as Highway 61, into Mississippi and you begin to immediately get a sense of the blues' birthplace as cotton fields stretch out across the highway. You can almost sense Charley Patton putting on a rousing show but if modern amenities are more your style, stop in at one of the many casinos in Tunica or the surrounding area that have recently opened.

3. Stand at the Crossroads! Blues lore holds that the great Robert Johnson sold his soul to the Devil in order to become a great bluesman. The transaction allegedly occurred at the crossroads. Most people consider the junction of highways 61 and 49 in Clarksdale, MS to be THE crossroads although any desolate intersection could be considered the infamous crossroads.

4. Explore Clarksdale, MS. The rough-hewn city of Clarksdale, MS is home to many of the great blues artists, from Muddy Waters to Sonny Boy Williamson and even Ike Turner. No city can match Clarksdale's blues pedigree. Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman has recently opened a new juke joint in Clarksdale, "Ground Zero." Explore the history of the Delta Blues and Clarksdale by visiting the Delta Blues Museum which has restored and captured the area's rich blues history.

5. Cross the bridge into Helena, AR. Just across the mighty Mississippi River from Clarksdale lies Helena, AR, home to several blues treasures. Helena is home to radio station KFFA, 1360AM, where "King Biscuit Time" has been broadcast continuously since 1941 and hosted by Sunshine Sonny Payne, a veritable encyclopedia of blues knowledge, since 1951. Payne still hosts the show live everyday at 12:15 pm from a storefront in downtown Helena and if you drop by and say hello, be prepared to go on the air with Sonny.

6. Take the road less traveled. Don't be afraid to explore the towns that surround Clarksdale and Helena for it is in those towns that you will find even more blues history. From Hazelhurst to Tutwiler to Moorhead, MS there is a little bit of blues lore in each of those towns. Moorehead is the site of the famous railroad crossing where "The Southern Meets The Dog," where the now defunct railroad lines of "The Yazoo & Mississippi Valley Line" and "Illinois Central" met, immortalized in many delta blues tunes.

Tips & Warnings

• Time your travel to take in some of the blues festivals in the area. The biggest festival occurs in October in Helena, AR, the famed "King Biscuit Blues Festival" which takes place in the downtown area where you can sit on the banks of the levee and enjoy three days of blues.

Resources

• The Delta Blues Museum is a great resource for planning your trip.

[nuyear]

on 10/5/2008 great article!