“The caged bird sings with a
fearful trill of things unknown but longed for still and his tune is heard on
the distant hill for the caged bird sings of freedom.” Maya Angelou
The
history of the Delta, the triangular floodplain that lies between the Yazoo and
Mississippi rivers, has long been noted as some of America’s most fertile land
and it was home to Native Americans for more than 1300-years before Columbus. The
French, the first European settlers, began importing slaves from Africa in
1720. They attempted to grow various crops but by the end of the 1700s cotton
was the biggest cash crop and with it the need for slaves to work the fields
exploded. www.visitmississippi.org
After
the 1820s the Indian treaties allowed the land to be opened to white settlers.
A culture thrived with many large-scale plantations and free black labor
facilitated America’s largest group of millionaires residing on the Wade
Hampton III owned 900 slaves and Stephen Duncan, a former Pennsylvanian, owned
more than 1000. shores of the Mississippi. At the onset of the Civil War just
under 50% of the state’s families owned slaves and 55% of the residents were
enslaved. Post Emancipation Delta life was redefined but the equality blacks
hoped for did not come. African American life and economic opportunity was
still tightly controlled and civil rights were denied. By 1910 92% of the
Delta’s farms were run by tenants and of that number 95% were black.
The
church was the one institution that sustained them and music soothed them. A
blending of gospel, work songs and African rhythms led to the creation of a purely
American art form, the Delta Blues. Music became a way out for the bluesmen of
old and as they left the Delta, via the roads or rails, they took their music
with them and changed music history forever. www.visitthedelta.com
Mississippi,
the “Birthplace of America’s Music”, has done an outstanding job of identifying
sites significant in blues history and allied music genres, country, rock ‘n’
roll, rockabilly and gospel. Blues as uniquely American, has had a profound
impact on music internationally and its realm of influence can be traced along
the trail. Highway 61 is the spine of the route and is known as the “Blues
Highway,” commemorated in story and song, taken by many bluesmen, carrying
their suitcase and the blues, north. msbluestrail.org
Tunica’s Gateway to the Blues Visitors Center
and Museum is the perfect place to begin your tour along Highway 61. Here you
can learn about all aspects of the route as well as obtain guides and maps and
purchase unique souvenirs worthy of the trip. The museum galleries display
exhibits trace the music history from its origins to the 60s British Invasion
through more than 700 artifacts and artworks. The jewels of the collection are
a 1952 Les Paul guitar and a coronet that belonged to W.C. Handy. The center,
located at the entrance of the Delta, is situated inside an 1895 one-room train
depot, reminiscent of the type the bluesmen would have known, complete with
railroad tracks in front. www.tunicatravel.com
The Hollywood Café opened in 1969 inside a
1926 commissary building and quickly became renowned. It has been featured on The Travel Channel, in John Grisham’s “A
Time to Kill” and it is where Muriel played piano in Marc Cohn’s “Walking in
Memphis.” Her piano still sits on the stage. This iconic restaurant is known
for its ambiance, great Southern menu
and as the place where fried dill pickles were created. Dine like a
legend! www.thehollywoodcafe.com
Highway
61 originally ran from New Orleans to the Canadian border. The MS Delta portion
is known as the Blues Highway because it is along this road that numerous
pivotal events occurred. Clarksdale has justifiably emerged as the most
recognized of the cities on the music trail. It has the greatest number, nine,
of blues markers of any of the cities. Seminal music figures were born here,
Sam Cooke and Ike Turner and the Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith, died here
in 1937 in the then Thomas Afro-American Hospital. Most significantly, at the
crossroads of Highways 61 and 49, Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul
to the devil, who in turn tuned his guitar for him giving him phenomenal
musical ability. www.visitclarksdale.com
The
Delta Blues Museum, the oldest music museum in the state, was founded in 1979
to preserve and promote the blues’ legacy. The collection begins with the
African origin of the blues and interprets its incarnations in the Delta and
internationally. Highlights of the collection include a Three Forks sign from
the place Robert Johnson was poisoned and three important displays from the
life of Muddy Waters, the Stovall Plantation cabin in which he made his first
recordings, a replica of the 1939 Ford Deluxe driven in 1942 through the Delta
by Alan Lomax and a Muddywood guitar crafted from cypress from Muddy’s Stovall
cabin. He lived in the 4-room cabin with a porch from the age of 3. www.deltablesmuseum.org
Clarksdale
has the distinction of being home to the past, present and the future of the blues. History is found on every street and visitors
have the opportunity to sit in on sessions of the finest blues in two of the
three top blues clubs in the nation, Ground Zero and Red’s Lounge. Morgan
Freeman and Bill Luckett have designed Ground Zero to replicate a juke joint
and Red’s Lounge is widely considered the last authentic juke joint. www.groundzerobluesclub.com
The
Lofts at the Five & Dime, situated in the heart of this blues destination,
offers the perfect accommodations for your visit. The luxury lofts are on the
upper level of a historic Woolworths with a restaurant on the lower level. The
rooms are well appointed and the service is nonpareil.
www.fiveanddimelofts.com
TRAVEL TIP:
An outstanding option is a 'Deep South and Delta Blues' tour
with Grand American Adventures tour company. Twelve days, 13 participants, five
states, 4 genres of music and an introduction to the Civil Rights Movement
combined with unique experiences including Graceland, Beale Street, Memphis,
Nashville, New Orleans and a photo op at the Crossroads. www.grandamericanadventures.com
