Mississippi Blues Trail

Marker for Elvis' birthplace in Tupelo, Mississippi^[1]

The Mississippi Blues Trail, created by the Mississippi Blues Commission, is a project to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the growth of the blues throughout the state of Mississippi. The trail extends from the border of Louisiana in southern Mississippi and winds its way to Memphis, Tennessee. One marker was recently erected in Chicago, Illinois, where many Mississippi-born blues musicians, like Muddy Waters, moved before becoming famous.^[2]

Implementation

The list of markers and locations has been developed by distinguished blues scholars and historians. The trail is being implemented in stages as funds become available. The National Endowment for the Arts has provided a grant for partial funding.^[3]

More blues singers have come from the state of Mississippi, especially the Mississippi Delta, than all the other Southern States combined. These include Son House, Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, Muddy Waters, Skip James, Bukka White, John Lee Hooker, and B. B. King. ^[2]

The first marker was placed at Holly Ridge in 2005. It is dedicated to Charlie Patton as the "Father of the Mississippi Delta Blues".^[4]

The second marker is located in front of the Second Whispers Restaurant on Nelson Street in Greenville, a stop on the chitlin' circuit in the early days of the blues.^[5] This historic strip which in the 1940s and 1950s drew crowds to the flourishing club scene to hear Delta blues, big band jump blues and jazz.

The third marker ceremony was at the WGRM radio station location in Greenwood where B. B. King first broadcast.^[5]

The Mississippi Blues Trail added the Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman) to its list of sites at 10 AM on Tuesday September 28, 2010; Parchman received the trail's 113th historical marker.^[6]

Current markers

Mississippi State Penitentiary, one of the sites along the trail

Marker Name	Marker Location
Ace Records	Jackson, Mississippi
Alamo Theater/Dorothy Moore	Jackson, Mississippi
Arthur Crudup	Forest, Mississippi
B.B. King Birthplace	Berclair, Mississippi
Bertha Lee	Lula, Mississippi
Bo Diddley	McComb, Mississippi
Broadcasting the Blues	Gulfport, Mississippi
Cassandra Wilson	Jackson, Mississippi
Charley Patton gravesite	Holly Ridge, Mississippi
Chicago	Chicago, Illinois
Church Street	Indianola, Mississippi
Columbus - Catfish Alley	Columbus, Mississippi
Dockery Plantation	Dockery, Mississippi
Elks Lodge	Greenwood, Mississippi
Elvis Presley and the Blues	Tupelo, Mississippi
Frank Frost	Lula, Mississippi
Henry Townsend	Shelby, Mississippi
Hickory Street	Canton, Mississippi
Highways 10 & 61	Leland, Mississippi
HoneyBoy Edwards	Shaw, Mississippi
Howlin' Wolf	West Point, Mississippi
James Cotton	Tunica, Mississippi
Jimmie Rodgers	Meridian, Mississippi
"Livin' at Lula"	Lula, Mississippi
Magic Sam	Grenada, Mississippi
Malaco Records	Jackson, Mississippi
Memphis Blues	Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis Minnie	Walls, Mississippi
Mississippi John Hurt	Avalon, Mississippi
Mississippi State Penitentiary	Sunflower County, Mississippi
Mississippi to Alabama	Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Mississippi to Helena	Helena, Arkansas
Muddy Waters' cabin site	Clarksdale, Mississippi
Nelson Street	Greenville, Mississippi
Natchez Rhythm Club	Natchez, Mississippi
Otis Rush	Philadelphia, Mississippi
Peavine Branch	Boyle, Mississippi
Pinetop Perkins	Belzoni, Mississippi
Po' Monkey's	Merigold, Mississippi
Rabbit Foot Minstrels	Port Gibson, Mississippi
Red Tops	Vicksburg, Mississippi
Riverside Hotel	Clarksdale, Mississippi
Robert Johnson birthplace	Hazlehurst, Mississippi
Robert Johnson gravesite	Greenwood, Mississippi
Robert Nighthawk	Friars Point, Mississippi
Rosedale	Rosedale, Mississippi
Sam Carr	Lula, Mississippi
Son House	Tunica, Mississippi
Subway Lounge	Jackson, Mississippi
Tommy Johnson	Crystal Springs, Mississippi
Trumpet Records	Jackson, Mississippi
WGRM Radio Studio	Greenwood, Mississippi
Willie Dixon	Vicksburg, Mississippi
W.C. Handy/Sonny Boy Williamson	Tutwiler, Mississippi

Source: Mississippi Blues Trail official web site

See also

	Mississippi portal
	Blues portal

• Delta Blues Museum

References

1. ^ "Elvis gets marker on Mississippi Blues Trail - USATODAY.com". usatoday.com. 2008-01-07. http://www.usatoday.com/travel/destinations/2008-01-07-elvis-blues-trail_N.htm. Retrieved 2008-05-27. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Widen, Larry. "JS Online: Blues trail". www.jsonline.com. http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=347773. Retrieved 2008-05-29. 
3. ^ "Mississippi Blues Commission - Blues trail". http://www.msbluestrail.org/blues_trail.html. Retrieved 2007-02-09. 
4. ^ "Haley Barbour Unveils First Marker of Mississippi Blues Trail". Jazz News. http://home.nestor.minsk.by/jazz/news/2006/12/1303.html. Retrieved 2007-02-09. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Blues Matters! - Delta sites to be included on new blues trail". www.bluesmatters.com. http://www.bluesmatters.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=2493. Retrieved 2008-05-28. 
6. ^ "BLUES TRAIL MARKS PARCHMAN AS MAJOR INFLUENCE." State of Mississippi. September 23, 2010. Retrieved on October 3, 2010.

External links

• Mississippi Blues Trail Map
• Delta Blues in the Lower Mississippi ValleyIndianola]
• Mississippi Blues Highway Registry