Blues Pilgrimage - Part 3

The next day we spent driving around the Delta seeking out spots that have significance for blues fans.  First we drove to Tutwiler to see Sonny Boy Williamson's grave site.  In Tutwiler we saw the ruins of the train station where W. C. Handy first heard a young black man playing the blues.  Handy never forgot this eerie sound and years later wrote St. Louis Blues.

Old train station in Tutwiler

After visiting the train station it was on to Sonny Boy's grave.  Sonny Boy Williamson is the harp play that all blues players model themselves on (at least they should).  He is credited with starting the King Biscuit Hour on KFFA radio in Helena, AR, a program that is still on the air.  It is customary for harp players to play a little and then leave the harmonica on Sonny Boy's headstone.  I did this, although the frau could not understand the purpose in leaving a perfectly good Mississippi sax on a tombstone.

Playing for Sonny

From Tutwiler we headed for Greenwood, the site of Robert Johnson's grave.  Even people who are not familiar with the blues know of Robert Johnson.  It is said that Johnson sold his soul to the Devil at the Crossroads in exchange for guitar virtuosity.  There are actually three sites in Mississippi that lay claim to being Johnson's final resting place.  The site in Greenwood is generally accepted as being the probable true site due to an eyewitness report (the grave digger's wife).  It is also customary to leave a small token for Robert on his tombstone.  I left a Tortex guitar pick in hope that some of his playing ability would be granted to me.  I still think it requires practice, practice, practice to approach his playing!  The frau thought leaving a guitar pick was a lot better idea than leaving a harmonica!

Paying homage to Robert Johnson

We then drove to Indianola, the home of B. B. King.  The B. B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center was great!  It follow B. B. from a young boy learning to play the "diddly bow" to the international star he is today.  I was fortunate to have seen B. B. King when I lived in Hamburg, Germany.

B. B. King Museum in Indianola, MS

On the way back to our shack we stopped to see Po' Monkeys.  This is a juke joint that is literally in the middle of nowhere.  It is only open on Thursdays and we were there on a Saturday afternoon.

That evening I decided to partake of Hick's Tamales.  It's funny, but tamales are everywhere here.  No one could tell me how tamales came to be ubiquitous to this area.  They are a little different than the Mexican tamales we are use to.  They are made with corn meal instead of Masa flour and tend to be highly spiced.  Even Robert Johnson wrote and sang about them in the song They're Red Hot.  Hick's are said to be the best and they were VERY good!

Even though we were tired we were not done jukin'!  This was our last night in Clarksdale, so it was back to Red's where Terry "Harmonica" Bean was playing.

That was enough for one day and we had to drive to Memphis the next day.  It is only about 70 miles but there would be many stops along the way.

More tomorrow!