Journalist-turned-producer Robert Palmer tells the tale of how he found himself recording North Mississippi blues artists -- persevering through lightning strikes and the idiosyncrasies of the region.

Robert Palmer first appeared on the musical map around 1968 as a reedman with a group out of Memphis called Insect Trust. Named after a William Burroughs concept, Insect Trust made some fairly bizarre, blues-drenched rock albums for Atlantic Records be...