First there was the river, and then the land, and then the land that the river brought in. Then came the men who worked the land, and the men who owned them. And then, coming straight from the fields of Clarksdale, Mississippi, came the blues, rich and sweet and as fertile as the earth itself. Clarksdale may be known as the Capital of the Cotton Kingdom, but its real history will always remain as the birthplace of the blues.
Up till now the Delta Blues Museum (located in Clarksdale) has been kept in the town library, like a musty artifact, a relic of a bygone era. But unlike a lot of places, this Delta river town (THE Delta river town) never became a huge urban metropolis, and so the blues remains still as vital and integral to the land as the sun and the rain.
The town does, however, remain the social and economic center of the Delta, and so it’s only fitting that the Museum get a complete overhaul, and the new facility being built out of the old Illinois Central Railroad Freight and Passenger Depots is testament to that. Why the railroad? Legendary blues figure W.C. Handy explained it once: “A favorite hangout was the railroad station. There, surrounded by crowds of country folks, they would pour out their hearts in song while the audience ate fish and bread, chewed sugar cane, dipped snuff while waiting for trains to carry them on down the line. Europe and all its environs carry no such rich traditions and inspirational fertility as are embodied in this section of our America.”
Of course, the same problem that plagued the bluesmen of Clarksdale plagues the museum—lack of funds. To that end, the Museum needs members to help them rezone the famous Blues Alley section of town as a historic district, and also to complete the projects being worked on now. As of press time, the Museum had only received $130,000 of the 1.5 million needed to finish the renovation. If you love the Delta Blues like I do, you can become a member of the Museum by making a contribution of any size. Benefits include free lifetime admission to the museum, discounts on merchandise, and more. Once the museum’s complete, it’ll feature artifacts, photographs, trump l’oeil murals, multi-media kiosks, directional speakers, listening stations, timelines and interactive interplay, and there’ll be an online museum as well.
Some folks have already jumped on the bandwagon: Brint Anderson just held the release party of his new CD, Notes From Clarksdale, in the Cotton Capital itself in order to drum up support. Buddy Guy has also appeared on “From The Birthplace,” a monthly concert series produced by the museum and L.A. Live to drum up support. You can find the concert online at http://www.lalive.com/deltablues/. To contact the museum, visit their official website at http://www.clarksdale.com/dbm/ or contact them via mail at P.O. Box 280 Clarksdale, MS 38614.
This past Easter Sunday was a sad one for the blues one door over: Gatemouth alum and Houston guitar legend Clarence Hollimon passed away Easter Sunday from apparent heart failure at the age of 62. A native of H-Town, Hollimon—a genial fellow one friend characterized as “the Dalai Lama of the blues guitar”—worked with Charles Brown and Willie Mae Thornton early on, and moved on to the session band at Duke/Peacock records, where he played on classic sides by Bobby “Blue” Bland, O.V. Wright, Junior Parker, and Al Hinton, among others. He later formed the Hollimon Express with wife (and Excello recording artist) Carol Fran. Clarence and Carol had just released a new CD called It’s About Time on JSP Records.
There’s a new traditional blues label to be on the lookout for, and it’s the brainchild of a Louisiana native. The Analogue Productions Originals (APO) record label, run in Salina, Kansas in conjunction with Blue Heaven Recording Studio, has already been the subject of a lot of media attention, including a feature on CBS’ “60 Minutes II” and NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Why all the fuss? Seems Lafayette native Chad Kassem, 38, wound up in a Salina halfway house back in 1984 trying to overcome drug and alcohol addictions, and, once he was clean, purchased the 76-year-old First Christian Church to house his record mail order business featuring a world-famous selection of hard-to-find audiophile quality LPs and CDs. It’s since mutated into a traditional blues label featuring new audiophile recordings from blues legends such as Jimmy Rogers and David Honeyboy Edwards. In fact, APO’s Jimmy Rogers album, Blue Bird, won the 1995 W.C. Handy Blues Award for “Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year.”
Closer to home, the post-Fest ennui may be threatening to sink in, but there’s still plenty out there to enjoy, if you just know where to look. For one thing, there’s Covington’s Bluesberry Festival on June 3rd, featuring Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown and Hammond B-3 master Joe Krown and his Combo. The seventh annual festival is fast becoming the area’s main draw for blues artists; for more info, contact the St. Tammany Art Association at 504-892-8650.
Drive back to town after the festival on June 3rd, fast, and you can top off your night by seeing local transplant Keb’ Mo’ at the House Of Blues, with a fine opening act: the Eric Jerardi Band (Jerardi is widely considered one of the finest young and somewhat unsung blues-rock guitarists on the college scene). Lavay Smith and Her Red Hot Skillet Lickers might sound like a bluegrass band, but they’re really a fine jump-blues band of the old school who number Johnny Otis and the President himself (Lavay resembles Monica Lewinsky) among their admirers. Walter “Wolfman” Washington & the Roadmasters return to the comfortable confines of the Maple Leaf on the 10th, but for a real blues-soul treat that almost never comes around here, dig Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise at the House Of Blues on the 18th. I can’t say enough great things about them: the aged dream of a young white college band discovering or being discovered by the stereotypical blind black bluesman. It transcends cliché, however, because this is one of the most accomplished and all-around honest bands I’ve ever heard.
Finally, Blues Web Site of the Month goes to www.its-good.com, not the ode to Barq’s you might be thinking of but the home page for Tuscaloosa, Alabama’s favorite sons, Ryan Reardon and the Levee Breakers. The site’s cool and blue, just like their music, and it’s so comprehensive it even lists the band’s gear. Apparently Ryan and Elvis share the same mic. Who knew?
