On the blues trail in Tutwiler

Here’s a photo by Melanie Young of Living Blues from the November 25 Mississippi Blues Trail marker ceremony in Tutwiler, from left: Jerome Little (Tallahatchie County Board of Supervisors), Tutwiler Mayor Genether Miller-Spurlock, me, Robert Plant, former mayor Robert Grayson, and Mississippi State Senator David Jordan. All spoke at the event, with local officials taking pride in Tutwiler’s place in blues history and Senator Jordan reminding the local “Bible thumpers” of their connections to the blues. Former Tutwiler resident Panny Mayfield of the Clarksdale Press Register arranged for Plant’s participation in sponsoring the marker. His appearance was kept hush-hush so as not to overwhelm Tutwiler with hordes of Led Zeppelinites, so festivities remained pleasantly low-key. Many of the older residents in attendance had no idea who he was, in fact, although they did know the people pictured on the marker, including Tutwiler musicians Tom Dumas and Lee Kizart, as well as Sonny Boy Williamson No. 2, who is buried about two miles from town. Plant took time for interviews and conversations with media and fans. He recalled Sonny Boy’s stays in England, talked about his fascination with the Delta and with its blues artists, including Rube Lacy and Tommy McClennan, and mentioned that Led Zeppelin once had chances to purchase the Chess, Sun, and Vee-Jay labels – he and Jimmy Page wanted to do it, but the other band members weren’t interested. Local blues aficionado Johnny Jennings also had some interesting stories to tell about meeting Sonny Boy in Tutwiler. (More about that another time.)

Some culprits from the Mississippi Blues Trail staff sabotaged me that day (my birthday) by circulating 61 on 49 name tags and coronating me with a paper crown. My sister Julie published my “61 on 49” reference as a mystery quiz on Facebook, prompting a guess that I would be turning 61 in the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility on Highway 49. Now that is truly insulting. I would hope that if I ever achieve the necessary criminal credentials, I would at least have the honor of serving in the state penitentiary at Parchman, which is only a few miles down the road on 49.



Robert Plant said he was also 61. In honor of the first (and only) time I saw Led Zeppelin (at the Kinetic Playground in Chicago, Feb. 7, 1969), here is a photo of a John Bonham drumstick I picked up at that concert:

Jim O'Neal
bluesoterica@aol.com

Mississippi Blues Trail marker dedications 2006-2009

MISSISSIPPI BLUES TRAIL
MARKER DEDICATIONS


1- Charley Patton grave site (Holly Ridge) December 11, 2006

2- Nelson Street (Greenville) December 11, 2006

3- WGRM Radio (Greenwood) December 11, 2006

4- Riverside Hotel/Bessie Smith (Clarksdale) January 18, 2007

5 - Peavine Railroad (Boyle) February 7, 2007

6- Rosedale /Crossroads myth (Rosedale) February 7, 2007

7- Hwy. 10 & 61/Charlie Booker (Leland) March 29, 2007

8- Honeyboy Edwards (Shaw) April 13, 2007

9- Muddy Waters’ house (Stovall) April 13, 2007

10- Jimmie Rodgers & the Blues (Meridian) May 3, 2007

11- Robert Johnson grave site (Greenwood) May 16, 2007

12- Subway Lounge/Summers Hotel (Jackson) May 30, 2007

13- Son House (Clack/Robinsonville) June 18, 2007

14- Willie Dixon (Vicksburg) June 28, 2007

15- Hickory Street /Elmore James (Canton) July 17, 2007

16- Blue Front Cafe (Bentonia) August 21, 2007

17- Magic Sam (Grenada) August 28, 2007

18- Howlin’ Wolf (West Point) August 30, 2007

(Above: L.C. Cooke speaks at the
dedication of the marker for is brother
Sam in Clarksdale, August 7, 2009.
Photo by Jim O'Neal.)

19- Memphis Minnie (Walls) September 27, 2007

20- Columbus Mississippi Blues/Catfish Alley (Columbus) September 28, 2007

21- Rabbit Foot Minstrels (Port Gibson) October 9, 2007

22- Tommy Johnson (Crystal Springs) October 19, 2007

23- Bo Diddley (McComb) November 2, 2007

24- Broadcasting the Blues/American Blues Network (Gulfport) November 3, 2007

25- Trumpet Records (Jackson) November 17, 2007

26- Otis Rush (Philadelphia) December 6, 2007

27- Robert Nighthawk (Friars Point) December 13, 2007

28- Elvis and the Blues (Tupelo) January 8, 2008

29- Robert Johnson (Hazlehurst) January 31, 2008

30- James Cotton (Clayton, south of Tunica) February 13, 2008

31- Livin’ at Lula: Charley Patton, Bertha Lee, Sam Carr, Frank Frost (Lula) February 13, 2008

32- Mississippi John Hurt (Avalon) February 23, 2008

33- Red Tops (Vicksburg) March 28, 2008

34- Elks Lodge (Greenwood) March 28, 2008

35- Malaco Records (Jackson) April 8, 2008

36- Natchez Burning/Rhythm Club fire (Natchez) April 18, 2008

37- Birthplace of the Blues?/Charley Patton (Dockery) April 19, 2008

38- Pinetop Perkins (Belzoni) May 3, 2008

39- Hubert Sumlin (Pillow Plantation, Greenwood) May 6, 2008

40- Highway 61, northern end (Tunica) May 8, 2008

41- Hopson Plantation/Pinetop Perkins (Clarksdale) May 9, 2008

42- Alamo Theatre/Dorothy Moore (Jackson) May 22, 2008

43- Jimmy Reed (Dunleith) June 19, 2008

44- Big Walter Horton (Horn Lake) June 20, 2008

45- Hill Country Blues: R. L. Burnside & Jr. Kimbrough (Holly Springs) July 3, 2008

46- Black Prairie Blues: Harrington family (Houston Harrington, Eddy Clearwater & Carey Bell) and Willie King (Macon) August 19, 2008

47- Piney Woods School: Sweethearts of Rhythm, Blind Boys of Mississippi, Sam Myers (Piney Woods) August 29, 2008

48- B.B. King birthplace (Berclair) September 11, 2008

49- Church Street (Indianola) September 13, 2008

50- Freedom Village/DeltaBlues Festival (Greenville) September 17, 2008

51- Skip James (Bentonia) September 18, 2008

52- Arthur Crudup, T-Model Ford, Ruben Hughes (Forest) September 26, 2008

53- Joe & Charlie McCoy (Raymond) October 4, 2008

54- Harold “Hardface” Clanton (Tunica) October 8, 2008

55- Hattiesburg recordings/Roots of Rock ‘n’ Roll – Graves Brothers (Hattiesburg) October 18, 2008

56- Big Joe Williams (Crawford) November 3, 2008

57- Bobby Rush (Jackson) November 11, 2008

58- Muddy Waters birthplace (Rolling Fork) December 3, 2008

59- Sam Mosley/Bob Johnson, Billy Ball (New Albany) December 8, 2008

60- Shakerag/Tupelo blues (Tupelo) January 8, 2009

61- Rube Lacy (Pelahatchie) February 13, 2009 (10:00 a.m.)

62- Documenting the Blues: Living Blues, Blues Archive (Oxford) February 27, 2009 (11a.m.)

63- Sonny Boy Williamson No. 2 (Glendora) February 28, 2009 (11:30 a.m

64- Highway 61, southern end (Vicksburg) March 12, 2009

65- Club Desire (Canton) March 31, 2009 (2:00 p.m.)

66- Queen of Hearts/Johnnie Temple (Jackson) April 16, 2009 (4:00 p.m.)

67- Jack Owens (Bentonia) April 17, 2009 (10 a.m.)

68- Little Milton (Inverness) April 17, 2009 (4 p.m.)

69- 1927 flood & Big Bill Broonzy (Scott) April 21, 2009 (10 a.m.)

70- Charlie Musselwhite (Kosciusko) April 24, 2009 (3 p.m.)

71- Fred McDowell (Como) May 7, 2009 (2 p.m.)

72- Mississippi to Memphis (Memphis) May 8, 2009 (11:30 a.m.)

73- Denise LaSalle (Belzoni) May 9, 2009 (2 p.m.)

74- Beale Town Bound: Gus Cannon, Robert Wilkins, Jim Jackson (Hernando) May 27, 2009

75- Abbay & Leatherman Plantation/Robert Johnson (Tunica) May 28, 2009 (10:30 a.m.)

76- Son Thomas (Leland) June 5, 2009 (2 p.m.)

77- Mississippi to Chicago (Chicago) June 11, 2009 (2 p.m.)

78- Chrisman Street (Cleveland) June 22, 2009 (10:30 a.m.)

79- Po' Monkey’s/Juke Joints (Merigold) June 22, 2009 (2:30 p.m.)

80- Baptist Town (Greenwood) July 14, 2009 (10 a.m.)

81- Sam Cooke (Clarksdale) August 7, 2009 (2 p.m.)

82- Otha Turner (Como) August 29, 2009 (11 a.m.)

83- Papa Lightfoot & the Natchez Blues (Natchez) September 4, 2009 (7 p.m.)

84- Club Ebony (Indianola) September 7, 2009 (1:30 p.m.)

85- Charles Evers and the Blues (Fayette) September 23, 2009 (11 a.m.)

86- Sam Chatmon/Blue Front club area (Hollandale) October 2, 2009

87- Ace Records (Jackson) October 5, 2009 (3:30 p.m.)

88- Mississippi to Helena/King Biscuit Time (Helena, Arkansas) October 9, 2009 (2 p.m.)

89- Bukka White (Houston) October 16, 2009 (10 a.m.)

90- Aberdeen Mississippi Blues: Bukka White, Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King (Aberdeen) October 16 , 2009 (4. p.m.)

91- Gold Coast/’Cross the River (Brandon) October 22, 2009 (9 a.m.)

92- Elder Roma Wilson & Reverend Leon Pinson (New Albany) October 26, 2009

93- Summit Street (McComb) November 6, 2009

94- Woodville Blues: Scott Dunbar, Lester Young, William Grant Still (Woodville) November 18, 2009 (11 a.m.)

95- W.C. Handy Encounters the Blues/Sonny Boy Williamson No. 2 grave site (Tutwiler) November 25, 2009 (11:30 a.m.)

96- Harlem Inn (Winstonville) December 4, 2009 (1 p.m.)

97- Henry Townsend (Shelby) December 4, 2009 (2 p.m.)

98- Marcus Bottom/Vicksburg Blues (Vicksburg) December 9, 2009

Note: Although many markers are listed under the name of a single artist or site, several different artists are usually named on each marker. The Henry Townsend marker, for instance, also mentions the following singers and musicians who were born in or lived in Shelby: Erma Franklin, Choker Campbell, Hattie Littles, Gus "Jo Jo" Murray, Tenry Johns ("The King Kong Rocker"), Gerald Wilson, and Willie Kent.

I'll be 61 on 49 -- Tutwiler on the Blues Trail

The 95th marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail is being unveiled on Wednesday, November 25, in beautiful downtown Tutwiler, Mississippi, in honor of W.C. Handy's encounter with the guitarist who introduced him to the sounds and lyrics of "Goin' Where the Southern Cross' the Dog." I'll be there for the ceremony, which begins at 11:30 a.m., along with Brenda, Dela and Louis. The 25th also happens to be the day I turn 61, and Tutwiler is on Highway 49, so that makes for some kind of crossroads numerology, I guess -- although I have never for a minute believed that any of the points where Highways 61 and 49 meet (or used to meet) could possibly be "THE" crossroads that Robert Johnson believers are always seeking, if there even is such a place.

Meanwhile, as Mississippi Blues Trail research continues to peel away layers of hidden history, even in such accepted and often documented scenarios as W.C. Handy's experiences in Tutwiler and Cleveland, Mississippi, we'll have some "new" (actually very old) details to reveal soon that may result in a rewriting of blues history at the turn of the century in Mississippi, thanks to leads from Handy scholar Elliott Hurwitt with the participation of David Evans and a network of sources across the South.

Jim O'Neal

bluesoterica@aol.com