2008 Trip Summary and Photographs

Normally, it would have been another hot, humid day in sunny, muggy Florida. But this particular day was different. I was filled with mild despair for leaving my family, a sense of excitement for what was to become, and a nagging sense of uncertainty. Why? I was departing for the Delta, going where I have dreamed of going for years, and fulfilling my own personal goal of searching for my soul in the one place soul still exists.

It was a Thursday night, and the whole way home from work all I could manage to think about was all the things we planned on seeing. From graves, to churches, to mansions, to concerts, to jukes, to landmarks – I was feeling overwhelmed before even departing. But, the time was finally here – all the planning was to come to fruition. I finally arrived home, threw my gear into the car, and awaited for Thomas and Jason to arrive. They showed up, we threw their gear into the car, and we were off.

About 14 Red bulls and 12 hours later, we finally arrived in West Point, MS – the birthplace of Howlin’ Wolf. Of course, no rest for the weary – we immediately set up camp, and embarked on our adventure.

From the Young family graveyard, to the Waverly Mansion, to the blues marker and statue of Howlin’ Wolf, we saw it all that morning. Old Jukes and the best BBQ around – we did it all. In the end, we were there for the Howlin Wolf Memorial Concert – which is exactly where we were by 4pm. Let me just say this – 8 hours and 6 amazing bands later, we were…awestruck. Amazed. Wowed. Doubting ourselves. Realizing what music was all about. It was religious experience. It was life-altering. Now, this may sound dramatic, but trust me – you would have to be there to understand it. We saw everything from new comers, to living legends, to one man bands. It was all there, and it took all our energy to absorb what was happening in front of us.

That night, we slept. Of course, we had been awake almost two days at this point, and were beat. The next morning, we were quick to tear down camp, pack up, and head to Greenwood and Greenville, MS in our personal quest for Robert Johnson. And let me tell you, my faithful readers – we saw more that Saturday in the Delta than most people will see in their lifetime.

From the exact house Robert Johnson died in, to the bar where he was poisoned, to an old general store he shopped at, to all three of his grave sites (including his real one), to Charley Patton and Willie Foster grave sites, and more. We redefined our perspective of the word “poor”. We saw downtrodden America at its best, if there is such a thing. We ate more BBQ, stopped at Pawn Shops, toured a failing (but once bustling) downtown Greenville, and more. We drove through Indianola, the birthplace of BB King himself. All this, and we still had time to stop at where the Southern Crosses the Dog, a famous rail crossing in Blues history. We even went to what was once the Bait Shop, and is now the Walnut Street Blues bar, and heard a pretty good band. Did you know Walnut street is the “Blues Walk of Fame”?

How did you spend YOUR Saturday?

Sunday, we woke to the sound of chirping birds, very friendly deer, and mosquitoes that bite you hard enough to draw blood. From camp, we ventured into the real Delta. We went to several crossroads, including where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil. We even took dirt from the site. We went to Nelson Street, once a hub of blues activity, and the home of the Flowing Fountain, a juke almost EVERY blues star played in. We saw an old church from the 1800s, we traveled all around the Dockery Plantation, which is believed to be the birthplace of the blues. We even discovered an old slave shack on the border of the property. I even sat and played guitar in the exact spot, on the exact stoop, where Charley Patton used to play to the people of Dockery. Where Willie Brown played to the crowd. Where Charley and Willie told Robert Johnson he was no good at guitar, which led to Johnson leaving town to learn the blues from Ike Zinnerman and the devil himself….

All in all, it was eye opening. It was amazing. It was just perfect. And to boot, the people of Mississippi, poor, rich, and everything in between, are the most down to earth, polite, nicest people you ever met. The food is great, the music is better, and we were there to experience it first hand. Of course, Gustof drove us home early – but all in all, it was the trip of a lifetime.

There is nothing better than spending a weekend in the Delta.

VIEW INTERACTIVE MAP OF TRIP

Below are the photographs from the Delta Blues Trip, Labor Day Weekend, 2008. Comments are added to the photos where necessary. These are the original photos, only shrunk down for web view. If you would like a hi-res image, please contact me or post a comment to this page, and I can send it out to you.

Enjoy!

Day 1 – West Point, MS

Here we are at camp our first day. We arrived at about 10 am or so, and set up camp. here, we had just accomplished that task. We were at this point, 24+ hours with no sleep…

Next, we visited the old Young Family Grave site. The Young family, which used to own and operate the Waverly Plantation, are all buried here. Some of these tombs go back hundreds of years.

This was the marker for the guy who started the Waverly Plantation – He arrived by way of Ellis Island, and survived the civil war.

As you can see, some of the markers are strewn about…..

…and some were even cracked open, lending to the spooky atmosphere.

Next, we went to the Waverly Plantation itself. This was a large plantation at one time, boasting over 50,000 acres, river mills, and more. It is still a popular party location, and is still family owned. It is also extremely haunted.

The sign by the entrance…

The front of the mansion, in all its glory…..

A side shot of the mansion. Look at that hand craftsmanship! Notice the confederate flag flying – this is definitely the deep south…

Although we were refrained from taking pictures inside the mansion, I managed to sneak this one off. It is of the ghost room – the room occupied by the mansion ghost, a little girl of about 6. Notice the imprint of her on the bed….

After the mansion, we were famished. We needed food. So we found a home cookin’ BBQ Place, called Chef David’s BBQ. Little did we know it at the time, but this place was the best BBQ any of us would ever have.

Since we were in West Point, Birthplace of Howlin’ Wolf himself, we decided to pay our respects. Every year the city of West Point puts on a big memorial festival in his name.

Thomas with the Wolf.

Me and the Wolf – only he wore the hat.

From there we went to Cotrell Street. Back in the day, this was THE spot to be for blues. Musicians such as BB King, Howlin Wolf, T Bone Walker, Willie King and more played some of these jukes, which are now little more than abandoned shacks.

Here’s another “used-to-be-famous” Juke…..

One more for good measure…..

Next it was on to the festival. I will not take up the space or time to talk about this spiritual experience here, but you can read about in in the trip logs and trip summary.

Here’s Caleb Childs going to town outside the festival. Notice he is playing guitar, bass drum, and snare at the same time…

Here’s Ernie Southern. A phenomenal three piece band from Florida.

Ben Prestage also did his thing. This guy played the Bass drum, the snare, the high hat, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, harmonica, and sang – all at the same time. And did it well.

Of course, we found a way to finagle our way backstage. Here is Ben and Thomas…

And Ben and Myself. Jason was holding uor fabulous seats inside the concert hall.

Next, the house was brought down – literally – when two legends took the stage. Blind Mississippi Morris, one of the top harmonica players in the world, and Willie King, Blues guitarist genius.

Blind Mississippi Morris does his thing…

Next, to our surprise and dismay, Homemade Jamz took the stage. This is a family band, with a 16 year old playing lead guitar and vocals, his 14 year old brother on the 6 string bass, and their 9 year old sister on the drums. These people rocked everyone’s world.

Yes, I said 9 years old. Here she is rocking the skins.

The night concluded with harmonica expert Billy Gibson doing his thing….

That was it for day one. We went back to camp for a much needed rest.

Day 2: Greenwood and Greenville MS

Day two started off with our own personal search for the late great Robert Johnson. The first place we went was into Baptist Town, the very spot where Robert Johnson actually died (not where he was poisoned, but where he was taken afterwards to die).

Here is a shot of the sign entering into Baptist Town. This is still a very poor area of MS.

Next, we went to the actual grave of Robert Johnson. This was it – his final resting place. We looked on with great respect and amazement at the stone erected on his grave site.

Since Johnson claims his teacher, Ike Zinnerman, learned guitar by playing atop tombstones in graveyards, I decided to try my luck.

Paying my respects to the master of the Delta Blues.

Here’s a shot of the church where his grave site is located.

We took a break for lunch, and Thomas tried some more home cooked BBQ. These guys could BBQ.

After food, we went to look for the Three Forks Bar, where Robert Johnson was poisoned. However, a greedy mining company had moved to the area, and was knocking down all of the historic buildings around them. This is all that was left of the Three Forks.

Just up the road from the ruined buolding was another marker for Robert Johnson. Though it is now known he is not buried here, we paid our respects.

Across the way was, according to locals, and old general store that used to sell goods to people like Robert Johnson, Son House, Johnny Shines, Rice Miller, and others.

Next we visited the memorial erected in Robert Johnson’s honor by his record company.

Again paying my respects.

Jason and Thomas paying homage to the original king of the Delta Blues.

The money shot:

Next we stopped off to see where the southern crosses the dog. Historical blues site, and still around to be seen.

The sign marking the spot….

Here we are, all standing where it all went down….

The Money Shot…

We drove through Indianola, the birthplace of BB king.

Then we went on to pay more respect to the man who started it all, Charley Patton. Located near Holly Ridge, we also found Willie Foster’s grave in the same lot.

Charley and I.

Thomas and Charley.

Jason and Charley.

Here I am, paying my final respects to the legend himself.

A shot of Willie Foster’s Grave.

Next we traveled down Highway 61. Just like the bluesmen of the 20’s and 30’s, and just like Dylan.

Thomas on the roadside.

We then decided to set up camp, and grill up some food.

After eating at camp, it was back to town for a famous Juke Joint. It used to be called the Bait Shop, but now is the Walnut Street Blues Bar.

Here’s the band, Raspberry Something or other, jamming out.

The money Shot….

Day 3: Greenville, MS

We started off this day by looking for this old abandoned church overlooking a lake. After some trouble, we finally found it.

Another shot….

Next we went to Nelson Street in Greenville, which used to be a bustling hub of blues and other entertainment. Many famous blues musicians played a juke or two on Nelson street.

Here’s an old Juke on Nelson:

Here’s another.

Here’s one of the most famous jukes on Nelson Street, which remained open until just a few years ago. The Flowing Fountain.

Next it was lunch time. So we went for some Cat fish and BBQ. Good Stuff!

Here it is: Me standing on the crossroads where Robert Johnson actually sold his soul to the devil. This is it.

Here is Thomas and Jason, standing at the same crossroads.

Perhaps my favorite shot of the trip: Me playing guitar at an old crossroads right near Dockery Plantation, the birth place of the blues. In fact, I am standing on Dockery Road.

On th edge of the Dockery Plantation, we found an old slave shack in the woods….

Here we are at yet another crossroads, similar to the one form the movie. This is also on Dockery Road.

We then went on to Dockery itself, which is, as some argue, the birth place of the blues. It was definitely home to Charley Patton, Willie Brown, and many other famous blues artists. This included Henry Sloan, who actually taught Charley Patton to play.

The old gin at Dockery.

The official sign….

Here I am, sitting on an old stoop. But it is not any stoop. This is the same spot where Charley Patton and WIllie Brown first heard Robert Johnson play guitar. It is here they told Robert “put that thing away. You’re hurting the people’s ears.” This is what inspired Johnson to go away and “sell his soul” for guitar chops. So here I sit on the same stoop….

And that’s it! Gustof had us depart early….