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The Mississippi Delta is the home of the sound that
was once known as 'the devil's music', the blues. Robert
Johnson (b. 1911) was a master and seminal developer of
its early form, and it is a body of largely his works as an
impassioned lyricist, vocalist and guitar player that have
since been re-interpreted by more recent musicians such as
Eric Clapton, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers and Peter
Green. Johnson alleged sold his soul to the devil in exchange
for being able to play the blues at a place known as 'The
Crossroads'. The imagery and legacy of the crossroads is a
strong part of modern blues.
History
It all started in the Delta fields with African-American
cotton pickers yelling and singing at each other while they
worked, so the Delta blues drew heavily on African negro spiritual
traditions. The emphasis is on suffering and the cruelty inflicted
on the oppressed slaves, which is why even today when you're
'feeling blue' you're kind of sad. The guitar was an intrinsic
element of the music, and its own harmonies were developed
which included the bended 'blue' notes of the 3rd and 6th
of the scale, also found in Jazz.
In the late 20s, when the Depression set in, most people left
the fields and went to the towns. They took the blues with
them, travelling along the famous Highway 61. If the
Mississippi Delta is the home of the blues then Clarkstown
is definitely its heart.
Things to See and Do Today
If you're into the blues in a big way then the place to stay
in Clarkstown is the Riverside Hotel. People
like Sam Cook, Ike Turner and Muddy Waters stayed
there, and Bessie Smith died in the building when it
was a hostel. Maybe that last fact's not quite such a draw.
Wade Walten's barbershop in the town is the last old-style
shave joint in town. He's shaved some of the biggest chins
in the blues, for instance those of Clayton Love and
Ike Turner. But if you're already happy with your hairstyle
and want, instead, to get a taste of the Clarkstown blues,
head for a 'jukejoint'. Back in the 20s, 30s and 40s, cotton
pickers used to come into town for the partying, or, as they
called it, 'juking'.
The original Jukejoints were rough and sometimes violent,
but from these music houses emerged some of the finest and
most influential music of the 20th century. Now there are
only a few jukejoints around and the best one of these is
called 'Reds'. The blues nights at Reds aren't advertised,
but if you ask around you'll get an experience unchanged since
the blues began. |
