Delta Blues Museum

Saturday dawned and we headed out, filled with a sense of excitement.  We have been talking about going to Clarksdale to hear some Mississippi Blues for some time now and today is the day.  The sky was filled with dark, grey clouds promising rain.  And it did.  As we drove past field after field stretching as far as the eye can see, the rain poured down.  Fortunately we drove into and out of the showers as we made our way to Clarksdale.

Our campground destination was the county fairgrounds.  We have stayed at fairgrounds before so knew generally what to expect.  There are lots of sites, some with full hookups and some with electric and water only and some just a place to park.  Since it is first come, first serve, we were lucky to get the last site with hookup even if the electric was 30 amps instead of the 50 amps we normally need.  In this muggy heat, it would be nice to be able to run both the front and rear air conditioners, however we can manage with only one.  The overall arrangement is a mix of full timers and transients.  We were set up in no time and hurried to get the girls settled before we headed out to explore the town.

Part of the city is more modern with fast food joints and other businesses.  The historic downtown, however was not unlike the other Delta towns we have visited.  That said, it also is home to a number of juke joints and clubs that on Saturday nights will be jumping with activity.  We started with a visit to the Delta Blues Museum.  It houses the largest collection of the history of the Blues from its start here in the Delta to the evolution of modern day music.  The Blues is a reflection of the joys and sorrows, dreams and realities, loves and loves lost and a host of emotions that reflect the times.  It was born out of the African American experience to bloom and spread to a much wider audience.  Names like Muddy Waters, Ike Turner and BB King and many others were honored.  There were a collection of Caricatures that I found very interesting.  I was taking pictures of them when Jim pointed to a sign that said no photos.  Oh well, I got a few.

The Blues is not a static genre but rather it has given birth to other forms up to and including Rock & Roll.  The museum is very large and it took us nearly two hours to completely go though it.  We came away in awe of all the musicians who brought Blues into mainstream.