A road trip snaking down the Mississippi River from Chicago blues to Delta blues.
My husband and I have been looking for an excuse to get our arse's down to New Orleans. Sure Carnival and Mardi Gras is a fantastic excuse, but he can't get any time off work during those events. When the lineup for Jazz Fest was posted, it was a sure thing!
We had originally planned a trip to the Caribbean with some family and friends, and have been saving pennies since last winter to do so. When the Jazz Fest opportunity came up, we had to reconsider, baby.
On the fairgrounds of New Orleans, Jazz & Heritage Fest is a festival expanded over 2 weekends in late April and early May that showcases different musical genres in addition to Jazz. To see a listing of the lineup for the weekend we'll be attending, click here.
We're going to start our journey in Detroit, Michigan where we'll visit the Motown Museum. A string of unassuming houses that became known as 'Hitsville USA' after Berry Gordy launched Motown Records there with an $800 loan in 1959. Popular Motown artists include, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Martha and the Vandellas, and Michael Jackson.
Next, a couple of nights in Chicago, Illinois.
Chicago blues - a little more electrified, showcases blues legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Koko Taylor, Elmore James, and Buddy Guy. We'll take a visit to Willie Dixon's Blues Heaven formerly known as Chess Records. And partake in as much live music we can possibly cram into 2 days.
We'll pass through St. Louis, Missouri - where Chuck Berry, Tina Turner and Miles Davis got their start.
Following the lower Mississippi River down from St. Louis to Memphis, we'll pass through Hannibal where Mark Twain (author of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn) was born and the landscape that inspired such story's.
Maybe we'll have enough time to ride on the Delta Queen - a Mississippi River steamboat!
When we arrive in Memphis, I'm going to take Bryce straight to Beale Street for some huge ass beers and live blues music. I'll take him to Graceland, we'll check out Sun Studio where rockabilly greats Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and of course Elvis Presley recorded. In the 1950's Sam Phillips gave birth to rock and roll by recording blues artists like BB King, Howlin' Wold and Ike Turner.
We're going to pay tribute to the very place that gave soul it's groove - Stax Museum of American Soul Music. 'Soulsville USA' is the Savannah to Charleston. The naughty sister of soul. Otis Redding, Booker T & the MG's recorded there along with The Staple Sisters and super famous Isaac Hayes... and the whole Shaft thang.
Following the river for a drive through the Mississippi Delta. The Delta land is where the blues began among cypress stumps in stagnant waters. Stretching for 250 miles from Memphis, TN, to Vicksburg, MS, the Delta is cotton country with sharecroppers whom most remain desperately poor. Some managed to scrape up enough money to buy a guitar or harmonica and sing prison and levee camp songs.
Clarksdale is more than any other Delta town. This is where John Lee Hooker was born. Son House lived in nearby Lyon, and Ike Turner hosted a radio show. Gospel-soul singer Sam Cooke was born and raised here. Highway 61 and 49 meet at the crossroads. This is where Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil.
Veering over to Jackson Mississippi, we'll follow the interstate over the Louisiana state line. This is swamp country, a bayou state where gators lurk in the swamps, and where folks strap washboards to their chests.
Arriving in New Orleans and the Gulf of Mexico, we'll be staying near bourbon street in the Treme district. We'll be indulging in 4 days of live music and Creole and Cajun cookin'. I'm hoping to make it out alive. This all may be too much for me to handle.
From New Orleans - our half way point, we're cruisin' on up to Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studio founded in 1969 by Barry Beckett (keyboards), Roger Hawkins (drums), Jimmy Johnson (guitar) and David Hood (bass) (called The Swampers) left FAME Studios to create their own studio. The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section can be heard on legendary recordings by Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and The Staple Singers. Not to mention Duane Allman from the Allman Brothers Band spend some time sitting in on session before the Allman Brothers Band got their big break. It was a little extra cash in Duane's pockets, and he has been showcased on so many incredible albums. Sam Samudio's 'Sam Hard and Heavy', Derek and the Dominos 'Layla' album (it was Duane that came up with Layla's catchy riff). Other notable artists Duane contributed to their albums were Clarence Carter, Johnny Jenkins and Bonnie & Delaney.
So much history there, I could go on forever!
A nice little drive over the Tennessee state line, and we'll find ourselves in Nashville for a night of honky tonkin'. I can show my husband the ropes around. Nashville is so rich with country music, legends, and performances at the Grand Ole Opry that we'll definitely get our fill during our short stay.
If I can save up enough money, perhaps I can afford to buy myself a new pair of western boots from Allen's Boots. I remember not being able to find anything under $1,000 the last time I was in there.
If Levon is rambling in Woodstock during the weekend we're driving through, then we'll stop in to say hi to my old pal.
Can't wait to blog while on the road. Stay tuned!
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