This is the Piedmont Shack, where we stayed.

Clarksdale, MS, has been on our bucket list for a long time.  We were familiar with the legend of “The Crossroads” and like to listen to Blues music, but what we would find?

The Main Building at the Shack Up Inn

Upon our arrival we checked into The Shack-Up Inn, which is located on the old Hopson Plantation about 3 miles from downtown Clarksdale. The hotel compound consists of a main building which at one time was the plantation cotton gin.  It has a bar, a stage, a lobby, a lounge and a gift shop all decorated in “found objects.”

There are a number of former slave shacks which have been stylishly renovated with acid washed or polished wood floors and vintage antiques. Of course there is now electricity, plumbing, and running water, although the sinks and appliances are early farm. Needless to say, a far cry from the squalor they once were.

The ambiance is authentic yet sophisticated. The plantation property is bisected by railroad tracks and our shack was on the other side of the tracks.

Across the large field behind our place are grain silos which were imported and repurposed as guest quarters. Here too, everything is highly tasteful and put together with artistic know-how.

The grain silos now are guest accommodations.

The Shack that noted bluesman blues “Pinetop” Perkins lived in when he worked on the Hopson Plantation.

A strip of unpicked cotton lies between an open filed and the road as a reminder that this after all, is the Heart of the Delta where cotton was king for 200 years and slaves toiled in the thousands of acres of cotton fields.

We came to Clarksdale MS, to find the Blues and to meet the people who are working hard to keep this American art form alive. Our first stop was at the Crossroads (at the intersection of Routes 49 and 61) which is marked by a sculpture of three guitars. Legend has it that this is the place where Robert Johnson made his deal with the Devil, trading his soul for musical talent and fame.

One of only two photos of Robert Johnson in existence.

One hundred yards away is Abe’s BBQ which serves the famous Big Abe pork sandwich among other BBQ delights. It was so good we could not resist going back twice.

We then paid a visit to the two museums in town. The Delta Blues Museum, located in a brand new modern building, is a state of the art museum that traces the history of the Blues in the Mississippi Delta. It pays particular attention to the scores of individual artists who played in the region.

An entire wing is devoted to Muddy Waters, who brought the Delta Blues to Chicago, where the music gained a much larger audience and national appreciation.

If you wonder where Muddy Waters got his name, you do not have to walk very far to find out.

A few blocks away is the Rock and Roll Blues Museum, a very different kind of venue. Located in a large storefront it is the private collection of Theo Dasbach, who is from the Netherlands. It is an amazing assemblage of memorabilia including album covers, records, letters, bills, autopsy reports, posters, etc. that document the history of the Blues and Rock and Roll from W.C. Handy to the British Invasion.

Bessie Smith in 1936. Photo by Carl Van Vechten

The Riverside Hotel was formerly the G.T. Thomas African-American Hospital where Bessie Smith died following an automobile accident on Highway 61 in 1937. It became the Riverside Inn in 1944 and was home to many traveling blues musicians including Clarksdale native son Ike Turner when he was in town.

At this point we were ready to start living the Blues and found our way to Red’s.

At Red’s people jump up and start dancing to the live music featured every night of the week.

This is Red who is an iconic figure. He helped keep the Blues alive during hard times. Now he is the recognized impresario, providing a paying gig for old and new musicians at  his intimate juke joint.

The outside of Red’s is not much to look but people come here from all over the world, sometimes spending hours driving around the block searching for it.

Another important venue is the Ground Zero Blues Club, which is co-owned by actor Morgan Freeman with Bill Luckett, the current Mayor of Clarksdale, who has done a lot to revitalize the town.

Ground Zero Blues Club

Another project is the New Roxy Theater which is in the process of renovation, but it is an expensive endeavor and there is still no roof. The concerts are performed in the open air.

There is a great deal of wealth and poverty in town drawn along racial lines.

Sundays in Clarksdale are a lot of fun starting with breakfast or brunch. We went to the Bluesberry Cafe where Deak Harp, the owner of the harmonica store in the downtown, played. We got a terrific breakfast with local ham sliced off the bone.

The Bluesberry Cafe featured Deak Harp.

Then on to Levon’s Drugstore Diner to hear Stan Street and friends.

Stan Street is the owner of the Hambone Art Gallery and one of the transplanted northerners who have made Clarksdale their home, working to keep the Blues alive.

In the evening we went back to Red’s where the music, played by Frank “Guitar” Rimmer and Mickey Rodgers was “Red Hot”.

Frank “Guitar” Rimmer and Mickey Rodgers at Red’s

This is a mural in town that orients visitors and lists some of the musicians who  played in Clarksdale.

We left the next morning vowing to return in 2017 for the Juke Joint Festival. Anyone interested in joining us?