Many towns and cities along the Blues Trail have planned festivals, exhibitions and live music to mark the 100th birthday of the homegrown musical legend.
The seemingly endless cotton fields and backroads between Jackson, Mississippi, and Memphis, Tennessee, still echo with the sounds of the blues music that was born here. This year, from the city of Jackson, Mississippi to the bright lights of Memphis, Tennessee, destinations all along the Mississippi Blues Trail – a series of more than 200 roadside historical markers scattered across Mississippi and surrounding states – are celebrating what would have been the 100th birthday of a homegrown musical legend.
Born 16 September 1925 on a Mississippi plantation, Riley B King – better known to the world as BB King – transformed himself from a sharecropper’s son to a household name thanks to his gritty voice, soulful lyrics and distinctive string-bending guitar licks which would come to define the blues.
“His legacy as a musician was to ensure that the blues genre was well-known, respected and appreciated for what it was,” said Malika Polk-Lee, executive director of the BB King Museum & Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, Mississippi. “Mr King was the blues ambassador to the world. Wherever he went, he represented that genre and did it to the best of his ability.”
Lauded for his distinctive voice and intricate guitar playing, King won 15 Grammy Awards, received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and was inducted into both Rock & Roll and the Blues Halls of Fame. He is credited by many for helping to bring the blues to a global stage. However, even after international acclaim, King remained a champion of the Southern towns and cities that shaped him.
“He showed us a lot of love, and it continues to this day. We’re just glad that he decided to make his way to Memphis and really join that music family that we had at the time,” said Camille Connor, public relations manager at Memphis Travel. “He was a big part of opening [BB King’s Blues Club and that] opening is really what reinvigorated Beale Street in Memphis. The Beale Street we see today, it really came back because of the draw of that club.”
Here are four spots along the Blues Trail where visitors can celebrate BB King and the music he made famous:
Jackson, Mississippi
Begin your journey in Jackson, Mississippi’s state capital and the unofficial gateway to the Blues Trail. Many famous musicians lived and worked in and around the city during the height of Mississippi’s blues era, from the 1920s to the 1940s. Though King himself never lived here, Jackson hosted the kick-off of the centennial celebration of his birth in January, and it will conclude the festivities with the Legacies of Empowerment programme at the National Folk Festival from 7-9 November. The event features music, arts and food honouring the cultural and social contributions of both King and civil rights activist Medgar Evers, a fellow Mississippian who would also have turned 100 this year.
Indianola, Mississippi
Continue north into the Delta and you’ll reach King’s hometown of Indianola. The main draw here is the BB King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, which highlights King’s musical legacy, but also touches on some of the many obstacles African Americans living in the south in the mid-1900s like King had to overcome. The space also serves as the musician’s final resting place, and visitors can pay their respects to the legend. The museum is hosting an extensive birthday programme that includes a festival on 9 September, a parade on 14 September and a concert at Club Ebony – the juke joint where King first performed – on 13 September, complete with a hologram experience of King playing alongside live musicians.
Clarksdale, Mississippi
Drive 60 miles further north through cotton fields and quaint Southern towns and you’ll arrive at “the Crossroads”, a monument just outside Clarksdale. This sculpture references another famous blues musician, Robert Johnson, who, according to legend, sold his soul at a crossroads (maybe even this one) to become a great musician. Though King never lived in Clarksdale himself, the small town is considered ground zero for blues music, since many famous musicians, including King, performed here. Visitors can see one of King’s legendary Gibson guitars, which he named Lucille, at the Delta Blues Museum, and watch interviews with musicians who played with King. Music lovers should also visit the Ground Zero Blues Club to see modern blues musicians carry on the tradition any night of the week.
Memphis, Tennessee
One of the most significant cities along the Mississippi Blues Trail is located just over the state border in Memphis, Tennessee. The neon lights of Beale Street is where King’s career began in 1947, working at Memphis’ famous African American radio station WDIA, before going on to play at local clubs alongside musicians like Muddy Waters and WC Handy. Memphis is marking the centennial with themed tours, exhibitions and events, including a special display of rarely seen photos of King and other blues legends at the Withers Museum & Gallery; and a special Mojo Music Tour which takes guests to blues-related attractions and sites. Perhaps the most anticipated event is the Beale Street Birthday Bash on 14 September, a night of music and revelry on the legendary thoroughfare.
Sourse: BBC
