Mississippi Blues Trail
![Blues Trail marker in Hernando, Mississippi](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ec/Beale_Town_Bound_Blues_Trail_Marker_Hernando_MS_01.jpg/200px-Beale_Town_Bound_Blues_Trail_Marker_Hernando_MS_01.jpg)
The Mississippi Blues Trail was created by the Mississippi Blues Commission in 2006 to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the birth, growth, and influence of the blues throughout (and in some cases beyond) the state of Mississippi. Within the state the trail extends from the Gulf Coast north along several highways to (among other points) Natchez, Vicksburg, Jackson, Leland, Greenwood, Clarksdale, Tunica, Grenada, Oxford, Columbus, and Meridian. The largest concentration of markers is in the Mississippi Delta, but other regions of the state are also commemorated. Several out-of-state markers have also been erected where blues with Mississippi roots has had significance, such as Chicago.[1]
Implementation
The list of markers and locations was developed by a panel of blues scholars and historians. The trail has been implemented in stages as funds have become available. The National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Mississippi Department of Transportation have provided grants for funding of various markers, which are co-sponsored with funds from local communities. The marker texts are researched and written by Jim O'Neal and Scott Barretta, former editors of Living Blues magazine, together with an editorial and design team that has included Wanda Clark; Chrissy Wilson; Allan Hammons; and Sylvester Oliver.[2]
Prior to the founding of the Mississippi Blues Trail, two preliminary markers were placed in Indianola, Mississippi, at a corner where B.B. King played as a young man, and at the Club Ebony.
The first three Mississippi Blues Trail markers were dedicated on December 11, 2006. The first, at Holly Ridge, is dedicated to Delta blues pioneer Charley Patton.[3]
The second marker is located by the Southern Whispers Restaurant on Nelson Street in Greenville. Nelson Street, the home of many nightclubs, cafes, and juke joints over the years, was once the primary center of African-American business, entertainment, and social life in the Delta.[4] For many decades this historic strip drew crowds to the flourishing club scene to hear Delta blues; big band; jump blues; rhythm & blues; and jazz.
The third marker was unveiled at the original location of WGRM radio station in Greenwood, where B.B. King first broadcast as a gospel singer.[4]
By the end of 2016, the Mississippi Blues Trail had placed nearly 200 markers.[5] They honored individual artists, clubs, record companies, radio stations, and historic events, but also the plantations, streets, cities, and counties that developed as centers of blues activity. Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman was also commemorated, as folklorists such as Alan Lomax recorded blues there by inmates (most notably Bukka White) on several occasions, dating to the 1930s.[6]
Current markers
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Locations are in Mississippi unless otherwise stated.
Marker name | Marker location | Photograph | Notes | |
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100 Men D.B.A. Hall | Bay St. Louis | |||
Abbay & Leatherman | Robinsonville | Robinsonville is now known as Tunica Resorts, Mississippi | ||
Aberdeen Mississippi Blues | Aberdeen | |||
Ace Records | Jackson | ![]() |
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Albert King | Indianola | ![]() |
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Alamo Theater/Dorothy Moore | Jackson | |||
Alligator Blues | Alligator | ![]() |
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Amory: Blues From A Railroad Town | Amory | |||
Arthur Crudup | Forest | |||
B.B. King Birthplace | Berclair | ![]() |
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B.B. King's Roots | Kilmichael | |||
Baptist Town | Greenwood | ![]() |
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Beale Town Bound | Hernando | ![]() |
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Big Jack Johnson | Clarksdale | ![]() |
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Big Joe Williams | Crawford | |||
Big Walter Horton | Horn Lake | ![]() |
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Biloxi Blues | Biloxi | |||
Birthplace Of The Blues? | Dockery Plantation | ![]() |
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Black Prairie Blues | Macon | |||
Blue Front Cafe | Bentonia | ![]() |
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Blues and Jazz in the Pass | Pass Christian | |||
Blues Deejays | Greenwood | |||
Blues Legends of Duncan | Duncan | |||
Bo Diddley | McComb | |||
Bobby Rush | Jackson | |||
Broadcasting the Blues | Gulfport | |||
Brookhaven Blues | Brookhaven | |||
Buddy Guy | Lettsworth, Louisiana | |||
Bukka White | Houston | |||
Calhoun County Blues | Bruce | |||
Casey Jones | Water Valley | |||
Cassandra Wilson | Jackson | |||
Charley Patton gravesite | Holly Ridge | ![]() |
Blues singers Asie Payton and Willie James Foster are also buried at this cemetery with Charley Patton. | |
Charlie Musselwhite | Kosciusko | |||
Choctaw County Blues | Weir |
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Chrisman Street | Cleveland | ![]() |
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Church Street | Indianola | ![]() |
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Clinton's Blues Legacy | Clinton |
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Club Desire | Canton | ![]() |
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Club Ebony | Indianola | ![]() |
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Columbus - Catfish Alley | Columbus | |||
Corner of 10 and 61 | Leland | ![]() |
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Cotton Pickin Blues | Hopson | ![]() |
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Delta Blues Museum | Clarksdale | ![]() |
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Denise LaSalle | Belzoni | ![]() |
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Documenting The Blues | Oxford |
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Dorothy Moore | Jackson |
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Eddie Shaw | Benoit | ![]() |
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Eddie Taylor | Benoit | ![]() |
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Edwards Hotel | Jackson |
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Elks Hart Lodge No. 640 | Greenwood | ![]() |
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Elmore James | Ebenezer | ![]() |
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Elvis Presley and the Blues | Tupelo | ![]() |
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Fred McDowell | Como | Two other Blues Trail markers are in the same area with this marker that honors Othar Turner and Napolian Strickland. | ||
Freedom Village | Greenville | ![]() |
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Furry Lewis | Greenwood | ![]() |
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Gatemouth Moore | Yazoo City | ![]() |
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Gold Coast | Flowood |
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Gospel Music and the Blues | Cleveland |
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Reverend C.L. Franklin, father of R&B singer Aretha Franklin, preached his first trial sermon at St. Peter's Rock M.B. Church, where this Blues Trail marker is located. [7] | |
Grammy Museum Mississippi | Cleveland | ![]() |
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Greasy Street | Ruleville | ![]() |
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Grenada Blues | Grenada |
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Guitar Slim | Shellmound | ![]() |
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Gulfport Boogie | Gulfport |
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H.C. Speir | Jackson |
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Harlem Inn | Winstonville | ![]() |
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Harold "Hardface" Clanton | Tunica | ![]() |
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Henry Townsend | Shelby | ![]() |
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Hi-Hat Club | Hattiesburg |
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Hickory Street (The Hollow) | Canton | ![]() |
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Highway 61 Blues | Robinsonville | ![]() |
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Hill Country Blues | Holly Springs |
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Holmes County Blues (Lexington) | Lexington | ![]() |
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Holmes County Blues (Tchula) | Tchula | ![]() |
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HoneyBoy Edwards | Shaw | ![]() |
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Hot Tamales And The Blues | Rosedale | ![]() |
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Howlin' Wolf | West Point | ![]() |
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Hubert Sumlin | Greenwood | ![]() |
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Ike Turner | Clarksdale | ![]() |
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Ishmon Bracey | Jackson |
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Ishmon Bracey is buried at Willow Park Cemetery, which is located across the street from the Blues Trail marker.
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J.B. Lenoir | Monticello |
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Jack Owens | Bentonia |
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James Cotton | Clayton | ![]() |
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Jessie Mae Hemphill | Senatobia |
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Jessie Mae Hemphill is buried at Senatobia Memorial Cemetery.
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Jimmie Lunceford | Fulton |
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James "Son" Thomas | Leland | ![]() |
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Jimmie Rodgers | Meridian | |||
Jimmy Reed | Dunleith | ![]() |
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Jimmy Rogers | Ruleville | ![]() |
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Joe Callicott | Nesbit |
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John Lee Hooker | Vance | ![]() |
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Johnny Winter | Leland | ![]() |
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Jones County Blues | Laurel |
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Lil Green | Port Gibson |
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Little Milton | Inverness | ![]() |
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Livin' at Lula | Lula | ![]() |
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Magic Sam | Grenada | ![]() |
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Magic Slim | Grenada |
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Malaco Records | Jackson | ![]() |
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Tommy McClennan | Yazoo City | ![]() |
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Memphis Minnie | Walls | ![]() |
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Meridian Blues and Jazz[8] | Corner of 5th Street & 25th Avenue Meridian |
More than 30 musicians are acknowledged at this marker including Alvin Fielder and Eddie Houston. It is located on the former site of the Fielder & Brooks Pharmacy, which Fielder's father (Alvin Fielder Sr., also a musician) started in 1934. | ||
Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues Festival | Pascagoula | |||
Mississippi John Hurt | Avalon | |||
Mississippi River Blues: The 1927 Flood | Scott | ![]() |
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Mose Allison | Tippo | ![]() |
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Mound Bayou Blues | Mound Bayou | ![]() |
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Muddy Waters | Rolling Fork | ![]() |
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Muddy Waters' cabin site | Clarksdale | ![]() |
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Nelson Street | Greenville | ![]() |
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Natchez Burning (Natchez Rhythm Club) | Natchez | ![]() |
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Otis Rush | Philadelphia | |||
Parchman Blues | Parchman | ![]() |
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Peavey Electronics | Meridian | ![]() |
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Pinetop Perkins | Belzoni | ![]() |
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Po' Monkey's | Merigold | ![]() |
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Prince McCoy | Greenville | ![]() |
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Rabbit Foot Minstrels | Port Gibson | ![]() |
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Ralph Lembo | Itta Bena | ![]() |
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Rediscovery of Son House | Rochester, New York | ![]() |
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Red Tops | Vicksburg | |||
Riverside Hotel | Clarksdale | ![]() |
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Riley B. King | Indianola | ![]() |
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Robert Johnson birthplace | Hazlehurst | |||
Robert Johnson gravesite | Greenwood | ![]() |
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Robert Nighthawk | Friars Point | ![]() |
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Rocket "88" | Lyon | ![]() |
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Rosedale | Rosedale | ![]() |
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Sam Chatmon | Hollandale | ![]() |
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Sam Cooke | Clarksdale | ![]() |
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Skip James | Bentonia | ![]() |
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Son House | Clack | ![]() |
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Sonny Boy Williamson | Glendora | ![]() |
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Sonny Boy Williamson In Helena | Helena | ![]() |
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Subway Lounge | Jackson | |||
Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival | Clarksdale | ![]() |
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Sunnyland Slim: Quitman County Blues | Lambert | ![]() |
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The Enlightenment of W.C. Handy | Cleveland | ![]() |
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The Hollywood Cafe | Robinsonville | ![]() |
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The New World | Clarksdale | ![]() |
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The Peavine | Boyle | ![]() |
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The Staple Singers | Drew | ![]() |
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Tommy Johnson | Crystal Springs | ![]() |
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Trumpet Records | Jackson | |||
Turner's Drug Store | Belzoni | ![]() |
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Two Steps From The Blues | Ackerman | ![]() |
Texas Johnny Brown,[9] a native of Ackerman, Mississippi, wrote the blues song "Two Steps from the Blues". | |
Tyrone Davis | Leland | ![]() |
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Wade Walton | Clarksdale | ![]() |
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W.C. Handy Encounters The Blues | Tutwiler | ![]() |
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WGRM Radio Studio | Greenwood | ![]() |
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"Where The Southern Cross The Dog" | Moorhead | ![]() |
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Willie Dixon | Vicksburg | |||
WROX | Clarksdale | ![]() |
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Blues At The Overton Park Shell | Memphis, Tennessee | This is the 213th Mississippi Blues Trail marker, dedicated on September 23, 2023 | ||
Mississippi To Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | |||
Grammy Awards | Los Angeles, California | |||
Mississippi To Memphis | Memphis, Tennessee | |||
Mississippi to Alabama | Muscle Shoals, Alabama | |||
Blues Trail: Mississippi to Florida | Tallahassee, Florida | ![]() |
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Mississippi to Helena | Helena, Arkansas | ![]() |
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Mississippi to Louisiana | Ferriday, Louisiana | |||
Mississippi to Maine | Rockland, Maine | |||
Norway | Notodden, Telemark, Norway | |||
Paramount Records | Grafton, Wisconsin | |||
The Blues Foundation | Memphis, Tennessee |
Source: Mississippi Blues Trail official web site
See also
References
- ^ Widen, Larry. "JS Online: Blues trail". Jsonline.com. Archived from the original on 2007-12-15. Retrieved 2008-05-29.
- ^ "Mississippi Blues Commission - Blues trail". Msbluestrail.org. Archived from the original on 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
- ^ "Haley Barbour Unveils First Marker of Mississippi Blues Trail". Jazz News. Retrieved 2007-02-09.
- ^ a b "Blues Matters! - Delta sites to be included on new blues trail". Bluesmatters.com. Retrieved 2008-05-28.[dead link]
- ^ "Mississippi Blues Commission - List of Blues Trail Markers". Msbluestrail.org. Retrieved 2017-04-22.
- ^ "BLUES TRAIL MARKS PARCHMAN AS MAJOR INFLUENCE Archived 2012-03-08 at the Wayback Machine." State of Mississippi. September 23, 2010. Retrieved on October 3, 2010.
- ^ "Gospel and the Blues - The Mississippi Blues Trail". msbluestrail.org. Retrieved 2023-10-13.
- ^ Neary, Michael (3 November 2017). "Marker celebrates Meridian's contribution to blues, jazz music". Meridian Star. Meridian, Mississippi. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
More than 30 musicians, King noted, are recognized on the marker -- the 198th to be unveiled along the Mississippi Blues Trail.
- ^ "Mississippi honors Houston's Texas Johnny Brown - Houston Chronicle". Chron.com. 2011-09-01. Retrieved 2013-07-06.
External links
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