Destination: The Delta (A Love Letter to Mississippi)

Later this year, I hope to make one of my blues dreams come true. For years I've read about Memphis, and have wanted to use this city as my home base for a trip to the Mississippi Delta, and in September I just might get that chance.

I work for the Office of Youth Services of the U.S. Department of Labor, and I travel frequently. Wherever I go, I try to check out the local blues scene, if there is one. Even in tiny Kasigluk, Alaska, one hour by bush plane West out of Bethel in the center of the state, I was pleased to hear Robert Cray and B.B. King on a satellite radio feed. One of my favorite projects in my day job is the Youth Opportunity Grant program, a competitive grant to 36 communities in need across the nation, including the island of Moloka'i in Hawaii, the Ogallala Sioux Nation in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and a statewide project serving American Indian and Alaska Native people in Alaska.

This Fall, the Memphis Youth Opportunity Program will host a meeting of representatives of the 36 YO! sites to share ideas on how these innovative youth programs help young people succeed in school through music. The working title of this three-day workshop is currently "YO! in the Studio," and it will showcase how the Memphis project has drawn upon that city's rich musical heritage to reach in-school and out-of-school young people between the ages of 14 and 21. The project's partners include Stax Museum of American Soul Music, Stax Music Academy, and Soulsville, a local nonprofit organization dedicated to rebuilding some of Memphis' musical heritage.

Once the workshop's done, I'll explore some of the best that Memphis has to offer, including the historic Peabody Hotel with its daily duck procession and the storied nightclubs of Beale Street. I also hope to check out the Blues Foundation, the organization that sponsors the annual W.C. Handy Awards, in addition to many other blues events in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles.

While I'm a big fan of the blues, I may be a bigger fan, if that's possible, of the State of Mississippi. Last year I had the privilege of working in Biloxi, on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and have pleasant memories of driving down on I-10, not to mention the great food and gracious hospitality of Mississippians.

There are five distinct tourism areas to Mississippi: The Delta, The Capital and River Region, The Coastal Region, The Pines, and The Hills. This September, I'll explore The Delta and part of the Hills in the Northern part of the state.

I'll drive South from Memphis to the crossroads where, according to blues legend, Robert Johnson made a pact with the devil at the intersection of Highway 49 and Route 61 near Clarksdale. Clarksdale's home to the Delta Blues Museum, a renovated railroad station that has been turned in to a blues destination complex. I'll also check out the Ground Zero Blues Club at Clarksdale Station, a blues club and restaurant co-owned by Mississippi native Morgan Freeman. Sam Cooke and John Lee Hooker are two of Clarksdale's honored favorite sons, and Muddy Waters' boyhood cabin is one of the many displays at the Delta Blues Museum.

After Clarksdale, I'll drive Highway 49E down to Greenwood and over to Indianola and Cleveland. On this part of my pilgrimage, I will do my best to find local juke joints to see some live blues. Cleveland is the home of the Dockery Plantation, the home of several bluesmen in the pre-World War Two era, most notably Charley Patton.

Leaving the Delta, I'll drive East to The Hills section of the state to check out Tupelo and Oxford. Tupelo is Elvis Presley's birthplace, and includes the Elvis Presley Museum, Memorial Chapel and Elvis Presley Park. Tupelo was also an important strategic town for the Confederacy in 1864, and Brices Crossroads National Battlefield and the Tupelo National Battlefield are also on my dream itinerary for this dream trip.

Before heading back to Memphis, I'll reserve a full day for the Center for the Study of Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, better known in football circles as "Ole Miss." The Center publishes Living Blues magazine, perhaps the oldest voice of the blues in print as it celebrates its 32nd birthday this year. The University's blues archive is one of the world's largest devoted to the blues, and it includes B.B. King's personal record collection of more than 10,000 recordings.

There you have it. My dream trip that just might become a reality in a few short months. Until I'm heading toward the Crossroads, click on over to this month's collection of CD Reviews for some blues you can use.

(C) 2002 - Eric Steiner