As one of Our Recommendations and Recommended Books, we are recommending Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood Of 1927 And How It Changed America, by John M. Barry.
Rising Tide: The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 and How It Changed America, by John M. Barry – book cover
Continue reading Book Recommendation – Rising Tide by John M. Barry
There are two reputable organizations we are aware of which are placing markers on Blues Musicians’ Graves, often on unmarked graves.
One is the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund; the other is The Killer Blues Headstone Project.
Here is a video about The Killer Blues Headstone Project.
Here are a few of the grave stones placed by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund which we have visited:
Memphis Minnie, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, Walls, Mississippi
Mississippi Fred McDowell, Hammond Hill Missionary Baptist Church, Como, Panola County, Mississippi
Click these links to see a list of the gravestones placed by The Killer Blues Headstone Project and by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund.
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One of readers, Keith Petersen, used our website’s information on Emmett Till to plan a visit to sites connected to the Emmett Till murder in August 1955. Keith Petersen is associated with The Killer Blues Headstone Project.
Keith Petersen has kindly provided us with some photos he took of the site of J.W. Milam’s former house in Glendora, Mississippi and the adjacent M.B. Lowe’s Glendora [Cotton] Gin. Keith Petersen took these photos during his recent trip to Mississippi.
In August 1955, J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, the owner of Bryant’s Grocery in Money, Mississippi, beat and then murdered Emmett Till in a barn behind J.W. Milam’s house. They then took a 70 lbs. metal fan from the adjacent M.B. Lowe’s Glendora Gin, attached the fan to Emmett Till’s body with barbed wire and threw the body and the fan into the Tallahatchie River, where Emmett Till’s body was found a few days later.
The former M.B. Lowe’s Glendora Gin building is now the site of the Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Centre.
Our thanks to Keith Petersen for providing the photos above. We have not yet visited this site but we plan to do so on our next trip to Mississippi.
For more site connected to the Emmett Till murder, see our pages on Bryant’s Grocery, Tutwiler Funeral Home and the Emmett Till Murder Trial.
Glendora, Mississippi is also the birthplace of Sonny Boy Williamson.
Readers interested in Sonny Boy Williamson may also want to visit his grave outside Tutwiler, Tallahatchie County, Mississippi
A new book about the Emmett Till Murder in 1955, called The Blood Of Emmett Till, to be released next week, reportedly states that Carolyn Bryant Donham, now 82, has recanted her 1955 statement that 14 year old Emmett Till made sexual advances to her at Bryant’s Grocery in Money, Leflore County, Mississippi.
In August 1955, the then 21 year old Carolyn Bryant claimed that 14 year old Emmett Till had made sexual advances and comments to her in Bryant’s Grocery, the store she ran with her then husband Roy Bryant.
Caroline Bryant’s allegations resulted in Emmett Till being kidnapped, tortured and murdered by Caroline Bryant’s husband, Roy Bryant and his half- brother J.W. Milam.
A few days later, Emmett Till’s mutilated body was discovered in the Tallhatchie River.
Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam were charged with Emmett Till’s murder and in September 1955 their trial was held in the Tallahatchie County Courthouse in Sumner, Mississippi. They were both acquitted but later sold their story to Look Magazine, which published an article in its 24 January 1956 issue in which both Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam confessed to murdering Emmett Till, . Continue reading New Book About Emmett Till Murder Says Carolyn Bryant Donham Has Recanted Her 1955 Story
In the late 1920’s Ralph Lembo ran a music store at 114 Humphries Street in Itta Bena, Leflore County, Mississippi. We have a page about Ralph Lembo’s store in Itta Bena on this site.
Until now blues historians have only written about one Ralph Lembo Music Store, i,e, the one at 114 Humphries Street in Itta Bena. The Ralph Lembo store in Itta Bena was the only Ralph Lembo store that Mississippi Blues Travellers was aware of prior to today. Continue reading New Historical Information About The Ralph Lembo Music Store In Itta Bena
Some Google Maps Street Views on Getting To Mississippi John Hurt’s Grave
Some of our readers have recently reported having difficulty finding Mississippi John Hurt’s grave using the GPS locations we have shown on our webpage about Mississippi John Hurt’s grave. If other readers are experiencing similar difficulties, here are some Google Maps Street View images of the route to the grave. We hope these images help resolve some of these reported problems.
First, start off at the Mississippi Department of Archives & History marker at the intersection of Highway 7 and Carroll County Road 41. (note: when we were last there, the road sign on this road said “Carroll County Road 204” and we have used that road designation on our webpage. To avoid confusion here, we will use the Google Maps reference to County Road 41.)
The Google Street View image above shows the intersection of Mississippi Highway 7 and Carroll County Road 41. The Mississippi Department of Archives & History has placed a commemorative marker at this intersection to honor Mississippi John Hurt. Continue reading Some Readers Have Reported Problems Finding Mississippi John Hurt’s Grave
Alan Lomax (1915 – 2002) played a major role in recording Delta blues artists from the 1930’s to 1978.
In the 1930’s he worked with his father, John Lomax. They made a trip through the southern United States in which they discovered and recorded Huddy Ledbetter in Angola State Penitentiary in Louisiana.
In 1941 and 1942, he made recording trips to Mississippi for the Library of Congress, which resulted in recordings of Muddy Waters, Son House, David “Honeyboy” Edwards and others.
Here are some of the highlights of Alan Lomax’s career which relate to Mississippi and the Delta blues. Continue reading Alan Lomax – Some Sites Associated With Alan Lomax Sessions
This Tennessee Historical Commission marker is located outside the King’s Palace Cafe at 162 Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee.The Hooks Brothers Photography Studio was located at 164 Beale Street, which is now the second floor of the King’s Palace Cafe building, in the space currently occupied by the Absinthe Pool Room.
Hooks Brothers Photography was established in 1907 at 164 Beale Street, Memphis, Tennessee and, over the years, took photographic portraits of many well known people in Memphis history, particularly people from the African-American community.
Circa 1934-1938, Hooks Brothers Photography also took the only known studio portrait of a then virtually unknown blues musician named Robert Johnson.
The front of this marker reads:
“HOOKS BROTHERS PHOTOGRAPHY ESTABLISHED IN 1907 – Established by Henry Hooks, Sr. and his brother Robert B. Hooks, Hooks Brothers Photography Studio was the second oldest continuously operating black business in Memphis. Located during its early years at 164 Beale Street, it next moved to Linden Avenue and finally to McLemore Avenue where it ceased operation after a destructive fire in 1979.” Continue reading Hooks Brothers Photography – Where The Only Known Studio Portrait of Robert Johnson Was Taken
On 9 May 2016 we received an enquiry, through our Contact Us page, from Thelma Collins, the Mayor of Itta Bena, Leflore County, Mississippi, who told us she had seen our page on Ralph Lembo’s Store in Itta Bena and was considering applying for a Mississippi Blues Trail marker in Itta Bena.
Although there are several Mississippi Blues Trail markers near Itta Bena, there are not any actually in Itta Bena at this time.
Mayor Collins was thinking of a new Mississippi Blues Trail marker about B.B. King, who was born near Itta Bena and frequently travelled through the town.
We have just sent an email to Mayor Collins recommending that Itta Bena apply for a Mississippi Blues Trail marker outside Ralph Lembo’s former store, which is still standing in downtown Itta Bena, and which is not commemorated or formally recognized in any way for its place in Blues History. We have also suggested that Mayor Collins look into getting a Mississippi Department of Archives & History marker for Ralph Lembo’s store.
For those unfamiliar with Ralph Lembo, he ran a furniture store in Itta Bena during the 1920’s and 1930’s and also acted as a talent scout for record labels like Paramount Records and Columbia Records.
Ralph Lembo is known to have set up a recording session for Rube Lacey and another for Booker “Bukka” White.
Ralph Lembo’s store in Itta Bena was central to that history.
For more information see our page on Ralph Lembo’s store in Itta Bena.
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“Goin’ Where The Southern Cross The Dog” appears as a lyric in W.C. Handy’s composition Yellow Dog Blues, which he copyrighted in 1914. It refers to the junction of the of two rail lines, the Southern R.R. and the Yazoo Delta R.R. (later part of the Illinois Central) in Moorhead, Mississippi. Here is the origin of the W.C. Handy’s well known song, Yellow Dog Blues, and its equally well known lyric.
Here’s a clip of Bessie Smith’s 1925 recording of Yellow Dog Blues, with Fletcher Henderson (piano), Coleman Hawkins (tenor sax), Joe Smith (cornet), Charlie Green (trombone) and Buster Bailey (clarinet).
The Yazoo Delta RR was nicknamed the “Yellow Dog.” The Ruleville Depot National Historic Register designation says this nickname came about because the Yazoo Delta RR’s s locomotives and rolling stock were constantly covered in yellow dust from the surrounding agricultural areas and because of the trains’ habit of regularly jumping jumping the tracks.
W.C Handy gives a different explanation for the origin of the nickname “Yellow Dog” in Chapter 6 of his autobiography.
In W.C. Handy’s version, a “blistering sun beats down upon a gang of black section hands during the late nineties [note: construction of the the Yazoo Delta Railroad began in 1897]. They are working down in Mississippi, laying the railroad tracks for the Yazoo Delta line between Clarksdale and Yazoo City. Their hammers rise and fall rhythmically as they drive the heavy spikes and sing ‘Dis ole hammer killed John Henry, won’t kill me. Dis ole hammer killed John Henry, won’t kill me.’
A locomotive, following the progress of the men, is steaming idly on the track. The letters ‘Y.D.’ are painted boldy on its coal car.
A travelling salesman comes up the embankment, mops the sweat from his face, shifts a chaw of tobacco from one bulging red cheek to the other, and says:
‘Hey, boy. What in tarnation does that Y.D. stand for?’
A Negro straightens up, rubs the kink out of his back and begins to scratch his head in obvious puzzlement.
‘H’m,’ he ventures slowly. ‘Yaller Dawg, I reckon.’
The strangers eyes twinkle. He cackles softly and walks on down the track. ‘Yaller Dawg,’ he repeats under his breath. ‘that’s pretty cute, hanged if it ain’t. Yaller Dawg. Gee whiz, that’s a good one.’ The Yazoo Delta R.R. was christened The Yellow Dog.
The story was circulated and the idea spread until one branch of of the Yazoo Delta was known as the North Dog. For reasons equally suggestive, the fast, direct train from Clarksdale to Greenville was known as the Cannon Ball, while its slow-time, round-about companion between those points was called the Peavine. Negroes had nicknamed all those roads.”
Whatever the source of the Yazoo Delta Railroad’s nickname of the “Yellow Dog,” W.C. Handy used the name in his composition Yellow Dog Blues, which he copyrighted in 1914 and which featured the lyric, “I’m Going Where The Southern Cross The Dog“, referring to the rail intersection of Southern Railway with the “Yellow Dog” in Moorhead, Missisippi.
The name “Yellow Dog” also figures in W.C. Handy’s story of his first hearing the blues in about 1903-04 at the railway station in Tutwiler, Mississippi.
For blues historians, Tutwiler, Mississippi is probably best known as the place where W.C. Handy first discovered the blues, likely around 1903-1904, as he was waiting at Tutwiler’s railway station for a delayed train. At that time, Handy was managing a band based in Clarksdale, Mississippi. The photo below shows the site of the Tutwiler, Mississippi train station as it appears today. The train station has been demolished but the concrete pad on the left of the photograph is what remains of the foundation and floor of the Tutwiler train station.
Here’s how W.C. Handy described it in his autobiography
“The band which I found in Clarksdale and the nine-man orchestra which grew out of it did yeoman duty in the Delta. We played for affairs of every description. I came to know by heart every foot of the Delta, even from Clarksdale to Lambert on the Dog and Yazoo City. I could call every stop, water tower and pig path on the Peavine with my eyes closed. It all became a familiar, monotonous round. Then one night in Tutwiler, as I nodded in the railroad station while waiting for a train that had been delayed nine hours, life suddenly took me by the shoulder and wakened me with a start.
A lean, loose-jointed Negro had commenced plunking a guitar beside me while I slept. His clothes were rags, his feet peeped out of his shoes. As he played he pressed a knife on the strings of the guitar in a manner popularized by Hawaiian guitarists who use steel bars. [note: to see what W.C. Handy was describing, watch this video of Bukka White playing Poor Boy in the early 1960s]
The effect was unforgettable. His song, too, struck me instantly. Goin’ where the Southern cross’ the Dog.
The singer repeated the line three times, accompanying himself on the guitar with the weirdest music I had ever heard. The tune stayed in my mind. When the singer paused, I leaned over and asked him what the words meant. He rolled his eyes, showing a trace of mild amusement. Perhaps I should have known, but he didn’t mind explaining. At Moorhead the eastbound and the westbound met and crossed the north and southbound trains four times a day. This fellow was going where the Southern cross’ the Dog, and he didn’t care who knew it. He was simply singing about Moorhead as he waited.
That was not unusual. Southern Negroes sang about everything. Trains, steamboats, steam whistles, sledge hammers, fast women, mean bosses, stubborn mules – all become subjects for their songs.They accompany themselves on anything from which they can extract a musical sound or rhythmical effect, anything from a harmonica to a washboard.
In this way, and from these materials, they set the mood for what we now call blues…….”
This chance encounter at Tutwiler’s railway station sparked W.C. Handy’s interest in the blues. He became aware of the commercial potential of the blues during a performance in Cleveland, Mississippi circa 1905. The Mississippi Blues Trail has commemorated that event with its Enlightenment of W.C. Handy marker in Cleveland.
After these encounters in Tutwiler, Mississippi and in Cleveland, Mississippi, W.C. Handy changed his own musical direction to a course which led to his becoming one of the most influential figures in the history of American music.
The photo below shows the Mississippi Blues Trail marker in Tutwiler, Mississippi commemorating W.C. Handy’s first encounter with the blues. It stands near the remains of Tutwiler’s former train station.
The inscription reads:
“W.C. HANDY ENCOUNTERS THE BLUES
Bandleader W.C. Handy was waiting for a train here at the Tutwiler railway station circa 1903 when he heard a man playing slide guitar with a knife and singing ‘Goin’ where the Southern cross’ the Dog.’ Handy later published an adaptation of this song as ‘Yellow Dog Blues,’ and became known as the ‘father of the Blues’ after he based many of his popular orchestrations on the sounds he heard in Tutwiler.”
The GPS location of this Mississippi Blues Trail marker in Tutwiler, Mississippi is: N34° 00.875′ W90° 25.919′
The photos below shows the actual location “where the Southern cross’ the Dog” in Moorhead, Mississippi. This photo shows the view looking north, the second photo shows the view looking south.
A Mississippi Department of Archives & History marker (shown in the photos above) has been placed at the location where the rail lines intersected. Given the significance of this location in Blues history as a result of W.C. Handy’s Yellow Dog Blues, we were surprised to find that there was no Mississippi Blues Trail marker in Moorhead to commemorate “where the Southern cross’ the Dog.” The Mississippi Blues Trail has since erected a marker in Moorhead.
The GPS location of the Mississippi Department of Archives & History marker for “where the Southern Crosses the Yellow Dog” in Moorhead, Mississippi is: N33° 26.951′ W90° 30.414′
The GPS location of the actual spot “where the Southern cross’ the Dog” is: N33° 26.952′ W90° 30.415′
The Mississippi Department of Archives & History marker reads:
” ‘WHERE THE SOUTHERN CROSSES THE YELLOW DOG‘
At the start of the twentieth century, the rail crossing once located nearby was an important land transportation point. The junction of the Southern Railroad and the Yazoo Delta Railroad (the ‘Yellow Dog’) was established in 1897. For decades it was the Delta’s major rail link, making Moorhead one of the region’s most active passenger and freight connections. The crossing gained national fame in 1914 with W.C. Handy’s seminal blues song ‘The Yellow Dog Blues.’ ”
Other blues songs mentioning the Yellow Dog or this specific location in Moorhead include:
Removal of the Railroad Tracks In Moorhead, Mississippi
The rail tracks were removed when the railways shut down these lines in the late 1970’s. When the tracks were taken up, the railroads had no plans to leave tracks in place to mark “where the Southern cross the Dog.” The railroads wanted to remove all the rails and scrap them. They eventually relented when Moorhead residents demanded that rail tracks be left in place to mark this important location in Blues history.
While we were in Moorhead, Mississippi we met a lifelong resident of the town named Gail Oswalt, who told us that her late husband, Steve Oswalt, had been Mayor of Moorhead between 1973 and 1993 and was Moorhead’s Mayor when the railways took up the rail tracks through Moorhead after the rail lines were closed in the late 1970s. She told us her late husband “threw a fit” when he heard of the railroad’s plans to remove all the rail tracks from Moorhead and scrap them. Mayor Oswalt asked the railway to leave the rail tracks in place in Moorhead to commemorate the importance of this rail intersection in American music history but the railway management strongly resisted this request. Gail said her late husband, along with the Moorhead Town Council and local residents, fought a very time consuming battle to get the railway management to leave some of the tracks in place in Moorhead. As a result of their actions, a short section of track was replaced at the former rail intersection to commemorate “where the Southern cross’ the Dog.”
Local residents told us that this house (shown below) near the southwest corner of the former rail intersection in Moorhead, Mississippi was the home of Chester Pond, who built the Yazoo Delta R.R. in 1897. They also told us that Chester Ponds was instrumental in developing the town of Moorhead.
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