Well...I'm 40 this year and I've been listening to the Blues since I was 16. Like many of my generation, I was introduced to the Delta blues by the Movie "Crossroads". That movie changed my life and started a love affair with the music from the Delta that is still hot with me today. The same night I saw that movie, I came home and cut two inches off of a copper pipe sitting in my Dad's shop. I blew the dust off my Sears acoustic guitar (a birthday present, age 14) and started to really be inspired about playing. The Delta Blues has nursed me through some tough times over the years and has helped me celebrate the good times, too. I have always wanted to see where my heroes, Big Bill Broonzy, Robert Johnson, Elmore James, Muddy Waters and Son House lived. I'm hoping this pilgrimage will allow me to pay my respects, get me closer to those great men and infuse me with blues. Look out...the guitar's packed, my beautiful wife is on board and the plan's approved by accounting! We're headed down that highway - destination Delta.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

This is the Abbay & Leatherman Plantation Where Robert Johnson spent his formative years. It is a marker on the blues trail and a very beautiful and peaceful spot. Thanks to Dawn for taking this photo of me with my guitar. Tonight we arrived in Clarksadale. Friday night in Clarksdale is certainly special. We went out jookin' at the touristy "Ground Zero" (owned by Morgan Freeman) but ended up at the real deal - "Red's" on Martin Luther King Dr. . Commercial Yuppy tourist trap vs. real juke. It was an education... We preferred the real deal at "Red's". At Red's we danced to the blues magic of "Big Al". What a night! We are so Thankful that real Mississippi Juke Joints exist! We made some friends and killed some brain cells. A friday Night in Clalksdale makes you happy to be alive! Tomorrow, Helena, Greenwood and Indianola. Goodnight Toronto!
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