Monday, January 26, 2009

Tunica County is Also Home of the Blues

By Sterling Owen IV

The Tunica Times June 13, 1996

Given the recent upsurge in the popularity of blues music, it's not surprising that some of Tunica’s more populous neighbors have been making strong public claims about being the “birthplace of the blues" or "home of the blues”. For the most part, their claims are justified, and the efforts for which they seek support are very worthy. Clarksdale has been the birthplace of an unbelievable number of blues greats and their Delta Blues Museum is one of our region’s genuine treasures. Memphis was the first great urban center of the blues, and they are working hard to make Beale Street the bustling center of blues performance and history that it should be. Helena's King Biscuit Blues Festival has become a national and international event, and their Delta Cultural Center provides a moving experience of our region’s history.

However, it is possible that these highly visible centers of development have left residents of rural Delta areas feeling that they don’t share as fully in the heritage of the blues. Nothing could be further from the truth. In particular, the contributions of our own North Delta county have literally affected the course of popular music worldwide. The following is just a partial list of some of the figures who have made Tunica County one of the homes of the blues.

Son House - A colorful but tragic figure, House struggled all his life with his conflicting desires to be both a Baptist preacher and a hard-drinking bluesman. He eventually recorded both secular and spiritual songs with equal, awe-inspiring, fervor.

Born in Coahoma County at the turn of the century, House spent his most creative years in Robinsonville. During the 30's House made his first recordings, traveled with Charlie Patton, and served as a mentor to Robert Johnson. In '42, folklorist Alan Lomax made historic Library of Congress field recordings of House in the commissary at Clack. Also during the '40s, Howlin' Wolf, not yet the blues great he was to become, played the area juke joints with House.

When the folk revival of the mid-60's brought a new audience to the blues, Son House and his music were discovered. Although no longer in his prime, he was able to make a number of festival appearances and fine recordings. Also, House's interviews from this period provide one of the most lucid records of the classic era of the Delta blues.

Willie Brown - Among legendary blues musicians, Brown is an odd case. He's held in very high esteem by blues lovers, but almost entirely on the basis of his work with other musicians. Born near Cleveland in 1900, Brown began playing the blues during his teens, and from about that time on he lived on the Kirby plantation on the northern edge of Tunica County.

Both on record and in live performance, he was a regular sideman to Charlie Patton, the Delta blues' first great "superstar." Memphis Minnie, one of the greatest female blues players, was a close associate during the early '20s. Later Brown and Son House became close friends and musical partners. Brown appears alongside House in the 1942 Library of Congress recordings mentioned above. Besides these and his Patton accompaniments, however, there exist only two recorded examples of Brown's work, "Future Blues" and "M & O Blues".

Despite the sparseness of his recorded output, Brown’s contribution to the blues should not be underestimated. To have become the closest associate of Patton, one of the greatest Mississippi bluesmen, was no small accomplishment. Also, his collaborations with House served more than once as a major inspiration to up-and-coming blues giants; both Robert Johnson and Howlin’ Wolf studied the House/Brown team closely. Quite a few people recognize Brown's name as that of the “friend” Robert Johnson mentions in his famous "Crossroad Blues," which has been performed extensively by blues and rock bands alike.

Robert Johnson - possibly the greatest of the Delta bluesmen, was born in Hazlehurst, MS in 1911. When Johnson was a small child, his family moved to Robinsonville, where he was inspired to become a bluesman by the examples of Son House and Willie Brown.
Johnson's earliest attempts to play guitar weren't very impressive, though. In fact, they brought him open ridicule from House and Brown. But after disappearing from the Robinsonville area for a while, Johnson returned with musical abilities that astonished his old heroes.

Of course, Johnson probably became a great musician the same way many others have: through a combination of determined effort and natural talent. But the transformation he made from fumbling beginner to brilliant virtuoso was so startling that a legend grew up around it. According to this legend, Johnson's musical gifts were such that he could only have acquired them by selling his soul to the devil.

Robert Johnson's music has often been cited as a strong formative influence on rock and roll. Songs about him have been record by Led Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, Lynard Skynard, and many others. Also, Muddy Waters and other Mississippi natives who pioneered the Chicago blues were deeply influenced by Johnson’s style. He was truly a musical giant whose legacy transcends genre.

In 1938 Johnson died as a result of poisoning. Over fifty years later, in 1990 when Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings was released, it sold over 500,000 copies and was awarded a Grammy.

Dr. Ross - Though he's not as well known to American fans as the other Tunica bluesmen, Isaiah ''Dr." Ross made many great recordings and had a strong European audience from the 1960s until his death in the early '90s. He also holds an interesting place in blues history as one of the best examples of a one-man band, accompanying his songs with harmonica, guitar, and percussion played simultaneously. In Ross's hands this format was no mere novelty. Although harmonica was his strongest instrument, he became very proficient at the others. Also, since all of the instruments were under the control of a single musician, his guitar and harmonica were able to interact in ways that would have been almost impossible for multiple musicians.

Born in Tunica in 1925, Ross began appearing on live radio for KFFA, WROX, and WDIA during the '40s. The broadest exposure for Ross's music probably came when Eric Clapton's band Cream recorded his "Cat Squirrel" for their first album.

James Cotton - Cotton usually lists his 1935 birthplace as Tunica, but if you're from the area he'll tell you that the real site was a few miles south at Clayton. As a youngster, Cotton heard Sonny Boy Williamson on the "King Biscuit Time" radio show from Helena, and he knew that he wanted to be like that great singer/harmonica player. At nine years old, Cotton ran away from home and was taken in by Williamson, who taught him to play the blues. Just a few years later, in 1948, Cotton made his first recording as a harmonica sideman for another blues great Howlin’ Wolf. He was also soon to make records of his own for Memphis’ legendary Sun label. For a teenage boy, Cotton’s career was doing quite well.

Cotton really hit the road to fame, though, when Muddy Waters came to Memphis. Waters had just lost his harmonica player, and he gave Cotton a chance to fill in. As it turned out, Cotton was part of that seminal artist's band for twelve years.

During the sixties Cotton went solo and began blending elements of R & B and soul music into his blues playing. Later he was equally eager to do the same with funk techniques. Today his career is going as strong as ever, making him one of the greatest living blues harmonica players, as well as one of the most popular. Cotton is in great demand for performances in both the U. S. and Europe, and his recordings have been honored with several recent Grammy nominations.

Altogether, this legacy gives Tunica blues a disproportionately large niche in blues history. Through Robert Johnson, our area has given the world some of its greatest songs and recordings. Through Son House we gave it some of its deepest insights into the time and place that created the music. But Tunica's blues legacy is no mere museum piece. As anyone who saw him last year at the King Biscuit Blues Festival can tell you, James Cotton can still jump, shake, blow, and shout with the best of them. Tunica blues are still around to hear and feel.

This is not to suggest that Tunicans should take a competitive attitude toward their neighbors' claims to historical greatness. Clarksdale is the home of the blues, all right. So are Memphis and Helena. But so is Tunica County.

Main Sources:
Calt, Stephan and Wardlow, Gale. King of the Delta Blues, The Life and Music of Charlie Patton. Rock Chapel Press, 1988.
Various liner notes by Steve Lavere, Bob Eagle, Pete Welding, Isaiah Ross and Don Kent
.

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