VADOULOU

We left a warmer Memphis this morning & after a few false starts because of local road closures we got ourselves onto Interstate 61 heading due south to Clarksdale. Again it was a very easy drive, dual carriageway most of the way & a speed limit of 65mph. Truckers seem impervious to speed restrictions & some local cars like to sit in the outside lane forcing you to undertake on the inside. We got here in about 90 mins & our sat nav lady got us right to the door.

We were able to get into our apartment earlier than the usual 2pm check-in. We are self-catering tonight in an apartment called the Five & Dime Lofts. We are in downtown Clarksdale & Bubba, our landlord, was around to help us with the bags. The apartments have been created in what used to be a Woolworths store & ours is lovely, well equipped & furnished & very comfortable. Bubba was able to give us tips on where to go tonight & it is apparent that he is a fervent music fan. A bonus is that on the ground floor there is a lovely café which seems to open all day. We had a spot of lunch there & I am sure that they will see us for breakfast tomorrow.

After lunch we took a walk around town & we are definitely in the Mississippi Delta. It is a town that is certainly trying to reinvent itself but boy is there a way to go. We went to the Delta Blues museum & heard the stories of Muddy Waters, Sam Cook, Ike Turner, Howling Wolf & John Lee Hooker to name but a few. Again, sharecroppers & abject poverty feature heavily with music providing an outlet. It seems that because of it’s geographical location, music in the Mississippi Delta was contained & protected until people started leaving in search for work. It is obvious that there is a concerted effort by some to protect this original music & not let it become diluted. 

There are several music venues in town & as tourists are encouraged to visit, the concerts are becoming more frequent. Originally it was just weekends but now music can be heard throughout the week. There is one venue called Ground Zero which is part owned by Morgan Friedman. A Dutchman has opened a Rock & Blues Museum using his own personal collection. He is called Theo Dasbach & used to have a similar museum in Arum in Holland. He married an American lady & they felt that Clarksdale was the best place to come to set up something similar—as you do! He has an amazing eclectic collection of things. He mentions the British rock scene & even has a section on Cliff. 

We failed to find a supermarket of any kind but did trip across a café called Holy Moly, which makes delicious juices—all prepared by a very out-going lady from Melbourne. Who knows what tonight will bring, more later.

        

An authentic blues night!!

We finally made it to BB Kings Blues Bar tonight, at a very useful time, to be given the best table in the house, on the balcony overlooking the stage. I had my first grits of the holiday, and they were great. Grits and shrimps, a delicacy.

And tonight, playing were the BB King All Stars, the house band. A real mix of blues and funk, with a trumpet, a sax, base and lead guitars, drummer, organist and vocalist. They were brilliant, and in their second session, they had a guest base guitarist and guest drummer jamming, who clearly were special, and well known to the locals. What was great was that, whilst there were tourists, there were also over 50% locals, there for the music. And what music. It was stunning.

And tomorrow we’re heading off to Clarksdale, somewhere I read about as the true home of the blues. It’s a very small town in Mississippi, with very few hotels and restaurants, and we’re staying in a flat above the old Woolworths shop. But apparently, there’s an amazing blues club. Should be interesting!

Photos to follow!

                

Our last full day in Memphis & still so much to see & do. Definitely on the list is Sun studios & we set off after breakfast to walk there. We arrived in time for the 11h30 tour & paid our $12 dollars (plus tax) to get in. They don’t have a concessionary price for seniors, in my opinion ‘cos the majority of the customers are seniors & it would lose them money! I asked what they would do when our generation died out & was told ‘keep on rocking’.

Again it was a great tour & the guide was very enthusiastic. You do get the impression that they really enjoy being there & showing people around despite the fact that they must say & do the same thing day after day. They had some great memorabilia but more importantly great music. Doug found a jukebox disc of Roy Orbison that is not in his collection but wisely decided that $70 was too much To pay for an original copy & settled on a repro for a bargain $7. Sun studios run a courtesy bus to the Rock & Soul Museum & Graceland & luck was on our side–the first stop was the Museum so we were spared the Graceland experience a second time. I really should say at this point that I never wanted to go to Graceland & having now been I know that I was right! Idem The Grand Ole Opry but I did find that very funny.

Back to today, the Museum was excellent & really put into perspective the evolution of music through American society & the powerful effect that it had. It explained how musical styles had originated in both the Black & White cultures (often where there was extreme poverty)  & had been promulgated by radio (battery operated) & gramophones (wind up) but that there had been a fusion which culminated in Rock & Roll. R & R appealed to the youth of America in the 50s & was equally abhorred by their parents, thus making it a huge success!!  Juke boxes helped the whole process together with an abundance of talented musicians around the Memphis area. We have been told several times & in different places that racial harmony was beginning in Memphis because of the integrated music scene. It all went to worms later on of course & whilst not as bad as before, segregation still exists today but in a much more subtle form. E.g. Most of the hotel staff are black & the clientele is predominantly white. 

From one Museum we made our way to another, this time the National Civil Rights Museum. On the way, however we stopped off for a bite to eat & a glass of wine. Before we could have our wine we had to show ID to prove that we were old enough!! When I had stopped laughing I asked the server whether my grey/white hair wasn’t proof enough. She insisted that ID was needed or she, herself, would get into trouble for not asking. There are some things about America that I will never fathom. Anyway, the wine was good along with the accompanying duck burger.

The Civil Rights story was sobering & whilst I remember some of the events from my youth, I have to say that the whole thing almost passed me by. I knew some of what had happened, of course, but hadn’t appreciated the momentous effect that it had on American society & culture. The Museum is very well done & it tells a very powerful story. Things being so relatively recent, there is is a lot of media footage to see & info to read. We were there so long that they were waiting to close & we didn’t have time to see the last part which detailed the investigation into Martin Luther King’s murder & the ongoing legacy of the Civil Rights movement. In some ways it was quite a sad end to 3 days in Memphis but back in the hotel we are being serenaded by the weekly Thursday roof party. We had every intention of going but today has been dull & cold but dry. I broke out the trainers, socks, scarf & cashmere cardigan & haven’t been over warm outside. Tomorrow’s forecast is better thankfully.