Gov. Haley Barbour on Thursday will unveil a marker designating U.S. 61 as part of the Mississippi Blues Trail. The ceremony will be held at the Tunica Visitors Center on U.S. 61 in Tunica.
"As the most famed stretch of roadway in Mississippi's storied history, it's only fitting that the highway be permanently and officially designated as the Blues Highway to honor the many talented artists whose travels made it come alive as one of most enduring cultural icons," Barbour said in a statement.
Among the dozens of blues artists who recorded songs about U.S. 61 were Mississippians Sunnyland Slim, James Son Thomas, David Honeyboy Edwards, Big Joe Williams, Joe McCoy, Charlie Musslewhite, Johnny Young, Eddie Burns, Blind Mississippi Morris, and Mississippi Fred McDowell.
Showing posts with label Blind Mississippi Morris. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blind Mississippi Morris. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
U.S. 61 to get Blues Trail marker
The Associated Press reports:
Friday, August 31, 2007
Extreme Makeover: Blues Edition
52-year-old Morris Cummings, better known as Blind Mississippi Morris, can play the harmonica like nobody's business. The talented musician, born in Clarksdale, Mississippi and blind since the age of four, has performed with B.B. King, Rufus Thomas and Muddy Waters.
Bluzharp Magazine calls Morris one of the 10 best harmonica players in the world.
He and his band, The Pocket Rockets, are favorites down on Beale Street.
For months now, Morris has been in a predicament. His home on Chelsea Avenue in North Memphis is nearly a hundred years old. It's so rundown that code enforcement says it's not safe for Morris and his family to live there.
Saturday morning, volunteers showed up on Morris' front lawn with an offer he couldn't believe.
For the next several hours, nearly three dozen people of all ages, braved the summer heat to give Morris' home a makeover....As the day went on, the volunteers made progress. The staircase was rebuilt. The air-conditioning and ventilation units repaired. Leaks in the roof were patched up....As hammers pounded away and saws buzzed through pieces of lumber, the sound of Delta blues played in the background as Morris played the harmonica.
"This clean-up is a dream come true," Morris said. "I tell you, it means I get to stay here. I'm not going to be homeless."
Morris hopes to one day install a recording studio in the old home. He says he'd like to teach music to the young people to keep them off the streets and out of trouble.
The work on his home is expected to take some more time to complete. And the volunteers say they'll be back again, until it's done. (Full Story)
Bluzharp Magazine calls Morris one of the 10 best harmonica players in the world.
He and his band, The Pocket Rockets, are favorites down on Beale Street.
For months now, Morris has been in a predicament. His home on Chelsea Avenue in North Memphis is nearly a hundred years old. It's so rundown that code enforcement says it's not safe for Morris and his family to live there.
Saturday morning, volunteers showed up on Morris' front lawn with an offer he couldn't believe.
For the next several hours, nearly three dozen people of all ages, braved the summer heat to give Morris' home a makeover....As the day went on, the volunteers made progress. The staircase was rebuilt. The air-conditioning and ventilation units repaired. Leaks in the roof were patched up....As hammers pounded away and saws buzzed through pieces of lumber, the sound of Delta blues played in the background as Morris played the harmonica.
"This clean-up is a dream come true," Morris said. "I tell you, it means I get to stay here. I'm not going to be homeless."
Morris hopes to one day install a recording studio in the old home. He says he'd like to teach music to the young people to keep them off the streets and out of trouble.
The work on his home is expected to take some more time to complete. And the volunteers say they'll be back again, until it's done. (Full Story)
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