Thursday in Leland is Jimmy Reed Day

The Delta Democrat Times reports that Leland's board of aldermen has proclaimed Thursday to be Jimmy Reed Day. Reed is a member of the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Reed, one of the most influential of all the Delta bluesmen, was the first to cross over on to the R&B and pop charts. Reed scored a remarkable 18 top twenty hits on the R&B charts in a period from 1955-1961. He also had a dozen hits on the pop charts.

The popularity of his music in both white and black audiences led him to play such hallowed venues as Carnegie Hall and The Apollo Theater. His songs have been covered by The Rolling Stones, Van Morrison, The Grateful Dead, and Elvis Presley.

A Mississippi Blues trail marker will be unveiled in his honor on Collier Road at Dunleith Thursday at 4 p.m. The ceremony will be followed by the dedication of a mural of the famous Washington County native at 101 North Broad in Leland at 5 p.m., immediately to be followed by a reception at the Highway 61 Blues Museum.

Read the full story here: Leland to honor native bluesman Thursday

Hubert Sumlin

Hubert Sumlin will enter the Blues Hall of Fame this week and gain a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail.

The Greenwood Commonwealth writes (read the full story - Sumlin: Greenwood's still my town)

Hubert Sumlin’s first wife told him to shape up or be single again. “She said it was either my guitar or her,” Sumlin said of an early tiff married life tossed his way. “So I picked up my guitar and walked out the door.” That decision, in effect, will be honored Tuesday when a marker is placed on the Mississippi Blues Trail in the blues giant’s hometown of Greenwood.

Sumlin, who as a 12-year-old in the 1940s was performing with harmonica great James Cotton, got his break when Howlin’ Wolf caught wind of the duo’s sound and invited them to do a 15-minute set on West Memphis’ KWM radio station. “Wolf told us, ‘If you do it right, I might have to get you in my band,’” Sumlin recalled. Something must have been done right.
From the 1950s until Wolf’s death in 1976, Sumlin’s lead guitar playing – described as “darting, unpredictable” by American Roots Music – complemented Wolf’s performances. Then, when Rolling Stone magazine made a list in 2003 of the top 100 guitarist of all time, Sumlin ranked number 65. And a sentence guitarist Jimi Hendrix is said to have uttered has entered into music-enthusiast legend: “My favorite guitar player is Hubert Sumlin.”

At 2 p.m. Tuesday, Sumlin be honored with a marker on the Mississippi's Blues Trail. The dedication will take place on Greenwood’s River Road Extended.

Billy Watkins writes about Sumlin's connection with famed rocker Eric Clapton in the Clarion Ledger (read the full article here - Finger-lickin' good: Blues Hall of Fame welcomes Hubert Sumlin):

Hubert Sumlin had never seen so many guitars. American brands. Japanese. German. The walls were covered with them. It was near midnight in April 1970 at Clapton's home. They had just finished what would come to be known as The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions, a studio jam that included the Rolling Stones, Ringo Starr, Steve Winwood and Klaus Voorman.

"I can't take no guitar from you, Eric," Sumlin said. "I want you to," Clapton insisted.

Sumlin then spotted a guitar case on the floor and opened it. He pulled out a black mid-1950s Fender Stratocaster. He ran his fingers up and down the neck a few times, cradled it against his belly. "This one ... I'll take this one, Eric," Sumlin said.

The words made Clapton's whole body tremble. "No, Hubert, not that one. Please, man. Not that one."

Clapton had just recently purchased it in a small music store in Nashville for $100. It was the guitar of his dreams, the way it played and spoke.

"This is the one, man," Sumlin said. Several minutes passed. Sumlin kept playing. Clapton kept shaking.

"OK, Hubert," Clapton finally said. "But if I want this guitar back one day, can I buy it from you?"

Sumlin shook his head. "Naw, man, I'm gonna play it a while, and then I'll give it back to you. You ain't gotta buy it."

After he returned to the U.S., "I think everybody in Eric's family -including his butler - called me about that guitar," the 76-year-old Sumlin recalls now. "But I told them the same thing I told Eric. 'I'll give it back one day.' "

Hubert Sumlin, one of the Top 100 guitarists of all time according to Rolling Stone magazine and scheduled to be inducted Wednesday in The Blues Hall of Fame at ceremonies in Tunica, grew up on a plantation just outside Greenwood.

Just like he promised Clapton, he gave the guitar back. "I kept it a couple of weeks," Sumlin says. "I knew we were gonna be playing Montreal at the same time, so I went over to his hotel. Police led me to his room, and Eric met me at the door. He grabbed me. Hugged me. He said, 'Anything I can ever do for you, you just let me know.' "
Clapton went on to play and write most of his greatest hits on that guitar, which became affectionately known as "Blackie." It was donated by Clapton in 2004 to the Guitar Center in Corona, Calif., for auction, with proceeds going to Clapton's Crossroads drug and alcohol rehabilitation center in Antigua. Winning bid: $959,000.

Hubert Sumlin -- Sittin on Top of the World

Blues Music Awards - Tunica: May 8

For the first time in its history, the prestigious Blues Music Awards will be held in the birthplace of the blues - the Mississippi Delta. The awards ceremony will be held on May 8, 2008 at the 2,500 seat Event Center at the new Harrah's Casino Tunica and is sponsored by the Blues Foundation.

“I can think of no better location to host the Blues Music Awards than the undisputed birthplace of the Blues, right here in the Mississippi Delta,” Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour said in this release. “One of the most significant aspects of our culture is the state’s vast music heritage, particularly in the blues genre. I’m delighted the Blues Foundation recognizes Mississippi’s important role in the history of the blues, and I welcome them, along with all lovers of the soulful, Delta blues, to our great state!”

“We know the Delta location will provide an excellent opportunity for the fans that come from around the globe to explore the birthplace of the Blues. The timing is particularly appropriate as more and more of the Mississippi Blues Trail markers are added," said Jay Sieleman, executive director of the Blues Foundation.

“Not only is Tunica the entrance to the Blues Highway 61, but it’s also the South’s Casino Capital, making it an entertaining destination for all visitors coming to this event,” said Webster Franklin, president and CEO of the Tunica Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The event brings together Blues performers, industry representatives and fans from all over the world to celebrate the best in Blues recordings and performances from the previous year. Each year, the Foundation presents The Blues Music Awards - the highest honor given to Blues artists - to recipients selected by its members.

The Blues Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Charter Member’s Dinner will be held the night before on Wednesday, May 7, at the Tunica Riverpark museum.

Tickets are available for purchase online where members are able to access the ballot to determine which of the nominees will be selected to receive the 25 Blues Music Awards.

The Presenting Sponsor for the Blues Awards 2008 is The GIBSON Foundation. The Blues Music Awards are also sponsored by BMI, Casey Family Programs, Eagle Rock Entertainment, FedEx, and the Sierra Nevada Brewing Company.

Miss Musicians Hall of Fame

Associated Press: "Rhythm and blues legend Jimmy Reed is among the 2007 class of inductees into the Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame. Reed grew up in Leland and died in 1976 at the age of 51. He was at his creative peak between 1955 and 1961, when he wrote hits including 'Baby, What You Want Me to Do' and 'Bright Lights, Big City.' Other inductees include, by category: Freddie Waits of Jackson, jazz; Charlie Feathers of Holly Springs, country; the Rev. Cleophus Robinson of Canton, gospel; Blind Roosevelt Graves and the Mississippi Jook Band of Hattiesburg, rock; Tommy Johnson of Terry, blues." (Read the Full Story Here)

Willie King DVD

If you've been to the juke joint Betty's Place in Noxubee County, Mississippi, you know about Willie King who lives on the Alabama/Mississippi line. Visible World Films has just put together a DVD on King. The Columbus Dispatch reports (full story at link):

Ever wonder what it's like to be a modern bluesman, living in the woods of the Alabama Black Belt? A pair of Dutch filmmakers, Saskia Rietmeijer and Bart Drolenga of Visible World Films, found out. And now they've brought the experience to everyone.

Just in time for Willie King's upcoming Freedom Creek Festival, the filmmakers have released a DVD, “Willie King: Down in the Woods,” about the bluesman, a local favorite, who lives in Old Memphis, a rural community in Alabama....

"We have always been fascinated by the Old South, which is so rich in culture, music and literature," he continued. "We are big American roots music fans - blues, jazz, soul and Americana. We heard Willie sing and play on his porch and the decision was easily made to make the documentary on him."...

For the DVD, King also was filmed performing with other musicians, such as [Forest, MS native] T Model Ford, and while visiting his mentor, Mississippi bluesman Jesse Daniels....

King was inducted into the Howlin' Wolf Hall of Fame in 2005. He was recognized by Living Blues magazine in 2000, 2001 and 2003 and was nominated for the traditional blues male artist of the year in the 2006 Blues Music Awards. He also is a repeated nominee in the W.C. Handy Awards.

Freedom Creek Festival
May 25, begins at 4 p.m., and May 26, begins at 11 a.m.
Old Memphis, near Aliceville, Ala. (On King's property in Pickens County)
(For directions, contact the Alabama Blues Project at (205) 752-6263.)
Admission: Suggested donations - $5 Friday and $10 Saturday

News Round-up

Clarksdale native Ike Turner, a member of the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, was jailed in Los Angeles for a 1989 narcotics warrant (full story). 05/17/2007

Pascagoula native Jimmy Buffett has teamed with Harrah's Entertainment to open the Margaritaville Casino and Resort, part of a $700 million expansion at Harrah's Grand Biloxi property (full story). 05/16/2007

Brookhaven Daily Leader: "Thirteen-year-old Cortland Collins, of Hazlehurst, got his first drum set at age 3...And by this point [age 13], the boy has followed the beat of his own drums to the Apollo in Harlem, New York, as well as the Trumpet Awards, which honor musicians from over 185 countries..."They're not sure, but we've been told he's probably the youngest musician to ever hit the stage at the Apollo" (full story). 05/15/2007

Blues harmonica player Carey Bell, a native of Macon, died in Chicago at the age of 70. Bell was a veteran of both Muddy Waters' and Willie Dixon's bands (full story). The AP and and the UK Times Online both have write ups about his life and work. 05/07/2007

The Mississippi Development Authority added a Jimmie Rodgers marker to the Mississippi Blues Trail at the Singing Brakemen Park in Meridian. Rodgers, considered the father of country music by blending blues with folk, is a member of the Blues Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, and the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame (full story). 05/03/2007

"A 28-year-old former Tupelo newspaper reporter wants the city of Starkville to posthumously pardon musician Johnny Cash for a public drunkenness arrest in 1965" (full story). The arrest led to Cash's famous tune "Starkville City Jail." 05/01/2007