Black Prairie Kings

Scott Barretta writes about the Black Prairie Blues with a picture of the historic performance of Steve Bell, Eddy Clearwater, and Willie King at the recent BPB Mississippi Blues Trail marker dedication in Macon.

On Aug. 19 several hundred people gathered in downtown Macon for the unveiling of a Mississippi Blues Trail marker acknowledging "Black Prairie Blues." On Friday night, marker honoree Willie King headlines the 13th annual Howlin' Wolf Memorial Blues Festival in West Point as part of the "Black Prairie Kings," which also includes harmonica player Blind Mississippi Morris.

Although the Delta dominates public imagery of Mississippi blues, many important artists came from the prairies. Honored in Macon alongside King were natives Eddy Clearwater, who drove down from Illinois for the unveiling, and the late harmonica great Carey Bell, represented by his harmonica-playing son Steve of Kosciusko.

Forthcoming markers in Crawford for Big Joe Williams and in Aberdeen for Booker White will highlight the area's rich blues heritage, while Howlin' Wolf's legacy in West Point is secured. A statue of the bluesman - Chester Arthur Burnett - stands next to a Blues Trail marker in his honor, and the nearby Howlin' Wolf Blues Museum has amassed an impressive collection of Wolf-related artifacts from around the world.

King, Clearwater and Bell honored with Blues Trail Marker

Starkville Daily News reports on the Noxubee marker:

History was made Tuesday in the Black Prairie region of the state [with]...a Mississippi Blues Trail Marker unveiling ceremony in Downtown Macon. The Black Prairie Blues marker will honor legendary bluesmen Willie King, Eddie “The Chief” Clearwater and Carey Bell. King and Clearwater were on-hand for the ceremonies and were joined by the late Bell’s son Steve, a talented harmonica player in his own right. Among those in attendance were legendary Jackson bluesman and Blues Commissioner Jesse Robinson, Highway 61 Radio Host and Living Blues Magazine Editor Scott Baretta, Co-founder of Rooster Blues Records and Living Blues Magazine Jim O’Neal, Howlin’ Wolf Blues Society Director Richard Ramsey, Philadelphia blues prodigy Caleb Childs and Waverly Waters Resort and 2 Brothers BBQ CEO Mike Reilly. Several family members of King, Clearwater and Bell were also on hand. Tuesday’s Black Prairie Blues Trail Marker unveiling was the 46th Blues Trail Marker unveiling ceremony, and its crowd of roughly 160 visitors made it the largest crowd for an event of its kind to date, according to Baretta and Heritage Trails Program Manager Alex Thomas. “Although, collectively, the three blues artists have performed at venues from Jackson to Stockholm, Sweden, they always make sure people know they are from Noxubee County,” said Noxubee Alliance Director Brian Wilson during the opening ceremonies. “And it means so much to have them back here in Noxubee County today.”

WCBI in Macon

WCBI covered the Mississippi Blues Trail event in Noxubee County and gave this report: Noxubee County on the Blues Trail

Blues Makin in Macon

Several hundred folks turned out yesterday in Macon for the dedication of the Black Praire Blues marker on Mississippi's Blues Trail honoring Noxubee County natives Eddy Clearwarter, Carey Bell, and Willie King.

The Commercial Dispatch has a great article on it:

“It’s important for us to keep the spirit of the blues alive,” Willie King said as he stood next to a freshly unveiled historical marker displaying his name. “It tells the story of reality.”

King, 65, and fellow Noxubee County blues musicians Eddy Clearwater, 78, and the late Carey Bell dedicated nearly all their lives attempting to paint a picture of their realities in East Mississippi using their music. And on Tuesday, the trio of artists permanently became icons of the reality and history of the small Noxubee County city. The marker will serve as a permanent symbol of East Mississippi’s Black Prairie region, which produced several of the world’s most well-known blues artists.

Clearwater, a blues guitarist and songwriter who was born in Macon in 1935 and has been bestowed with several blues honors — including the Chicago Music Award, grinned and laughed as he explained his love for Macon. “If heaven is better than this, then that’s a place I want to go,” Clearwater said in reference to Macon. “This is like heaven here today." “When I was young, we would go down the street here to the movie theater and see cowboy movies,” Clearwater added as he pointed northward on Jefferson Street. “This honor means so much to me and I will always uphold the name of Macon, Miss., wherever I go.”

Bell died last year at the age of 70, though several of his family members assured the blues harmonica legend was watching the ceremony from above. “Carey has passed on, but I know he is smiling from above,” said Vanessa Carson, Bell’s aunt, said in reference to the Macon native whose death garnered national media attention. “We are so proud of him and we know he is proud of Macon and Mississippi as he’s smiling down from heaven,” Carson added. “Thank you, Macon, for putting out a man like Carey Bell.”

“We are here today to honor three blues legends who are Noxubee County natives,” Noxubee Alliance Director Brian Wilson said as he looked at the three blues musicians. “These three men have meant so much to the world of music, and they always do so while representing Noxubee County. “Whether it’s Stockholm, Jackson or Italy, they always make it known that they are from Noxubee County, Miss., while they are rocking out the world,” Wilson repeated.

The Macon blues marker will join similar monuments in Meridian, Columbus and West Point in directing visitors through the hometowns of many of the state’s blues legends, explained Scott Baretta, research coordinator of the Mississippi Blues Trail. “Mississippi blues is mostly associated with the Delta,” Baretta said. “But the markers we now have in the Black Prairie and other areas in East Mississippi will hopefully draw a lot of blues tourists who would normally veer west. “This has to be the largest marker unveiling I’ve been to, as far as the number of people who came to the ceremony,” Baretta added. “The markers are a showcase of the heritage of Mississippi, and today we will certainly add to that.”

(Read the full article here.)

Blues Trail Marker in Noxubee County

A few pictures from today's event in Macon honoring the Black Prairie Blues, Eddy Clearwater, Carey Bell, and Willie King.

Historic Joint Peformance by Black Prairie Blues Legends

It is homecoming time, blues style, in Noxubee County. Blues legends Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater and Willie King will perform together for the first time ever on Tuesday, August 19 at 11 a.m. during the Black Prairie Blues marker dedication ceremony in downtown Macon, Mississippi. The Black Prairie Blues marker is the newest addition to the Mississippi Blues Trail and will honor Noxubee County natives and Blues legends Carey Bell, Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, and Willie King. In addition to the Clearwater King performance, Steve Bell, son of deceased honoree Carey Bell, will represent his father and perform with Jesse Robinson and the 500 Pounds of Blues Band. Scott Barretta, host of Highway 61 radio show on Mississippi Public Broadcasting and former editor of Living Blues magazine, will make a special presentation. And there will be lots of BBQ and cold drinks on this hot and bluesy Mississippi reunion.

Eddy Clearwater
Willie King
Carey Bell
Jesse Robinson

Black Prairie Blues

The Black Prairie Blues Marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail will be unveiled Tuesday in Noxubee County. The marker honors Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, Carey Bell, and Willie King: 11am - Corner of Green and Jefferson in Macon, Mississippi. There will be BBQ plate lunches available for $7, live music, and lots of folks ready to boogie.

Upcoming Blues Trail Marker Events

The Mississippi Blues Trail will be adding these two markers in August.

Black Prairie Blues Marker featuring Eddy Clearwater, Willie King and Carey Bell
August 19, 2008; 11:00 AM
Macon Welcome Center (Corner of Green Street and Jefferson Street)
Macon, Mississippi

Piney Woods Marker featuring Blind Boys of Mississippi and Sam Myers
August 29,2008; 9:00 AM
Piney Woods School (23 miles South of Jackson, Mississippi on Highway 49)

Noxubee 3 on the Blues Trail

The Mississippi Blues Trail will recognize three Noxubee County natives at a marker ceremony on August 19: Carey Bell, Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, and Willie King.

The Noxubee Alliance, along with local partners Main Street Macon and the Noxubee County Historical Society, will join with the Mississippi Blues Commission and the Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Division to host the marker unveiling and dedication ceremony at the new Macon Welcome Center on Jefferson Street in the Downtown Macon Historical District. Honorees Eddy Clearwater and Willie King are scheduled to attend and perform together. Lurrie Bell, son of deceased honoree Carey Bell, is scheduled to represent his father and also perform. Bruce Iglauer, founder and president of Alligator Records in Chicago - the largest independent Blues label in the world - is helping to coordinate the event and has been invited to speak at the ceremony.

"Cultural and heritage tourism is the fastest growing segment of the tourism economy and accounts for around 80% of domestic travelers. We lobbied hard for this recognition, and we will continue to aggressively market the existing strategic assets found right here in Noxubee County. I have already received a couple of inquiries from Blues journalists and tourists from other parts of the country who have heard the rumor that Eddy Clearwater, Willie King, and Lurrie Bell will all be together on the same stage for our event. The marker ceremony and performances by these legends will be a great day for Noxubee County and all of Mississippi," said Brian Wilson, executive director of the Noxubee Alliance.

Carey Bell, a Blues harmonica legend, was born in Macon on November 14, 1936 as Carey Bell Harrington.. His passing on May 6, 2007 was mourned by the blues world.

Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater, one of the finest Blues guitarists and songwriters, was born in Macon on January 10, 1935 as Edward Harrington. He is a cousin to the late Carey Bell. Eddy Clearwater has received numerous awards such as the W.C. Handy Award and Chicago Music Award, and he has also been nominated for a Grammy.

Willie King, an award-winning guitarist and singer/songwriter, was born in Prairie Point, Mississippi on March 8, 1943. Willie King has received several awards from Living Blues Magazine and was inducted into the Howlin' Wolf Hall of Fame. King is the subject of "Down in the Woods", a documentary by Dutch filmmakers Saskia Rietmeijer and Bart Drolenga which was nominated for the 2008 Blues Music Award.

Lurrie Bell, son of deceased honoree Carey Bell, is a critically-acclaimed Blues guitarist and singer. He was selected as Most Outstanding Guitar Player in Living Blues Magazine's 2007 Critics' Poll and nominated for several Blues Music Awards presented by the Blues Foundation of Memphis.

BB King in Indianola

Scott Barretta writes in today's Clarion Ledger: This Saturday B.B. King makes his annual visit back home to Indianola, where he'll headline the B.B. King Homecoming Festival at Fletcher Park and appear in the evening at the historic Club Ebony. A late change in King's schedule moved the festival from last Friday to this Saturday. Also performing at the festival, which begins at 5 p.m., are Willie King, Bill "Howlin' Madd" Perry, local favorite David Lee Durham and Jackson soul-blues diva Dorothy Moore.

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