After a long 15 hour trip, five members, plus myself as Host, of the second PBSFM/Passport Travel US Music Tour arrived in San Francisco on Friday 4/10, mostly strangers, but with a strong music connection. We were to meet up with 2 more travellers in Chicago.
Three weeks & six States later, the Group, many well-seasoned travellers, all agreed it was the most amazing, informative & intense trip they had ever been on. San Francisco, Chicago, Nashville, Helena, Memphis, Walls, Clarksdale, Cleveland (Miss.), Greenwood, Indianola, Baton Rouge & New Orleans.
It seemed like we visited just about every Music Museum between San Francisco & New Orleans. Any visit to Nashville must include the Country Music Hall of Fame & Dinner at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville.
It was a feast in Memphis with WC Handy House on Beale St, Graceland, & the Rock & Soul Museum. Clarksdale’s Delta Blues Museum, which houses the partly reconstructed shack Muddy Waters lived in at Stoval Plantation. A visit to the site at Stoval was memorable, as was Dockery Plantation & a visit to BB King’s Museum & Delta Interpretive Centre in Indianola.
We were expertly guided by several local Blues Guides down the legendary Hwy 61 South, known as America’s Blues Alley, including Greenwood historian, Sylvester Hoover, who for many years has worked to keep alive both the cultural & music history of the Delta. What a privilege it was to meet him.
Visits to grave sites in the area included Memphis Minnie’s in Walls, & the three possible sites of Robert Johnson. More recent research indicates that the actual grave site is under a big pecan tree in the cemetery of the Little Zion Baptist church north of Greenwood.
An absolute highlight was staying at The Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale. Prior to its conversion by Z.L.”Momma” Hill in 1944, it was the G.T. Thomas Afro American Hospital, where “The Empress of the Blues”, Bessie Smith died on the morning of September 26, 1937, following a car accident on Highway 61 just outside of Clarksdale.
The Riverside provided lodging for traveling musicians, and it was home to some, including Sonny Boy Williamson, Ike Turner & Robert Nighthawk. Momma Hill only allowed men in her hotel and all were considered her sons. Momma’s son Frank “Rat” Ratcliff took over following her death in 1997. “Rat” died in March this year, and his daughter Zelena Ratcliffe now runs this iconic hotel. There was much excitement as the group chose their rooms, I slept in Sonny Boy’s room opposite the room now set aside as the Bessie Smith memorial room, which has a full size painting in Bessie laying on the bed, eerie!
And then there were the iconic Studios. RCA’s Studio B in Nashville was a deeply emotional experience, as was Memphis’ Sun Studio and that famous address, 2120 S. Michigan Ave, Chess Records/Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation in Chicago.
We squeezed in three major Music Festivals. The 300,000 attended ‘Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, 5 large stages set up throughout the Park. Some of us were lucky to catch the 90min ‘Tribute to Kate McGarrigle’ set with her children Martha & Rufus Wainwright & friends who included Maria Muldaur, Emmy Lou Harris, Steve Earl & Richard Thompson, what a treat!
A visit to Amoeba Records, one of the largest independent Record stores in the world, was an extra treat as Billy Bragg was performing to promote his new release.
Two days at the legendary King Biscuit Festival in Helena, Arkansas, where we said G’day to Tupelo born Guitarist/Singer/Songwriter Paul Thorn & legendary Guitarist Bob Margolin, caught a blistering set from Joe Louis Walker and James Cotton, and local heroes, Blind Mississippi Morris & Big George Brock.
Settling into three nights in New Orleans, we thoroughly enjoyed two full days at the Crescent City Blues & BBQ Festival (Americans love their BBQ’s), a free event in Lafayette Square. Over the two hot days, caught intimate performances by Sonny Landreth, the Rev.John Wilkins, Alvin Youngblood Hart’s Muscle Theory, Cedric Burnside project & blistering sets from Shemekia Copeland & Beverly Guitar Watkins.
We caught a matinee performance of ‘The Million Dollar Quartet’ at the Apollo Theatre in Chicago, fantastic. I saw it 2 years earlier on the first Tour, very pleased it was still playing.
We dined at many legendary music venues, including Lou’s Pier 47 Restaurant & Blues Club on Fisherman’s Wharf & caught a Dinner/Show at Blues & Biscuits in San Fran, Kingston Mines & also heard some great music at Buddy Guy’s Legends in Chicago. Dined on Beale Street & dropped into Memphis Blues Society Jam Night where one of our Group, drummer Doc Rennie was invited up to play, what a treat! Two special nights spent at private dinners at Hopson’s Plantation in Clarksdale with entertainment provided by Terry “Harmonica” Bean, who had just returned from a European Tour & Club Ebony in Indianola, Miss., now owned by Mr King. Lunch at Morgan Freeman’s Ground Zero Juke Joint in Clarksdale, where punters have grafitteed/written over every inch of the walls, chairs & tables and even the stage.
The Tour was finished off in fine style on the last night in New Orleans when we dined on the Steamboat Natchez, cruising the Mississippi.
The Group thoroughly enjoyed a memorable visit to the home of legendary Chicago Blues Harp player, Corky Siegel & his wife Holly, (Corky is a long-time performer member of PBSFM’s Roots of Rhythm), where Corky enthralled the group with stories of Chicago blues. He rang his Drummer, the legendary Sam Lay, put the phone on speaker, & asked Sam to tell us about life as Howlin’ Wolf’s Drummer & protégé as a young man. Magic!
We were invited to one of the last remaining authentic Juke Joints in the South, Po Monkey’s, just outside of Merigold, Miss. It is only open Thursday evenings.
The group all agreed, the tour was definitely one of those ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences, one for the bucket list.
Check www.travelcentre.com.au for details of the next tour presented by PBSFM & Passport Travel.
Helen Jennings
Roots of Rhythm
Photos by Ethne' Pfeifer
