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ROAD TRIP

The Mississippi Delta

The Civil War is a recent memory and blues legends loom large in the cotton fields and swamp towns of the lower Mississippi Delta.
By Reid Bramblett, February 2008 issue |

  • Abe's BBQ 616 State St., Clarksdale, Miss., 662/624-9947, abesbbq.com, sandwich $3.25

Activities



THE HEART OF THE BLUES
Just how charming are the cotton fields and swamp towns of the lower Mississippi Delta? These photographs will have you daydreaming about your next road trip.
• Launch the slide show

  • Full Gospel Tabernacle 787 Hale Rd., Memphis, 901/396-9192, Sundays 11:30 a.m.

  • Delta Blues Museum 1 Blues Alley, Clarksdale, Miss., 662/627-6820, deltabluesmuseum.org, $7

Shopping

  • Cat Head 252 Delta Ave., Clarksdale, Miss., 662/624-5992, cathead.biz

Nightlife

Day 2
We take a slight detour on our way to Vicksburg, Miss., driving into Helena, Ark., to sit in on a broadcast of King Biscuit Time, which claims to be the world's longest-running daily blues radio show.

The show went on the air in 1941, initially featuring live music by blues-harmonica player Sonny Boy Williamson II. Boogie-woogie piano pioneer Pinetop Perkins (a mentor to Clarksdale native Ike Turner) and guitarist Robert Junior Lockwood frequently accompanied him. It was only 15 minutes long and started just after most sharecroppers came out of the fields for lunch.

"Sunshine" Sonny Payne has been the host since 1951, opening each show with the same catchphrase--"Pass the biscuits, 'cause it's King Biscuit Time!"--in honor of the first sponsor, King Biscuit Flour. In a studio at the Delta Cultural Center, we sit several feet from Payne, 82, as he spins records on the 15,243rd broadcast.

From Helena, we head back to Mississippi and turn south on Highway 1, the Great River Road. Driving past old plantations, we can smell the crop burns even before we see smoke rising over the cotton fields. East of Beulah, Miss., I follow my guidebook's directions down back roads to the dirt and asphalt intersection of Frazier and Walton roads, a more likely candidate for the Robert Johnson crossroads than the one from yesterday. Crop dusters buzz low overhead as I climb a gate to photograph the spot.

Note: This story was accurate when it was published. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.

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