Delta Blues
Newsletter
June 2012
The long, hot Mississippi summer has begun, and so has our
prime season for visitors at the .
after nearly seven years in the planning and several months
of construction, Phase I of the Muddy Waters Addition expansion
is now a reality. At 7,300 sq feet, it doubles our available
exhibition space.
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New Muddy Waters Addition - completed! |
We've moved the
into the new Addition.
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Muddy Waters cabin installed in the new Addition |
1939 Ford Deluxe |
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Next to the cabin, we have parked a , the kind of car driven by pioneering
musicologist when
he visited Clarksdale and recorded Muddy Waters for the
Library of Congress in the 1940's.
These two artifacts play an integral part in the story
we are going to tell in the , about the and the "discovery"
of Muddy Waters on ,
just outside Clarksdale.
,
the current permanent collection will be augmented with
items and artifacts, and new exhibits will use film, video,
and music to follow the development of the blues .
Here are of what
we are planning:
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"Muddy's
World" exhibit plan
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The was
founded in -it is . It has existed and grown over
the years because of the interest and enthusiasm of our
many blues fans and Museum members. With your continued support,
we look forward to serving you with new, expanded exhibits
about the blues and its history.
We are thrilled
to learn that the has funded our project grant for This grant will allow us to reorganize
our subject files and make them available on our Web site
for researchers. As the files are re-organized, we'll have
scholars present programs on the files, the first one being
on the . We
will share more information about the grant and the programs
in the next email: stay tuned!
This newsletter is supported in part
by funding from the Mississippi Arts Commission, a state
agency, and,
in part, from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal
agency.
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Son House portraits by Dick Waterman |
to celebrate
the will go up on our gallery
walls soon: stay tuned for the details.
include
portraits of by , the music photographer who helped rediscover
House in the '60s and who managed his concerts during that
era's blues revival. For more on House, see our Web feature on our home page: click
here.
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"Ground
Zero Blues Club, Clarksdale" by Ken Murphy |
Also still on view is , an exhibit of photographs by , from the book of the same name. The display
features photos of blues scenes in and around ,
from performances at the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel
Festival and Red's to portraits of Super Chikan and Jimbo
Mathus. The book includes an essay by blues historian and is available from our online Store.
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Signed
Bean Blossom Blues Guitar |
The recently received
new acquisitions from ,
who donated an incredible array of blues memorabilia. We
are thankful to her for making it possible for us to honor
the legacy of the blues and these wonderful artists. These
acquisitions especially increased our ability to honor the
career of , as we received
several wonderful concert posters; a signed copy of his
studio album, King Size framed with concert tickets; an
autographed guitar; and some classic photos.
Another cool, unique artifact recently received was also
a bit of a mystery at first to the DBM staff: a
from the ,
which was autographed by musicians we presumed to be festival
performers.
After a little research, we had the opportunity to speak
with , owner of and founder of the festival (and one
of the signatures on the guitar), and we learned the moving
story and history of the festival-which made us appreciate
the guitar even more! It's one of several which were raffled
off at their 4th annual event in September 2001 to raise
money for the 9/11 Red Cross Relief Effort. Despite taking
place after such a huge tragedy, their festival had a great
turnout and raised thousands of dollars. is still going strong, and
will be held on
this year. Come visit us during the , see the cool guitar signed
by performers from the 2001 Festival, including the late,
great James Cotton, and then head up later in the month.
To learn more about Bean Blossom, click
here.
The is very
excited that indie rock band have chosen Clarksdale and to be the second stop on their attempt
at breaking the world record for most concerts in one day
on . We are
equally thrilled that they have chosen blues/rock singer
and guitar virtuoso
to be their opening act while here.
Get excited for the
25th Annual Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival! This
year's event is set to be bigger and better than ever with
headliners and .
, on we'll be opening a exhibit as well as screening , a cinematic snapshot of the blues tradition
that remains vibrant in and around ,
at , to be followed
by a reception at the Museum with an exhibit of photographs
that mirror the film by .
Details to follow: stay tuned!
presents
its in Helena,
Arkansas (just across the river from ).
This year's edition features and ,
and many more local and regional musicians and bands. This
year, the will perform
on Saturday, , from
1-2 on the Bit-o-Blues stage.
, we hosted a reception
for
staff and the members of the , headed by , executive director and former Mississippi
Secretary of State. MCCB coordinates the activities of Mississippi's
15 community colleges. The May meeting of the MCCB was held
at Coahoma Community College.
and the Museum partnered to
present performances on the Museum stage last month. Performances
included a composer's concert, performances by the beginner
band, the concert band and a collaboration between the dance
and band departments. In February, art students made an
after-school field trip to the Museum to provide students
a chance to sketch in the galleries.
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George Wright Photo: Carol Masica
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Several students
created blues portraits, a selection of which will be hung
in the Museum's galleries with accompanying information
about the project. Many thanks to their teacher, , for making this possible.
The
program presented a series of performances throughout May
that concluded with "Party Shot" featuring former DBM music
instructor and
current instructor .
, chef
and proprietor of ,
the legendary restaurant on Moon Laked passed away on April
16. Famed for his generous garlic seasoning and colorful
character as well as his good cooking, he was a friend who
will be missed.
A marker
for the
was dedicated on South Main Street in
on May 11. The latest entry on the Blues Trail, the copy
on the marker notes that Mississippi-born performers outnumber
those from any other state on the organization's lists of
Blues Music Awards, and that more than have been inducted into the .
opens the
has almost finished
a It should be available by the
Sunflower Festival. Many thanks to the and the for making this project possible.
The first CD, , is available from the
.
The has just received
its first shipment of a new . This tee features a graphic design taken
from the life-size statue that sits inside the Muddy Waters
cabin, now on display in our new . The image on the back shows the quintessential Chicago bluesman, "at"
the Crossroads.
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New Muddy Waters tee available at the Delta Blues Museum
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The front pocket area features the distinctive , which references both a guitar and the nearby
in its flowing
outline.
,
in sizes S-M-L-XL-2XL-3XL. Order at our online Store: Order
here.
Over 400 with
names of our supporters inscribed on them have been installed
in the old rail bed outside the new .
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Blues Brick walkway between Muddy Waters Addition and Ground Zero Blues Club
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There's plenty of room left for a brick with your name
(or of someone you want to gift and/or honor) to be added.
,
click here.
Be sure to visit the Delta Blues Museum
Gift
Shop for additional items and memorabilia.
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Delta Blues Museum
Board of Directors
William H. Gresham, President
Yvonne Stanford, Secretary
Johnny Lewis
Dr. Frank Marascalco
Jim Herring |
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to the Delta Blues Museum
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