Mississippi Blues Trail
The Mississippi Blues Trail was created by the Mississippi Blues Commission in 2006 to place interpretive markers at the most notable historical sites related to the birth, growth, and influence of the blues throughout the state of Mississippi. Within the state the trail extends from the Gulf Coast north along several highways to Natchez, Vicksburg, Jackson, Leland, Greenwood, Clarksdale, Tunica, Grenada, Oxford, Columbus, and Meridian. The largest concentration of markers is in the Mississippi Delta, but other regions of the state are also commemorated. Several out-of-state markers have also been erected where blues with Mississippi roots has had significance, such as Chicago.
Implementation
The list of markers and locations was developed by a panel of blues scholars and historians. The trail has been implemented in stages as funds have become available. The National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Mississippi Department of Transportation have provided grants for funding of various markers, which are co-sponsored with funds from local communities. The marker texts are researched and written by former Living Blues magazine editors Jim O'Neal and Scott Barretta, in conjunction with an editorial and design team that has included Wanda Clark; Chrissy Wilson; Allan Hammons; and Sylvester Oliver.Prior to the founding of the Mississippi Blues Trail, two preliminary markers were placed in Indianola, Mississippi, at a corner where B.B. King played as a young man, and at the Club Ebony.
The first three Mississippi Blues Trail markers were dedicated on December 11, 2006. The first, at Holly Ridge, is dedicated to Delta blues pioneer Charley Patton.
The second marker is located in front of the Southern Whispers Restaurant on Nelson Street in Greenville. Nelson Street, the home of many nightclubs, cafes, and juke joints over the years, was once the primary center of African-American business, entertainment, and social life in the Delta. For many decades this historic strip drew crowds to the flourishing club scene to hear Delta blues; big band; jump blues; rhythm & blues; and jazz.
The third marker ceremony was at the original location of WGRM radio station in Greenwood, where B.B. King first broadcast as a gospel singer.
By the end of 2016, the Mississippi Blues Trail had placed nearly 200 markers, not only in honor of individual artists, clubs, record companies, radio stations, and historic events, but also in celebration of plantations, streets, cities, and counties that were centers of blues activity. Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman was also commemorated, as folklorists such as Alan Lomax recorded blues by inmates on several occasions, dating back to the 1930s.
Current markers
Locations are in Mississippi unless otherwise stated.| Marker name | Marker location | Photograph | Notes |
| Ace Records | Jackson | ||
| Albert King | Indianola | ||
| Alamo Theater/Dorothy Moore | Jackson | ||
| Asie Payton | Holly Ridge | ||
| Texas Johnny Brown | Ackerman | ||
| Arthur Crudup | Forest | ||
| B.B. King Birthplace | Berclair | ||
| Baptist Town | Greenwood | ||
| Beale Town Bound | Hernando | ||
| Big Jack Johnson | Clarksdale | ||
| Big Walter Horton | Horn Lake | ||
| Birthplace Of The Blues? | Dockery Plantation | ||
| Blue Front Cafe | Bentonia | ||
| Bo Diddley | McComb | ||
| Broadcasting the Blues | Gulfport | ||
| Cassandra Wilson | Jackson | ||
| Charley Patton gravesite | Holly Ridge | ||
| Chrisman Street | Cleveland | ||
| Church Street | Indianola | ||
| Club Ebony | Indianola | ||
| Columbus - Catfish Alley | Columbus | ||
| Corner of 10 and 61 | Leland | ||
| James Cotton | Clayton | ||
| Cotton Pickin Blues | Hopson | ||
| Delta Blues Museum | Clarksdale | ||
| Elks Hart Lodge No. 640 | Greenwood | ||
| Elvis Presley and the Blues | Tupelo | ||
| Fred McDowell | Como | ||
| Gatemouth Moore | Yazoo City | ||
| Greasy Street | Ruleville | ||
| Guitar Slim | Shellmound | ||
| Harlem Inn | Winstonville | ||
| Harold "Hardface" Clanton | Tunica | ||
| Henry Townsend | Shelby | ||
| Hickory Street | Canton | ||
| Highway 61 Blues | Robinsonville | ||
| Holmes County Blues | Lexington | ||
| Holmes County Blues | Tchula | ||
| HoneyBoy Edwards | Shaw | ||
| Hot Tamales And The Blues | Rosedale | ||
| Howlin' Wolf | West Point | ||
| Ike Turner | Clarksdale | ||
| James "Son" House | Leland | ||
| Jimmie Rodgers | Meridian | ||
| Jimmy Rogers | Ruleville | ||
| John Lee Hooker | Vance | ||
| Denise LaSalle | Belzoni | ||
| Little Milton | Inverness | ||
| Furry Lewis | Greenwood | ||
| Livin' at Lula | Lula | ||
| Magic Sam | Grenada | ||
| Malaco Records | Jackson | ||
| Memphis Minnie | Walls | ||
| Meridian Blues and Jazz | Corner of 5th Street & 25th Avenue Meridian | More than 30 musicians are acknowledged at this marker including Alvin Fielder, Jr. and Eddie Houston. It is located on the former site of the Fielder & Brooks Pharmacy, which Fielder's father started in 1934. | |
| Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues Festival | Pascagoula, Mississippi | ||
| Mississippi John Hurt | Avalon | ||
| Mose Allison | Tippo | ||
| Mound Bayou Blues | Mound Bayou | ||
| Muddy Waters' cabin site | Clarksdale | ||
| Nelson Street | Greenville | ||
| Natchez Rhythm Club | Natchez | ||
| Otis Rush | Philadelphia | ||
| Parchman Blues | Parchman | ||
| Pinetop Perkins | Belzoni | ||
| Po' Monkey's | Merigold | ||
| Rabbit Foot Minstrels | Port Gibson | ||
| Red Tops | Vicksburg | ||
| Riverside Hotel | Clarksdale | ||
| Riley B. King | Indianola | ||
| Robert Johnson birthplace | Hazlehurst | ||
| Robert Johnson gravesite | Greenwood | ||
| Robert Nighthawk | Friars Point | ||
| Rocket "88" | Lyon | ||
| Rosedale | Rosedale | ||
| Sam Chatmon | Hollandale | ||
| Sam Cooke | Clarksdale | ||
| Eddie Shaw | Benoit | ||
| Skip James | Bentonia | ||
| Son House | Clack | ||
| Sonny Boy Williamson In Helena | Helena | ||
| Subway Lounge | Jackson | ||
| Hubert Sumlin | Greenwood | ||
| Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival | Clarksdale | ||
| Sunnyland Slim: Quitman County Blues | Lambert | ||
| Eddie Taylor | Benoit | ||
| The Enlightenment of W.C. Handy | Cleveland | ||
| The Hollywood Cafe | Robinsonville | ||
| The New World | Clarksdale | ||
| The Peavine | Boyle | ||
| The Staple Singers | Drew | ||
| Tommy Johnson | Crystal Springs | ||
| Trumpet Records | Jackson | ||
| Turner's Drug Store | Belzoni | ||
| Tyrone Davis | Leland | ||
| Wade Walton | Clarksdale | ||
| W.C. Handy Encounters The Blues | Tutwiler | ||
| WGRM Radio Studio | Greenwood | ||
| "Where The Southern Cross The Dog" | Moorhead | ||
| Willie Dixon | Vicksburg | ||
| Johnny Winter | Leland | ||
| W.C. Handy/Sonny Boy Williamson | Tutwiler | ||
| WROX | Clarksdale | ||
| Chicago | Chicago, Illinois | ||
| Grammy Awards | Los Angeles, California | ||
| Memphis Blues | Memphis, Tennessee | ||
| Mississippi to Alabama | Muscle Shoals, Alabama | ||
| Blues Trail: Mississippi to Florida | Tallahassee, Florida | ] | |
| Mississippi to Helena | Helena, Arkansas | ] | |
| Mississippi to Louisiana | Ferriday, Louisiana | ||
| Mississippi to Maine | Rockland, Maine | ||
| Norway | Notodden, Telemark, Norway | ||
| Paramount Records | Grafton, Wisconsin | ||
| The Blues Foundation | Memphis, Tennessee |
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