Some Recordings About Parchman Farm

Parchman Farm is the maximum security Mississippi State Penitentiary for men. It is located on Highway 49W between Tutwiler and Drew. Also see our web page for Parchman Farm Blues.

The Mississippi Blues Trail marker for Parchman Farm Blues is located directly across the highway from the main entrance gate of the Mississippi State Peniteniary. There is an unpaved parking lot immediately adjacent to the marker so you can pull off the highway to see it.

Miississippi Blues Trail marker for Parchman Farm Blues near the main gate of the Mississippi State Penitentiary
Miississippi Blues Trail marker for Parchman Farm Blues near the main gate of the Mississippi State Penitentiary

The GPS location of the Mississippi Blues Trail‘s Parchman Farm marker is: N 33° 55.123′ W 90° 29.815’
The front side of the Parchman Farm marker reads:

PARCHMAN FARM BLUES

The Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman has inspired many songs, including ‘Parchman Farm Blues‘ by singer-guitarist Booker ‘Bukka’ White, who was once an inmate here, and ‘Parchman Farm‘ by jazz singer-pianist Mose Allison. Folklorists from the Library of Congress and other institutions also came to Parchman beginning in the 1930s to document the pre-blues musical forms of field hollers and work songs, which survived due to the prison’s relative isolation from modern cultural influences.”  Continue reading Some Recordings About Parchman Farm

Muddy Waters’ House at Stovall Farm, site of the first recordings of Muddy Waters made by Alan Lomax in 1941-42

The Mississippi Blues Trail has a marker at the site of Muddy Waters’ house on Stovall Farm, just outside Clarksdale, Mississippi. The actual house that Muddy Waters lived in is no longer at this site; it has been moved to the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. This is an important site in blues history: it was the site of Muddy Waters’ first recordings, made in 1941-42 by Alan Lomax.

The GPS location of the Muddy Waters’ House marker is: N34° 15.706′ W90° 37.947′

The Mississippi Blues Trail marker at the Muddy Waters House site, Stovall Farms, outside Clarksdale, Mississippi.
The Mississippi Blues Trail marker at the Muddy Waters House site, Stovall Farms, outside Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Continue reading Muddy Waters’ House at Stovall Farm, site of the first recordings of Muddy Waters made by Alan Lomax in 1941-42

Three Reputed Grave Sites For Robert Johnson In Leflore County, Mississippi

Robert Johnson (1911-1938) is one of the most influential musicians in blues history but much of his life is shrouded in mystery and rumour.

One of the mysteries about Robert Johnson is where he is actually buried. There are three reputed Robert Johnson grave sites in Leflore County, Mississippi:

Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church cemetery, near Money, Mississippi

Mississippi Blues Trail marker for Robert Johnson, Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Money Road, Leflore County, Mississippi
Mississippi Blues Trail marker for Robert Johnson, Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Money Road, Leflore County, Mississippi

Little Zion Missionary Baptist Church cemetery is one of three reputed Robert Johnson grave sites in Leflore County, Mississippi….Read More…. 

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church, Morgan City, Leflore County, Mississippi

Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church cemetery and its reputed Robert Johnson grave, Morgan City, Leflore County, Mississippi
Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church cemetery and its reputed Robert Johnson grave, Morgan City, Leflore County, Mississippi

The second reputed Robert Johnson grave is in the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church cemetery, Morgan City, Leflore County, Mississippi…..Read More… 

Payne Chapel Missionary Baptist Church cemetery, Quito, Leflore County, Mississippi

Payne Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Quito, Leflore County, Mississippi, site of one of three reputed Robert Johnson graves,
Payne Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, Quito, Leflore County, Mississippi, site of one of three reputed Robert Johnson graves,

The Payne Chapel Missionary Baptist Church cemetery in Quito, Mississippi is the third reputed Robert Johnson grave site……. Read More…..

 

Here are some websites with additional information: