Tag: Blues
-
Story of a Delta Merchant Family
My family came to Lula around 1940 and started a farm on Flea Harbor Road. The Mississippi Delta offered only a few pathways to having a better life in those days. You either farmed or became a merchant. My Grandfather, James “Jimmie” Dean farmed and my Grandmother, Ialeen Martin Dean opened a small grocery store.…
-
Ground Zero Blues Club
Any blues fan or just a fan of good food has to come see Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Opened in 2001 next to the Delta Blues Museum, it is a must stop for any trip through the Delta and the Mid South. The club is owned by Morgan Freeman, Bill Luckett and…
-
Bertha Lee Pate
Remembering Bertha Lee from Fanny Baker in the book Chasin’ that Devil Music: Searching for the Blues by Gayle Wardlow written in 1998. Bertha Lee was a fine looking woman and could sing better than anyone I’ve heard. She ran off with Charlie Patton. Why, Bertha Lee visited Lula only two years ago. She’s living in…
-
Robert Nighthawk
“Nobody else could play a slide like him. They think they can but they can’t…. I ain’t never heard anybody play a slide like Robert Nighthawk. It’s wailin’ man.” Thats what everybody said about Robert Lee McCollum, aka. Robert Nighthawk. He was born on November 30, 1909 near Searcy, Arkansas. Many modern day blues artists…
-
Sam Carr
Sam Carr was born April 17, 1926 in Marvel, Arkansas. Marvel is a small town in Phillips County, just west of Helena. His parents were Robert Lee and Mary McCollum. Sam’s birth name was Samuel Lee McCollum ,so how did he become Sam Carr? Who were Robert Lee and Mary McCollum? Sam’s father…
-
Front Street Block B, Lula, MS
This was the site of the Keesee Building. It was a white stucco building of Spanish design with red tiles running along the front top porch. There were round windows along the side. Two windows on either side of a screened in door were at the front. The Keesee Building operated as the farm…
-
Lula, Mississippi. Coahoma County
That’s what Lula has been for more than a 100 years. Don’t count it out. Lula is gonna be here for a 100 more.
My Delta World 