"I don't want to be in some big beautiful place that nobody want me, because I play the blues." Luther Allison

Surely the blues were born out of prejudice, sorrow, a hard life and poverty. For it is out of desperation that life's sweetest notes flow. The Blues were born in the cotton rich North Mississippi Delta following the Civil War. Heading south out of Memphis down Highway 61 takes you to the core of the cradle; Clarksdale, Greenwood, Marigold, and other Mississippi towns with deep blues roots as far south as Vicksburg. While most hard working folks could identify and celebrate the blues, more conservative and charismatic religious ones considered blues "the devil's music". Eventually folks began to gather and enjoy this music in "juke joints", the word "juke" originating from an African word meaning "evil". There are only a few original juke joints standing today, but from Memphis heading south, there are many blues clubs in operation that pride themselves as being a place to juke! I must confess that blues music moves me like no other. It is more than music, it is a lifestyle, a feeling, a culture, something that runs across your funny bone and tickles you all the way to your spine. It is simple, subtle, and deeply southern. It is barbeque, cold beer, moonshine, and Jack Daniels straight up. Blues is, for this southern boy, a metaphor for the marvelous dance of life. More than anything, my goal in showing these images is to somehow help the viewer feel a tiny bit of a connection to this small but profound piece of music history.


Take your shoes off, pop a cold one, turn on some good blues, and enjoy the dance.