Clarksdale Mississippi – Known For The Blues and The Good News

Posted on Sep 11, 2013 in Music Travels

Read about our music travels to Clarksdale Mississippi

The Shack Up Inn

The Shack Up Inn is known for a lot of things – but breakfast is not one of them. Brewed coffee and donuts are usually on offer…but the coffee had run out this morning.

So the Fab Four assembled and we motored the short drive into Clarksdale. This was Jenny’s first visit and the rest of us had not been there for a little while, so we weren’t quite sure what to expect when we sidled in for breakfast. Lo and behold, there’s a new cafe and eatery called Yazoo Pass – nice medium-sized breakfasts and healthy food on offer, as well as very good lattes – coffee and chai. We were enjoying a delightful breakfast when Sandra pointed out Morgan Freeman’s business partner and Town Mayor Bill Luckett. We were impressed, particularly given the fact the he had a humble demeanour and wore an apron as he was helping serve meals – likes to get his hands dirty – nice touch!

Then over to the Delta Blues Museum.

Nice to be back there, some changes have been made since my last visit. In reviewing the Muddy Waters exhibit, I was reminded of the significance of Rolling Fork Ms, signs for which we had seen on the road yesterday – it was the birthplace of the great Man himself. I also liked seeing some of the old National resonator guitars. I acquired a beautiful poster of Mississippi which graphically sets out the birthplaces of the great blues performers born in the State. It will look great in my study at home – a treasure. It was agreed that the best way to deal with this is to post it back home when I find the nearest post office.

Then we walked over to Ground Zero Blues Club, the now-iconic music venue owned by Freeman and Luckett. The funny thing is, as soon as we set foot in the door, some guy in a suit came up and introduced himself – said he was Bill Luckett, the part owner of the Club and the Mayor of the town. I thought he must be a con man as the real Luckett was serving lunches. His business card looked authentic – clever imitation I guess.

The card from the “fake” Bill Luckett

After we humoured him for a while, we did a bit of shopping – craft, memorabilia, Cat Head (Delta Blues & Folk Art) and some photographs.

Outside Cat Head

Then we headed to a bank where Sandra tried for the second time unsuccessfully to cash her travelers’ cheques, I tried in vain to dispatch my poster at the Clarksdale Post Office. So we headed to Walmart for some food and drinks to take back to The Inn. I chose, from an extremely limited range, a nice little Chateau Dianne Pinot Grigio for $5. It looks to be a singularly unique quaffing experience.