Spirit of the Blues:

Celebrating Roots of Delta Music through Gospel and Spirituals

A project funded by the National Park Service’s Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative

Final report written by Keith “Prince of the Delta Blues” Johnson and

edited by Rolando Herts, Ph.D. & Wayne Dowdy

The Delta Center for Culture and Learning and Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area

Videos and photos courtesy of

Digital Media Arts and Office of Communications and Marketing

Delta State University

Office of Communications and Marketing

Mississippi Valley State University

“Spirit of the Blues: Celebrating Roots of Delta Music”

A regional cultural heritage interpretation series, the Spirit of the Blues project was administered by The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University. Delta State is located in Cleveland, MS, the heart of the Mississippi Delta region, which is recognized as “The Birthplace of the Blues.”

The Delta Center promotes greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships, and community engagement. Through the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and the International Delta Blues Project, The Delta Center has developed collaborations with the International Conference on the Blues at Delta State, an historically white university in the Mississippi Delta, and the B.B. King Symposium at Mississippi Valley State University, an historically Black university in the Mississippi Delta.

“The Spirit of the Blues: Celebrating Roots of Delta Music Through Gospel and Spirituals” initiative built on these collaborations by supporting the creation of interpretive resources that bridge two interrelated African American musical traditions rooted in Southern slavery and sharecropping plantation cultures: Negro spirituals and the Blues. Delta residents and visitors generally are not aware of the shared heritage connections among Spirituals, Gospel, and the Blues, as these genres often are interpreted as sacred vs. secular foils. The “Spirit of the Blues” project aimed to demonstrate the ways in which both musical expressions communicate African Americans’ will to survive in the face of oppression and the enduring fight to be liberated from oppression.

“Spirit of the Blues” created venues where residents and visitors could gather to learn and hear how Spirituals, Gospel, and the Blues are connected. “Spirit of the Blues” events were integrated with both the International Conference on the Blues and the BB King Day Symposium.

Towards promoting the MS Delta’s diverse creative economy, “Spirit of the Blues” featured a variety of interpretive expressions including music, poetry, spoken word, dance, visual art, and videography.

Dr. Rolando Herts, director of The Delta Center, was inspired to write the “Spirit of the Blues” proposal in summer 2018 while visiting Mississippi Delta heritage landmarks with the National Endowment for the Humanities Most Southern Place on Earth workshop for K-12 educators. In his opening remarks for the 2018 International Conference on the Blues, Dr. Herts stated, “The ‘Spirit of the Blues’ project invites everyone to remember and share this important message with others: the Blues, Spirituals, and Gospel music tell the collective story of Black people and of human survival, tenacity, endurance, and brilliant creativity in the face of suffering and oppression.”

2018 Spirit of the Blues

Friday, September 7, 2018 – B.B. King Day Symposium at Mississippi Valley State University

The selected theme “Suffering Songs: The Blues Identity of Native & African American People and Their Struggles” was formed collaboratively between the 2018 BB King Day planning committee at Mississippi Valley State and The Delta Center at Delta State. The topic generated engaging discussion from panelists, who shared first-hand knowledge of cultural histories related to Blues and Spirituals. The symposium illuminated connections between Native Americans’ and African Americans’ shared past and present struggles and provided a space for members of these communities to interpret their experiences through music, dance, and conversation. The Symposium received positive feedback regarding the topics and discussions, panelists’ expertise, and the event overall.

Saturday, September 29, 2018 –

International Conference on the Blues’ Gospel Roots Family Day

On September 29, 2018, Gospel Roots Family Day was held at Grammy Museum Mississippi in Cleveland. This pre-International Conference on the Blues (ICOB) event began with a workshop conducted by Keith “The Prince of the Delta Blues” Johnson, former Delta Center graduate intern and Delta Music Institute/Delta State alumnus (BA ’16, entertainment industry studies and MBA ’18, human resources). Keith discussed his familial relationship as the great nephew of Delta Blues icon and legend McKinley Morganfield (aka Muddy Waters). He shared his own Gospel background as a young musician who performed in Mississippi Delta churches. The workshop also focused on Blues instruments, including guitar and harmonica, and how Gospel and Blues music are intertwined.  

J.J. Thames, a Mississippi recording artist, panelist, and international Blues phenome presented on “Women in the Blues.” She discussed the careers of iconic female Blues artists including Etta James, Bessie Smith, Koko Taylor, and Willie Mae Thornton.

In addition to the Spirit of the Blues grant, the NPS supported the involvement of Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes, a Louisiana Blues musician and former NPS interpreter at New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park. Sunpie and his band took the stage by storm with a stellar performance. Each song had its own unique identity. One could feel the spiritual roots resonate throughout the audience, as demonstrated by their exuberant applause.

Sunday, September 30, 2018 – International Conference on the Blues: Opening Reception

The ICOB Opening Reception was held at Grammy Museum Mississippi and was free and open to the public. Guests registered for the conference at the reception while interacting with conference presenters and planning committee members. Dr. Herts and conference co-chairs, Dr. Shelley Collins and Don Allan Mitchell, welcomed guests and summarized the conference’s key themes consisting of African American musical traditions and influences on world cultures, as well as the influence of Gospel, Spirituals, Soul, and African American music as social commentary and protest.

The reception was followed by a screening by Das Lippmann Rau-Musikarchiv from The American Folk Blues Festival in the museum’s Sanders Soundstage. Noted performer and musicologist Ambassador Herbert Quelle, Consulate General, Federal Republic of Germany gave a presentation on the German origins of the American Folk Blues Festival which brought Mississippi’s Blues to world stages during the 1960s.

Monday, October 1, 2018 – International Conference on the Blues:

Morganfield Family Reunion Presentation and Concert, Academic Paper Sessions

Monday began with the Lomax repatriation project and the Morganfield Family Reunion. A Delta State/Lomax partnership film “Introducing the Lomax Mississippi Recordings, 1933-1942” was screened at the Delta Music Institute. Bridgett Morganfield Jones, historian for the family of Muddy Waters, gave an in depth overview of this versatile and talented family of musicians. Muddy Waters’ relatives who served as panelists were Joseph Morganfield (son), Amelia Cooper (granddaughter), Keith Johnson (great nephew), and Bridgett Morganfield (niece). Each family member had their own unique story about the influence Muddy Waters had on their lives musically and personally. This was significant to the conference theme, as Alan Lomax recorded McKinley “Muddy Waters” Morganfield in the Mississippi Delta for the first time. These recordings are housed at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress.

Monday also included a series of paper sessions featuring the following scholars and topics:

• Lyric Formulas and African Storytelling as Traditional Compositional Processes in the Folk Blues - Dr. J. Tyler Fritts, Rhodes College, Memphis, Tennessee

• We Shall Not Be Moved: Creating Collective Agency - Ms. Tawana Williams, Sankofa Freedom Academy Charter School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Hope to See Yo Face in the Place: Family Picnics as Hill Country Blues Tradition - Mr. Benjamin DuPriest, University of Pennsylvania

• Got My Mojo Workin’: Blues and Conjure as Modes of African American Resistance - Dr. David E. Ballew, Chowan University, Murfreesboro, North Carolina

• Sweet Home Chicago: Recording the Blues in the Windy City during the 1930s - Dr. Roberta Freund Schwartz, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS

• “Shuffle in E!” Reception and Practices of the Blues in German Jam Sessions - Mr. Nils Kirschlager, University of Paderborn, Detmold, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Monday night featured a Muddy Waters Tribute concert held on the Bolivar County Courthouse lawn in downtown Cleveland. This concert engaged the City of Cleveland and the surrounding area, providing residents and visitors with a live Blues and Gospel experience.  Concert artists included J.J. Thames, Keith “Prince of the Delta Blues” Johnson, and Joseph “Mojo” Morganfield. The concert was well attended by conference attendees and community members. The concert was followed by Blues in the Round, an intimate acoustic event at Mississippi Grounds Coffee Shop located across the street from the Bolivar County Courthouse. The event featured Grammy Award-winning songwriter Tricia Walker, former director of the Delta Music Institute at Delta State, who invited guests to play an instrument or sing in an open “Pilgrim’s Chair.”

Tuesday, October 2, 2018 – International Conference on the Blues:

Keynote Address, Lomax Website Unveiling, Gospel Choir Showcase and Artists-In-Residence Master Class

Tuesday sessions were held at the Department of Music at Delta State’s Zeigel Hall. Dr. Charles Reagan Wilson, Professor Emeritus of History and Southern Studies, University of Mississippi, delivered the keynote address “The Spiritual Crossroads of the Mississippi Delta: Regional, Global, and Religious.” Scott Barretta, a Blues scholar, podcast creator and author, and Will Jacks, a website designer, presented Delta State’s new Alan Lomax Mississippi Recordings website. The website project was supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The morning ended with a Gospel Showcase featuring the Coahoma Community College Concert Choir. The showcase included a collection of Negro spirituals and Gospel songs inspired by Alan Lomax’s Mississippi Recordings, including “Rockin’ Jerusalem”; “Indondana,” “City Called Heaven,” and “I’ll Fly Away.”

The afternoon featured an Artist-in-Residence master class with Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes.  Barnes coached Delta State students from the Music Department and the Delta Music Institute, sharing his musical expression expertise and providing encouragement to the performers. Each student had an opportunity to work with Sunpie individually.

ICOB co-chair and Delta State English professor Don Allan Mitchell moderated a Q & A session with Louisiana native Trombone Shorty. The conference ended with a Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue concert at the Delta State’s Bologna Performing Arts Center. New York Magazine has written, “Trombone Shorty takes in a century-plus worth of sounds — ragtime and jazz and gospel and soul and R&B and hip-hop—and attacks everything he plays with festive fervor.” 

Documentary shorts for the 2018 International Conference on the Blues are included in this report. All videos are available at www.internationaldeltabluesproject.com/videos.

2020 Spirit of the Blues Goes Virtual

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the BB King Day Symposium at Mississippi Valley State and the International Conference on the Blues (ICOB) at Delta State were presented virtually. Mississippi Valley State’s virtual presentation is available via the MVSU YouTube channel.

Delta State had the honor of participating in the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival Brazil Online Edition. Over 500 attendees from around the world tuned in to enjoy this virtual presentation. The online festival included performances from musicians in Holland, France, Australia, Brazil, U.S.A, and the United Kingdom.  

Delta State’s virtual presentation included highlights from past ICOB events and B.B. King Day Symposium. The presentation resulted from the Delta Delegation to Brazil, an international university-community partnership project forged in November 2019. Seeds of that partnership were planted earlier that year when The Delta Center presented at the National Association for Interpretation’s International Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The presentation focused on statewide efforts to preserve and share the roots of the Blues, as well as connections between American Blues and Brazilian Samba music. These musical genres were developed by descendants of enslaved Africans in the U.S. and Brazil, respectively, and their legacies are ever-present in both countries.

The Delta Delegation to Brazil included regional cultural heritage development partners that are members of the Mississippi Delta Tourism Association, including Visit Clarksdale, the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, and the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area. The delegation traveled to southeastern Brazil to develop educational and cultural partnerships with the University of Caxias do Sul and the Mississippi Delta Blues Festival Brazil. Members of the Delta Delegation met with Dr. Evaldo Antonio Kuiava, UCS rector (president), and Juliano Gimenez, UCS vice chancellor, to finalize an educational partnership agreement between UCS and Delta State. The Delta delegation also promoted Delta State and Mississippi Delta tourism for three nights at Mississippi Delta Blues Festival Brazil. Keith “Prince of the Delta Blues” Johnson also performed on the main stage during the last night of the event representing the Delta Delegation.

The 2020 virtual presentation provided guests an opportunity to appreciate the Mississippi Delta’s culture through music while gaining broader understanding of its ongoing global influence. The virtual festival aired November 20, 2020 - November 22, 2020. The Spirit of the Blues theme and the online festival was designed to engage diverse audiences and expand the international footprint of the conference. Festival organizer Toyo Bagoso shared, “COVID-19 hit us very hard in Brazil, which led to the closing of our Mississippi Delta Blues Bar in Caxias do Sul. Through our Mississippi Delta partners like Delta State and other global connections, we are able to keep the festival going online.”

Spirit of The Blues Virtual Interpretation: An Overview

The ICOB 2020 virtual presentation featured a Blues and Gospel performance from Keith “Prince of the Delta Blues” Johnson. Keith performed two of his original songs: “Light my Fire” and “Come to Mississippi.” He stated, “I feel that it is just important to perform a traditional Gospel selection, after all you can’t sing either genre without feeling both.” Paying tribute to traditional Gospel music, Keith performed “Ups and Downs” by The Swanee Quintet.

Come to Mississippi

“Come to Mississippi” is one of Keith Johnson’s original songs. He wrote it while enrolled at Delta State. According to Keith, “Come to Mississippi” acknowledges his home state as the Birthplace of American Music. This song mentions an array of legendary Mississippi Blues artists including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker, and Little Milton Campbell. These artists also created international platforms for Blues music that highlighted their individual and collective creativity. They advanced Mississippi as an internationally recognized cultural heritage treasure.

Gospel Roots Presentation

During his presentation, Keith shared his personal connection to Blues and Gospel music. Being raised in the Baptist church in Glen Allan, Mississippi, Keith shared his personal experiences with Gospel music within African American worship settings.  He told the story of his grandmother Texcella Fields, who was a Gospel radio host at 94.3 (BAD) FM in Greenville, Mississippi, from 1979-2006. He talked about his cousin, the late Reverend Willie Morganfield, best known for his song “Thank You Sir.”  He performed an emotional and spiritually moving rendition of the Gospel song “Ups and Downs”.

“This song has gotten me through trying times during this global pandemic, it has helped me and my family personally,” stated Keith.

Guitar Blues Styles Presentation

After performing a Muddy Waters classic “You Can’t Lose What You Never Had,” Keith dove into different styles of Blues and how to approach those styles while playing guitar, including Delta Blues, Memphis Blues, and Chicago Blues.

Keith spoke about how the Delta Blues is one of the earliest forms of Blues to be recognized in the Mississippi Delta and worldwide. “Being a resident of the Mississippi Delta, it gave me more connectedness to develop my style of Blues,” said Keith.  Keith grabbed his guitar and gave viewers an inside peak into the intricacies and intonations of the Delta Blues sound. “When you think of Delta Blues, you pretty much think of one man with an acoustic guitar,” said Keith.  He explained that Delta Blues was at its peak in the 1920s and 1930s, when many Mississippi Blues artists worked as sharecroppers. Robert Johnson, Son House, and Charlie Patton were all associated with this style of Blues.

Keith also demonstrated the Memphis Blues Style. He described Memphis Blues as being more of a mixture of other Blues styles. Even though Memphis was known for the entertainment on Beale Street, Keith told audiences that Blues really inspired venues to open as Blues clubs and juke joints. Blues artists such as B.B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, Memphis Minnie, and Albert King helped shaped the Memphis Blues Sound.

Finally, Keith addressed the Chicago Blues Sound/Style. The Chicago Blues Sound was rooted into Keith Johnson’s style of playing through his relationship with Muddy Waters. “When I first went to Chicago in 2016, I took the train that runs from New Orleans,” said Keith. “I wanted to feel what Muddy felt.” The Chicago Style was different from others, because it became electrified and amplification was added in the urban setting that was not available in the rural South during the early days of Blues.  Once the distorted guitar and harmonica were added to the Chicago Blues Style, it completely changed the sound. “Muddy Waters, Little Walter, Willie Dixon, and Howlin’ Wolf are all responsible for the Chicago Blues Sound,” said Keith.

Conclusion

To close the virtual presentation, Keith played a few tunes sharing that haunting charismatic sound with a burst of Delta explosive energy that he displays on the guitar.

“Thanks to the National Park Service grant, Mississippi Delta Blues Festival Brazil Online Edition allowed Delta State University to represent the State of Mississippi and the United States. I am privileged to be a part of the presentation,” said Keith. “Delta State University’s International Conference on the Blues is educating the public about connections among Blues, Gospel and Spirituals through Spirit of the Blues. The overall project has helped scholars learn the music and history of Blues and Gospel icons such as Muddy Waters and Sister Rosetta Tharpe.”

2021 Spirit of the Blues

Wednesday, September 1 - Thursday, September 2 2021 — 7th Annual B.B. King Day Symposium

In 2021, Mississippi Valley State’s 7th Annual B.B. King Day Symposium interpreted the theme “Women in Blues,” paying tribute to the role women have played in Blues and Gospel music.  Special guests included Teeny Tucker, Vickie Baker, Nellie Mack, Nellie Travis, Miss Jodi, Rachelle Coba, Anna Coday, and BB Queen.

Wednesday, September 1 included a Celebration of Gospel event supported by the Spirit of the Blues project. The event featured performances by an ensemble of the Coahoma Community College Concert Choir and the Mississippi Valley State University Concert Choir.

On Thursday, September 2, the Symposium convened at Mississippi Valley State’s Carver A. Randle Auditorium. One lecture was hosted by the Department of Fine Arts and moderated by MVSU music professor Dr. Lemondra Hamilton with Teeny Tucker serving as the featured presenter. Their presentation highlighted various women in Blues. Bessie Smith was a Blues singer renowned during the Jazz Age. Ma Rainey, was first among the first generation of Blues singers to record. Etta James performed in various genres. Koko Taylor was noted as a rhythm and Blues and soul Blues singer. Sister Rosetta Tharp, Big Mama Thornton, and Clara Smith "Queen of the Moaners" also were highlighted.

Thursday, September 30, 2021 — International Conference on the Blues:

Pre-conference event – Shake & Holla Concert

“Shake and Holla” was a pre-conference concert event held at Delta State’s Bologna Performing Arts Center. This in person live music event featured the Grammy-nominated and Blues Music Award-winning North Mississippi Allstars, also joined by the Rebirth Brass Band. Cedric Burnside, grandson of Mississippi Hill Country Blues icon R.L. Burnside, and Grammy-nominated Blues artist, appeared as a headliner. The performers were interviewed by Blues scholar Scott Barretta, documenting their connections with the Spirit of the Blues theme.

Friday, October 1, 2021 — International Conference on the Blues:

Coahoma County Community College Concert Choir

The 8th Annual International Conference on the Blues provided attendees with an user friendly, accessible online experience while using Whova, an award-winning conference platform. This online platform allowed guests and presenters to engage with each other and interact with conference content in real time. In keeping with the virtual format, conference guests who attended in person registered in the lobby of the Delta Music Institute using their mobile devices.

During the opening session, conference attendees heard welcome remarks from Delta State President LaForge, ICOB co-chairs Dr. Shelley Collins and Don Allan Mitchell, and Delta Center director Dr. Rolando Herts, who introduced a crowd favorite from the 2018 ICOB: the Coahoma Community College Concert Choir from Clarksdale, Mississippi. The Coahoma Community College Concert Choir is a nationally renowned choral group directed by Dr. Kelvin Towers. They performed a moving selection of Gospel and Spirituals that illustrated intersections of sacred and secular. “This summer, they were filmed for a travel series on CNN, and they blew the producers away, so we’re glad to have them back again for the 2021 conference,” said Dr. Shelley Collins.

Friday, October 1, 2021 — International Conference on the Blues:

Jontavious Willis

Grammy-nominated Blues artist Jontavious Willis performed a Gospel set. His stand-out fingerpicking, flat-picking, and slide prowess were also on display. Legendary Bluesman Taj Mahal has nicknamed Jontavious “The Wunderkind” for his outstanding singing, songwriting, and guitar playing.

Jontavious engaged conference attendees with Gospel music and storytelling. Members of the audience — which included students with the Coahoma Community College Concert Choir — participated in several soul stirring call and response moments with Jontavious’ encouragement. Jontavious engaged the audience even more when he called his grandmother “Beatrice” on his cellphone and requested that she sing her favorite church songs. Audience members were amazed and honored to be a part of such an intimate and authentic family heritage moment.

Jontavious was nominated for a Grammy for his Blues album Spectacular Class. Spectacular Class is the follow-up release to his debut album, Blue Metamorphosis, which was released in 2016 and garnered him rave reviews from such notable magazines as Living Blues and Blues & Rhythm. In 2018, the album earned recognition by the Blues Foundation through their International Blues Challenge, where he was honored with the Best Self-Produced CD Award. Through original lyrics written by Willis himself, the gifted musician delivered a timeless album that features dynamic vocals and Gospel music, along with various Blues genres including Delta, Piedmont, and Texas.

Friday, October 1, 2021 International Conference on the Blues:

Rev. Dr. Dwight Andrews and Annette Hollowell

Reverend Dr. Dwight Andrews, professor of Music Theory and African American Music at Emory University and Senior Minister of First Congregational Church in Atlanta, gave the conference’s keynote academic address. His virtual presentation “The Spirituals, the Blues, and the Gospel Blues” was recorded at First Congregational Church in Atlanta where he serves as Senior Minister.

Reverend Dr. Andrews’ presentation was especially engaging for conference guests as he provided auditory examples of the concepts that he discussed. Some key insights from his presentation include:

• Spirituals, Blues, Gospel, and other African American music genres all emanate from one wellspring: the African American experience which is not static but ever evolving.

• There are constants in the African American experience, particularly race and racism. African American music reflects this experience and as that experience changes, so does the music.

• The origins of Spirituals are also the origins of the Blues. They share common practices including storytelling, signs, symbols, significations, repetition, and use of phrases with multiple meanings.

• There are common performance practices between Spirituals and the Blues as well. This includes use of the pentatonic scale, five tones that have been a source for thousands of African American melodies and tunes. “Blue notes” or the bending of notes into slightly flat, out of tune sounds is a practice that was documented among enslaved Africans in the past. This practice is a salient feature of Spirituals, Blues, and Jazz genres. Call and response is another practice characterized by the interplay of voice and played instrument(s) like the guitar or harmonica, one echoing the other.

As an internationally renowned musician and pastor, Reverend Dr. Andrews is well suited to illuminate the Spirit of the Blues theme. He served as music director for the Broadway productions of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Fences, The Piano Lesson, and Seven Guitars. He also served as Music Director for the Broadway revival production of “Ma Rainey” starring Charles S. Dutton and Whoopi Goldberg and collaborated with Director Kenny Leon on the Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun starring Sean Combs and Phylicia Rashad. He also worked with famed Harvard historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. on the PBS documentary “The Black Church.”

Annette Hollowell followed with a Q&A session facilitated by Dr. Herts. Their conversations explored the business side of Black music. Annette is a social activist, producer, and promoter.  She also is the convener of the Foxfire Blues Assembly at Foxfire Ranch, her family’s farm located outside of Holly Springs, Mississippi. She produces a regular series of Sunday night Blues performances, while serving in other roles in the Mississippi music scene. In recent years, Foxfire Ranch has become a space for rest, retreat, connection, deep learning, and celebration of rural Black culture, as well as a resource for artists, healers, and lovers of justice. The entire Hollowell family is committed to the survival of African American cultural traditions, art, and expressions.

Friday, October 1, 2021 International Conference on the Blues: Paper Sessions

The afternoon featured a series of academic paper presentations.

Dr. Tom Zlabinger presented “All Rock ‘n’ Roll Had Sprung from this Root”. Dr. Zlabinger teaches popular music at York College in New York City. He holds a B.A. from Grinnell College, an M.A. from Queens College, and a Ph.D. from the Graduate Center. His areas of research include psychedelic music, telematic performance, and improvisation.

Dr. Tammy Turner, author of Dick Waterman: A Life in Blues, presented “A Century of “Crazy Blues”: Maggie Smith’s Legendary 1920 Recording in Context.” Dr. Turner’s presentation brought the historical significance of Smith’s recording into conversation with cultural context relating to gender roles, racial injustice, civil unrest, and protest.

Dr. Ron Pimentel of Washington State University of Vancouver presented “Blues Music and Generation Z”, which shows the level of awareness and involvement in Blues music by members of Generation Z. This presentation was designed to increase youth involvement within the Blues community.

Mr. David Cosby of Boston University presented “Muddy Waters: Icon of New Urban African American Identity and Father of Modern Rock Guitar.” David Cosby is a musician, educator, and a graduate of the Delta State University’s International Delta Blues Scholars program and is an alumnus of The Delta Center’s National Endowment for the Humanities Most Southern Place on Earth workshop for K-12 educators. This session was inspired by the 2018 ICOB, which (as stated above) included the Morganfield Family Reunion focused on Muddy Waters’ family, music, and cultural influence.

“Lomax was Wrong: Recognizing Native American Roots in the Blues” was a session presented by Mr. Jimi Del Duca, Montana State University-Bozeman. Del Duca’s research reveals foundational connections between Native American music and the Blues. Native Americans have contributed significant and vital stylistic elements as well as performers to the Blues.

Conclusion: Post-Conference Event –

Live From Clarksdale

As a post-conference event, Live From Clarksdale/Visit Clarksdale and Shared Experiences USA invited Keith “Prince of the Delta Blues” Johnson and Dr. Rolando Herts to stage a virtual Spirit of the Blues interpretation at Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art in Clarksdale. This served as an ICOB post-conference event, as well as a way to bring the Spirit of the Blues project full circle.

After an introduction from Colleen Buyers of Shared Experiences USA, Dr. Herts and Keith discussed the cultural significance of Clarksdale as the internationally recognized epicenter of Delta Blues heritage, as well as the birthplace of Muddy Waters, Keith’s great uncle. They discussed Keith’s experience working with the Spirit of the Blues project in various capacities since 2018, including helping to plan the ICOB as a graduate intern with The Delta Center. Keith then played Muddy Waters’, “I Can’t Be Satisfied,” while illustrating Muddy’s slide guitar technique.

Keith and Dr. Herts spoke further about the influences of Spirituals, church, and family on his stage presence and storytelling techniques when interpreting the Blues. They both touched on significant aspects of Mississippi Delta’s African American history that shaped Blues music and culture including sharecropping, the Great Migration, and faith traditions.

When Keith and Dr. Herts began their conversation, it was hot and sunny in downtown Clarksdale. After a while, a loud clap of thunder roared over Clarksdale, followed by a windy, heavy rainstorm that threatened to stop the show. Yet, Keith kept playing, Dr. Herts kept talking, Colleen kept the Live on Facebook stream going, and audience members remained engaged. The group moved under the eaves of Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art as they continued to co-create an authentic Mississippi Delta experience. Audience members from Clarksdale and from San Francisco, CA, were invited to ask Keith questions, as well as give their own reflections on what Blues and the Mississippi Delta mean to them.

Dr. James Cone wrote “the Blues and Spirituals flow from the same bedrock of experience, and neither is an adequate interpretation of Black life without the other.” Through the support of the National Park Service’s Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative, Spirit of the Blues has been a platform for bringing those interpretations into conversation across the region and across generations. Keith brought the conference to a close with rain at his back, playing “Stormy Monday Blues,” a song that ends on Sunday, as the Blues and Spirituals come together. Applause followed Keith as his fingers stilled on the guitar. Behind him, the rain was beginning to stop. The sun started shining again, and the sky was Delta blue.

Spirit of the Blues Partners

In addition to funding from the National Park Service's Lower Mississippi Delta Initiative, the Spirit of the Blues project was supported by an array of local, regional, and national partners. We thank all partners helping us to bring Spirit of the Blues to fruition.