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His fingers were an inch from my face, I saw evidence of decades of gigs. Everyone was staring at us, of course. A man was aggressively playing guitar at me. I smiled and nodded my head.
When the solo was over he went back to his band. This goes on a lot across the night.
Spiller could sense what I was there for, and he wanted to make sure I got an experience to remember. The crowd was a weird mix; plenty of aging hippies, a few young locals and a couple of tourists. At one stage an enormous, hulking figure approached my partner and held out his hand. At around midnight, Spiller announced it was his 56th birthday. I shook his hand and wished him well, and told him I was born just two days after him. At this stage he insisted we relight a couple of his 56 candles and I blow them out myself. I blurted out an excuse and practically ran out the door — past Red, past Ice Man — into the night, maybe never to return.
I kinda regret falling shy of making my first appearance at a Mississippi Juke Joint, but my gumption is significantly bounded at the best of times. But I was part of this show all the same. Locals had mentioned that people came to Clarksdale for the blues, but came back for the people. And I'd believe it.
I know I'll be back. The following morning we woke early to drive to Memphis. It was Sunday, and we had to go to church.
On the morning we were there, there were probably a hundred regulars and a dozen tourists in attendance. They are used to it by now.
After being so warmly welcomed, I knew this was no time to gawk from the sidelines. So, when the music started, I sang, clapped, swayed and tried not to feel too self-conscious doing so. I left my phone in my pocket, I dropped cash in the collection plate. I said hello to the parishioners seated around us and I stayed til the very end.
I wish I could say that the handful of fellow tourists joined me in being a part of this service. Sadly, they treated it as a tourist attraction. People took photos, videos, even tried to get selfies with Reverend Green at his pulpit.
Please enter your name. Their journey begins on Beale Street in Memphis with a stop at a shop which specializes in voodoo items and blues vinyl records on display which the proprietor explains were once sold for thirty-five cents or three for a dollar. Features Music News Lists. Retrieved June 24, I needed to breathe the air, walk the ground, and generally soak in the environment that proved so fertile for great, history changing music. Don't have an account? Employment and entertainment for youth is practically non-existent.
It was weird and awkward and frustrating. Reverend Green was in fine form on the morning we caught him. His sermon stretched for two hours. We stayed til the very end. It would have been rude to leave. Your list has reached the maximum number of items. Please create a new list with a new name; move some items to a new or existing list; or delete some items.
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Robert Palmer, author of Deep Blues and Dave Stewart, a member of Eurythmics pays tribute to the Mississippi blues and various blues artists. Special features include discographies of the performers, performance footage outtakes, an interview with Dave Stewart, bonus audio links, and weblinks. Allow this favorite library to be seen by others Keep this favorite library private.