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by David Beardsley
As a blues lover, tracing the roots of the blues has always drawn thousands of people south to the Mississippi Delta. In the town of Clarksdale, Mississippi, such places as Red's — a legendary Clarksdale juke joint — and the Hopson Plantation create the delta flavor you just can't grasp from reading; you have to experience it “up close and personal.”
An annual event that draws thousands to Clarksdale is the Juke Joint Festival. This event celebrates the richness of the local musical talent and brings in artists from all over the country. It's not unusual to see spontaneous musical magic happening around town. For example, Watermelon Slim strolling into Red's and just tearing the house down.
I had the double good fortune of going down to Clarksdale and being the driver for Arthur Williams, a St. Louis music icon and a master of the Chicago harmonica sound. The journey immediately turned into a living blues history lesson, with Arthur as my guide. But first, a little of Williams’ history.
Arthur is one of the few remaining “authentic” bluesmen, with a background rich in the roots of the Delta, continuing through his youth in Chicago. Williams was born in Tunica, Ms., on July 8, 1937, on the Coke and Stone plantation, where his dad drove a tractor on that plantation. As so often was the case, lean times and prospects up North led to a family move to Argo, Il., in November of 1939, when he was only two years of age and then on to Chicago when he was 12 — although he continued to spend his summers in Tunica.
Arthur’s mother, Dorothy Sherley Williams, explained, “Arthur never liked the city, he loved hunting, fishing and living in the country. He was always good at putting things together, such as machines. In school he was very smart, and had all kinds of awards and achievements in spelling, art … and his focus in high school was commercial art. When he was 17, he seemed to lose interest in school, and decided he wanted to move back to Mississippi.
“Arthur began playing the harmonica ... since he was five or six, and he got to be real good at it,” she continued. “Arthur was a good boy -- I never had any problems with him. He was a very cute and handsome little boy. He was crazy about his blue jean pants; he always had five or six pairs. He was always real neat and clean, and all the girls liked him. He was real fond of Norman, his stepfather, and Ollie, his real daddy. Ollie was very good at blowin’ the harp.”
Williams attended Dunbar High School in Chicago through his senior year, when he went back to Tunica to live with his grandparents. It was there that Arthur became lifelong friends with Frank Frost. Together they played around the Tunica / Clarksdale area during the 1950s.
“When Arthur was 19 years old, he began working at the Palmer House in Chicago. He’d take his harp and start playing it out in the hallway. He had all of the young people and some of the older ones listening and dancing. Most of them had stopped work to listen, so Arthur got fired for stopping the workers,” his mother added.
“The next thing I knew was my son was inducted into the Army. He went to Fort Hood in Texas, and he was stationed somewhere in Michigan, where he finished his education and became a cook. He ended up playing with B.B. King and Muddy Waters. He is now playing in a movie with Mr. Danny Glover!”
From the official website, here's a short synopsis of The Honeydripper, with Arthur appearing as the character 'Metalmouth Sims' — a harp player. The Honeydripper is John Sayles sixteenth feature film.
“It’s 1950 and it’s a make or break weekend for Tyrone Purvis (Danny Glover), the proprietor of the Honeydripper Lounge. Deep in debt, Tyrone is desperate to bring back the crowds that used to come to his place. He decides to lay off his long-time blues singer Bertha Mae, and announces that he’s hired a famous guitar player, Guitar Sam, for a one-night-only gig in order to save the club.
Into town drifts Sonny Blake, a young man with nothing to his name but big dreams and the guitar case in his hand. Rejected by Tyrone when he applies to play at the Honeydripper, he is intercepted by the corrupt local Sheriff, arrested for vagrancy and rented out as an unpaid cotton picker to the highest bidder. But when Tyrone’s ace-in-the-hole fails to materialize at the train station, his desperation leads him back to Sonny and the strange, wire-dangling object in his guitar case. The Honeydripper lounge is all set to play its part in rock & roll history.”
Williams’ fondest memory of the movie experience was his jammin' with Keb Mo and Gary Clark, Jr., at a crawfish boil, and the cast party that honored him.
As the trip unfolded, the need to chronicle this story became obvious. Our road trip took us through Memphis, where coincidentally, the Memphis community radio WEVL 89.9 FM (a fantastic station) began playing a track from a Frank Frost album titled, Harpin On It, featuring on harp — you guessed it — Mr. Arthur Williams!
There were numerous stops along our “Juke Joint Journey” on both new and old highway 61, as Arthur retraced his past — from several old, long-abandoned juke joints, sitting desolate among the towns (where Arthur played 50 years ago) to a visit with Sam Carr -— endless anecdotes of his times with Honeyboy Edwards, Big Jack Johnson and so many other stories.
Our route led us to Sam Carr's home, off old highway 61. Arthur wanted to visit with his old friend who now lives a simple country life. Although his walls are lined with numerous music awards and recognitions, he said he “…feels like they forget about me anymore. I used to roll all the time — sleep only two hours a night. I’m 87 now, and can't do that anymore,” Carr said.
Arthur and Sam reminisced about their times in the area, playing the jukes and house parties -— and their friendship with Frank Frost. Visiting with Sam was a experience that is best described as a deep blues moment. (The former firefighter in me made me remove the robe that was lying against his blazing space heater, and worry about his future safety). At 87 years old, Sam is the caregiver for his wife Doris, who is bedridden. After saying farewell to Sam, we made our way into Clarksdale.
The Juke Joint Festival was in full swing! Music was in every club, restaurant and on the sidewalks, featuring Deak Harp jammin’ all day in front of Bluessource.com, with Honeyboy on the main stage and Super Chikan over at Ground Zero, and Arthur sitting in with the Mississippi Marvel. The journey continued on to the Hopson Plantation to end the evening. Haven't been to Clarksdale? It’s blues history, and you'll never forget it!
By the way, here are some Honeyboy Edwards Stops you should make — The Riverside Hotel and “Rat,” the Delta Blues Museum, Ground Zero Blues Club, Red's Juke Joint, The Depot Blues Club, Sarah's Kitchen, Cat Head, Abe's BBQ — the list goes on and on. The Crossroads sign at the intersection of highways 49 and 61 is always a good Kodak moment — and no, it's not the true legendary crossroads, but the touristas sure love it!
Betsie Brown of Blind Raccoon (music promotion, media relations and marketing communications) was on the scene, working with Honeyboy Edwards and, of course, the gang from the Blues Foundation drove down from Memphis for the day.
As a Blues Highway travel adventure, just head south from Memphis on highway 61, past the casinos of Tunica, and you're there.
It’s a world-class Blues adventure. Make it your own journey, or hook up with someone like Amanda and the Delta Music Experience to enjoy a guided tour of the Delta blues scene! Either way, it's a spectacular way to experience the roots of this art form we call the blues.
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