MISSISSIPPI BLUES TRAIL EXTENDS TO CHICAGO

Jackson, Mississippi (June 11, 2009) – Governor Haley Barbour announces the continued growth of the Mississippi Blues Trail as the Mississippi Blues Trail goes to Chicago, Illinois with its second out-of-state marker titled “Mississippi to Chicago” Mississippi Blues Trail marker, Thursday, June 11, 2009 at 3 p.m. in Grant Part, north of Roosevelt and Indiana Avenue in Chicago. The marker unveiling will be followed by a reception at the Blues Heaven Foundation, located at 2120 South Michigan Avenue, the former location of the Chess Records recording studio.

“With markers now stretching across the heartland of the Blues, the Mississippi Blues Trail is truly a tourism destination honoring our top musicians,” Governor Barbour said. “I thank the City of Chicago for acknowledging the great influence of Mississippi artists on the development of blues in Chicago.” This is one of the Mississippi Blues Trail markers to be erected outside of Mississippi; at present more than seventy-five markers have been dedicated within Mississippi, and approximately seventy others will be placed around Mississippi as well as in other cities with close ties to Mississippi blues, including Memphis, New Orleans, and Helena, Arkansas. The “Great Migration” from the South to “the Promised Land” of Chicago brought more African Americans to the Windy City from Mississippi than any other state, especially during and after World War II. With the migrants came the Delta blues that was the foundation of the classic postwar Chicago blues style. Muddy Waters, who became the king of Chicago blues, was among the thousands of Mississippians who arrived on Illinois Central trains at Central Station, which stood at the south end of Grant Park from 1893 to 1974.

The rise of the blues recording industry in Chicago in the 1920s attracted many musicians, and during the 1930s, blues artists in Chicago who claimed Mississippi roots included Willie Dixon, Memphis Minnie, Lil Green, and Big Bill Broonzy. During World War II the need for factory labor helped fuel a larger wave of migration, and in the „40s and „50s the tens of thousands of Mississippians who moved to Chicago included Muddy Waters, Howlin‟ Wolf, Bo Diddley, Jimmy Reed, Sunnyland Slim, Elmore James, Sonny Boy Williamson No. 2 (Rice Miller), Otis Rush, and Magic Sam. Chicago-based labels including Chess, Vee-Jay, Cobra, Delmark, Testament, Earwig and Alligator brought worldwide attention to many Mississippi artists, and Chicago‟s airwaves took on a down-home Mississippi flavor on radio programs hosted by popular deejays and Mississippi-natives Pervis Spann and Al Benson.

Blues Trail markers are placed at key sites across Mississippi to honor historic blues locations and give visitors insight into this unique heritage. As the Mississippi Blues Commission and the Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Heritage Trails Program continues to unveil these The Mississippi Blues Trail markers are funded in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and by support from the Center for the Study of Southern Culture, the Mississippi Department of Transportation, Delta State University and the Mississippi Development Authority. The Mississippi Blues Trail offers an unforgettable journey into Blues history, from the street corners and juke joints where musicians played, to the places they called home, to their final resting spots. Travelers are invited to walk where they walked, dance where they danced and play in the land where it all began. For travel information about Mississippi explore www.visitmississippi.org.

To contact the Mississippi Blues Trail office in Jackson, contact Alex Thomas (601-359-3297, athomas@mississippi.org) or Leigh Portwood (601-359-3061, lportwood@mississippi.org). For further information on the Mississippi Blues Trail, go to www.msbluestrail.org.