Fri., Apr. 18, 2008
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Blue Front Café (contact Jimmy “Duck” Holmes, 662-755-2278 or 662-755-2160) - Historic juke in downtown Bentonia, Mississippi, where Henry Stuckey, Skip James, Jack Owens, Bud Spires, Duck Holmes and many others honed (and continue to hone) the world famous Bentonia Style of Country Blues. The Blue Front is the Bentonia Blues and vice versa—anyone who’s seen the famous Levi’s commercial featuring Jack Owens performing on the front porch of the Blue Front understands...
Broke & Hungry Records  (brokeandhungryrecords.com) - “Broke & Hungry Records is headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri...the label’s initial focus is on capturing the rough, country blues sounds that have emanated from the Mississippi Delta for nearly a hundred years...the label cut its first CD, Back to Bentonia by “Jimmy Duck” Holmes. That CD was released worldwide on April 18, 2006.”
Blues Festival Guide  (bluesfestivalguide.com) - “The Blues Festival Guide, entering its 5th year of publication, is an annual magazine...a website directory of all things BLUES, especially festivals, and a free blues E-guide for on-line subscribers.”
Jack Owens
 (Born: November 17(?), 1904 in Bentonia, MS; Died: February 9, 1997 at Kings Daughter Hospital in Yazoo City, MS) - Biography of Bentonia Blues legend Jack Owens on WikipediA. Here’s a tribute, Remembering Jack Owens, by Rob Hutten. Google “Jack Owens,” and you’ll find much more about him, as well as Jack’s frequent collaborator, harp player Bud Spires
 , who still lives and performs in Bentonia. Jack’s last public performance was at the 1996 Bentonia Blues Festival™
Nehemiah Curtis “Skip” James (Born: June 21, 1902 in Bentonia, MS; Died: October 3, 1969 in Philadelphia, PA) - Biography of Bentonia Blues legend Skip James (...or as Jack Owens called him, “Skippy”) on WikipediA.
Henry Stuckey (Born: April 11, 1897 in Bentonia, MS; Died: March 9, 1966 in Jackson, MS) - Originator of the Bentonia style of Blues. This is a translation of a French webpage which does a good job of explaining how Stuckey, an 18 year old WWI army nurse serving at a hospital in the French countryside, was influenced by two wounded French soldiers who played a very unusual guitar style that inspired him to develop his unique, haunting Bentonia Blues style. Both Hard Time Killing Floor and Devil Got My Woman (both composed by Stuckey but attributed to Skip James) were adaptations of tunes Stuckey heard those two wounded soldiers play.
Arnold Dwight “Gatemouth” Moore (Born: November 8, 1913 in Topeka, KS; Died: May 19, 2004 in Yazoo City, MS) - Scroll down to article titled Yazoo blues legend Gatemouth Moore, 90, dies Wednesday to read Vernon Sikes’ tribute to Yazoo Blues legend Gatemouth Moore.
Rocky Lawrence (rockylawrence.com) - “A student of Muddy Waters, Hubert Sumlin and Johnny ‘Clyde’ Copeland, Lawrence was no stranger to the blues scene. At the time of his musical rebirth, his band The Rocky Lawrence Project, was one of the top Blues bands in the Northeast... The Delta is calling.... Come to the crossroads.... Rocky Lawrence heard that call when he put down his electric guitar, picked up his acoustic and started the odyssey into the songs, music and life of the founding father of Rock & Roll, Mr. Robert Johnson.”
Legend Acres (legendacres.com) - Future location of the Annual Bentonia Blues Festival™, right across the road from Woodbine Plantation (where both Skip James and Jack Owens were born and raised). 36 acre mobile home development with only six (6) lots. Each lot is at least one acre in size. Also, short- or long-term RV hookup rentals.
Blue Front Blues Room (bluefrontbluesroom.org) - “Keeping good music live.” The Blue Front Blues Room has been bringing internationally-known acoustic (mainly blues) artists to the Forest of Dean [i.e., a place across the Pond in England...] and providing a venue for up-and-coming and local artists since March 2002. The name, “Blue Front Blues Room”, was inspired by a trip to Mississippi by members of the European Blues Association that included a visit to the “Real Deal!” in Bentonia, Mississippi. Duck gratiously granted the association permission to use the Blue Front Café’s name in their venue. A delightful recount of the visit appears here.
Living Blues Magazine (livingblues.com) - America's oldest and most authoritative blues magazine, renowned for its detailed feature stories and exceptional photography.
Blues Matters! (bluesmatters.com) - The music magazine and record label where the blues still matters!. Daily news, reviews, online community, store, and more.
Oakes African American Cultural Center (yazoo.org/website/history/history_oakes_african_american.htm) - A joint effort between the Yazoo County Fair and Civic League, Discover Yazoo and the Yazoo County Convention and Visitors Bureau, the fully restored Oakes family house is home of the Oakes African American Cultural Center, which includes a small blues exhibit. The entire second floor is currently being restored to house Yazoo County’s blues museum.
Triangle Cultural Center (triangleculturalcenter.com) - Formed in 1978, a center for the arts and full-service local arts agency, offering a wide variety of classes and activities for Yazoo County. Housed in historic, 100 year old former Main Street School in downtown Yazoo City, Mississippi.
Yazoo County Convention & Visitor’s Bureau (yazoo.org) - “Yazoo...down every side road lie unexpected treasures.”
Yazoo Herald (www.yazooherald.com/main.cgi) - Yazoo County, Mississippi’s weekly newspaper. (Basically, everything Yazoo...)
Yazoo Blues Circle (bentoniablues.org, contact Ronnie Eldridge, 662-571-0713) - A tour of historic blues sites including Woodbine Plantation, Skip James’ old home, Henry Stuckey’s old homeplace, Bud Spires’ home, the Blue Front Café, Jack Owens’ house, Jack Owens’ grave, burial site of Arthur “Big Boy” Spires (Bud Spires’ father), Otha Holmes’ home (Duck Holmes’ older cousin), Benton, Swaze homeplace road (some of the first settlers in Mississippi), Ebenezer, Elmer James’ grave, Lonnie Pitchford’s grave, Son Thomas’ old homeplace (location of his old juke where he played, an old hog parlor converted into a club; Son Thomas’ homeplace also has the clay banks where he got the gray clay he used for his sculptures, and its where he lived when he made his first record) and much more.
Dick Waterman Photography (dickwaterman.com) - [following excerpted from dickwaterman.com/bio.php] “Agent, manager, producer, promoter, Dick Waterman is the only person inducted in The Blues Hall of Fame who was not either a performing artist or a record company executive. He established himself in the Blues community as a diligent advocate for the artists and the art of Blues. Waterman is primarily known today as an archivist and photographer of Blues, Country, Rock and Jazz legends from Mississippi John Hurt to Mick Jagger and Eric Clapton. His commitment to documenting the Blues artists he worked with and came into contact with throughout the years is legendary....”
Bogfire: Photography & Graphic Design Services (bogfire.com) - [following excepted from bogfire.com] “Bogfire is dedicated to creativity as expressed in culture, history, music, literature and visual art. It represents the creative endeavors and special projects of co-founders Connie Scanlon and James Fraher....”
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