Indianola MS Blues Trail – Mississippi Blues Trail

by Mauka · Published March 6, 2024 · Updated April 24, 2024

INDIANOLA, MS
BLUES TRAIL

Indianola MS blues trail info and points of interest
include the most impressive site here is the B.B. King Museum,
which includes his burial site.
Moreover, don’t miss the Pecan House!
If you like pecans, you will love this place.

The following is a summary of info available on the Blues Markers.
Moreover, you’ll find many of the markers are placed on
historical sites which adds to the intrigue.
Furthermore, most of the towns are small so it’s easy to find the markers.

Indianola MS Blues Trail: ALBERT KING

Who was Albert “King” Nelson?

Despite the confusion surrounding Albert King’s identity, his unique guitar style and smoky vocals were unmistakable.
While he claimed to be born in Indianola and to be the half-brother of B.B. King, documentation from his early years contradicts these claims.
In fact, he signed his name as Albert Nelson on his social security card application, listing his birthplace as Aberdeen, MS, and his father’s name as Will Nelson.
During the 1940s and 1950s, he was known as Albert Nelson. However, after his first recording in 1953, he changed his stage name to Albert King, perhaps capitalizing on B.B. King’s popularity.
In response, B.B. once quipped, “My name was King before I was famous.”

Despite the challenges they faced, when Albert was 8 years old, his father left, and his mother moved the family to Arkansas.

He made his first guitar out of a cigar box, a piece of a bush, and a strand of broom wire.
Since he was left-handed, he would turn his guitar upside down teaching himself to play.
Albert worked a variety of jobs, cotton picking, driving a bulldozer, construction work, etc. until he was able to support himself as a musician.
Earlier in his career he worked with a gospel group in Indiana, then he worked as a drummer with bluesman Jimmy Reed in the Gary/Chicago area.
Recordings made in St. Louis and with Stax Records in Memphis drew attention to his talent bringing him to the forefront of the blues genre.
Albert King’s unique style billed as “King of the Blues Guitar,” classified him as an important artist in blues history.
He played guitar left-handed and upside down without reversing the strings.
Albert also played his guitar loudly creating a deep, dramatic sound.

Albert Kings music:

Despite his lack of commercial success, Albert King was a respected figure in the music industry.
Furthermore, his most notable album was “Live Wire/Blues Power”, recorded at the Fillmore in San Francisco.
In addition, among his most popular singles were “Born Under a Bad Sign,” “Cross Cut Saw,” “The Hunter,” and “I’ll Play the Blues for You.”
Moreover, Albert was elected to the Blues Hall of Fame in 1983, a well-deserved honor for his contributions to the genre.
Unfortunately, he died from a heart attack in Memphis on December 21, 1992.

Indianola Blues Markers Info for Albert King

Indianola MS Blues Trail: CHURCH STREET

Additionally, Church Street was a bustling thoroughfare catering to the African American community, primarily those working in the cotton fields.
Furthermore, this was a thoroughfare with doctors’ offices, shopping, restaurants, Saturday night blues clubs, and Sunday morning church services.
In the 1940s, B. B. King, as a teenager, would play on the street for tips.
Moreover, prior to Club Ebony, John Jones owned and operated “Jones Night Spot” on Church Street, which was the area’s premier blues venue.
Notably, blues artists that performed there were Robert Nighthawk, Robert Jr. Lockwood, the big bands of Count Basie, and Duke Ellington.

On the contrary, unlike B.B. King who always returned
to perform in Indianola, several individuals who were born in Indianola left the area.

Albert King (1923-1992) rivaled B.B. as a blues guitar king.
In Chicago, harmonica players Jazz Gillum (1904-1966) and Little Arthur Duncan (1934-2008) made a name for themselves.
Similarly, Brothers Louis (1932-1995) and Mac Collins (1929-1997) were known in the Detroit blues scene.
Furthermore, Louis Collins (“Mr. Bo”) and David Durham were heavily influenced by B.B. King.

Indianola Blues Markers Info for Church Street

Indianola MS Blues Trail: CLUB EBONY

Club Ebony was built just after the end of World War II in Indianola.
An important African American nightclub in the South that featured many legendary artists like Ray Charles, Count Basie, B. B. King, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, Albert King, and Willie Clayton.
John Jones opened the club for business in 1948 catering to “Negroes” in Indianola since there were no other clubs for African Americans.
However, he ran into financial difficulties as a result of letting plantation workers in with promises to pay while paying high fees for hiring some of the big names in the entertainment field.
In addition, Jones also operated another club in Indianola, Jones Nite Spot on Church Street.
Unfortunately, Jones died in 1950, but his wife and other family members took over operating the club

In 1958, Ruby Edwards, owner of Ruby’s Nite Spot in Leland, purchased Club Ebony.
Moreover, B.B. King was a performer at Club Ebony
and ended up marrying Ruby’s daughter, Sue Carol Hall.
Additionally, B.B. once said about John Jones,
“was really the guy that kept the Negro neighborhood alive, by bringing people in,
like Louis Jordan . . . Johnny Jones was a very nice fellow,
and he knew the guys on the plantations didn’t have any money during the week,
and he would often let us in and we would pay him off when we came in Saturday.”

Club Ebony changed hands again in 1975 when it was purchased by Willie and Mary Shepard. Who, in their ownership, wanted to continue with the booking of top acts from the “Chitlin Circuit”.
However, B.B. purchased Club Ebony in 2008 when Shepard retired. Consequently, he wanted to preserve this cultural landmark.
In fact, B.B. King had written in his autobiography, “I found love back down in the Delta.”

Indianola Blues Markers Info for Club Ebony

B. B. KING’S BIRTHPLACE… A Blues Markers Info for B.B. King

B. B. KING’S ROOTS… A Blues Markers Info for B.B. King's roots

INDIANOLA, MS
BLUES TRAIL

In the 1880s, Indianola was a sawmill town;
however, it later evolved into a farming community producing cotton,
soybeans, corn, rice, and plenty of catfish.
Due to its centralized location in the Delta, it became an important crossroads town.
Today, it is known around the world as one of the most important stops on
the Mississippi Blues Trail.

In the 1880s, Indianola started as a sawmill town; then developed into a farming community producing cotton, soybeans, corn, rice, and plenty of catfish.
Additionally, its centralized location in the Delta makes it an important crossroads town, with two major roads intersecting here.
Today, it is known around the world as one of the most important stops on the Mississippi Blues Trail. Notably, Tourism has created an economic boom recently, with thousands visiting here not only for the annual blues festival but also to explore the history of the blues.
Furthermore, one of the most important stops on the Blues Trail is the brick building housing the B.B. King Museum and Interpretive Center, which offers a variety of exhibits and hosts a variety of events.
Attached to the museum is a cotton gin dating to 1905, which is the last cotton gin still standing in the state.
Moreover, a very young Riley B. King worked here long before he was considered the King of the Blues. Club Ebony is now owned by the museum.

Indianola MS Blues Trail:
Club Ebony was built just after the end of World War II and the club featured
Ray Charles, Count Basie, B.B. King, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, Albert King, etc.
B.B. King purchased the venue to keep the Club Ebony tradition alive.”

Most residents worked in the cotton fields then came to town on weekends.
Church St. was the hub of activity!
B.B. King often played for tips on the street as a teenager in the 1940s.

Indianola’s blues clubs were an important stop on the Chitlin Circuit, a collection of performance venues that accepted African American performers.
The name Chitlin’ Circuit came from the soul food known as chitlins’, stewed pig intestines.
The number of musicians who passed through this town is countless; Albert King, Little Arthur Duncan, Jazz Gillum, and Brew Moore were natives to Indianola.

Indianola MS Blues Trail Info:
Blue Biscuit, across from the B.B. King Museum is the only eatery in town
that offers live music combined with 72-hour pulled pork.
During the first weekend in June, they hold the Blue Biscuit Festival. Indianola Blue Biscuit on Mississippi Blues Trail

Indianola MS Blues Trail Info:

The Indianola Pecan House offers everything pecan including gifts, gourmet foods,
and pecans in every form you can imagine,
but the owner says the original praline pecan is the best seller.