WGRM & Greenwood, Mississippi

Greenwood was really, really good to me.  First Bobby Rush then Ben Wiley Payton (acoustic blues legend of the area) and salads, salads and salads!  One thing about the Delta...not too big on veggies unless it's fried...it ain't food.  But in Greenwood I got my vitamins on track.  The Dancing Rabbit Book Store was this great little shop on Howard Street...I bought so many books and CD's I was almost embarassed...well, almost.  Really hard to find material was readily available in this shop.  After that great find I found Ben Payton.  A lovely gentleman with chops like you wouldn't believe on that acoustic guitar.  He made it look effortless and I learned alot by watching him play, sing and move his body.  We spoke for a long while at a break and he would really love to come to Canada and I would really like to make that happen for him.  A true blue acoustic blues legend in the area and let me tell you that's hard to find in these days of electric blues rock.  

Greenwood is very important to the history of Delta Blues from my perspective because it is also the town where Robert Johnson (I'll say more about that in the next blog).  But it is home to the Robert Johnson Museum in the building that housed the groundbreaking radio station, WGRM.  I put the information photo up so you could have a look.  And can you imagine just how much ancestral spit there is in that old microphone?  Lots of DNA let me tell you.  Ha Ha!

To make life even better I stayed in this luxurious Victorian mansion that is a B&B.  The owners had to be out of town so they left the keys under the mat and I helped myself to the entire place.  Quite the shift from the plantation cabins to this place.  And the view of the Yazoo River from the balcony was glorious!  Blessed I am.

Peace out...Kat