Let us see your moves! Welcome to Mississippi, the heart and soul of the blues-- and where else could a bluesman like you and your lovely wife end up. Red's Blues Club sounds perfect. Wish we had been there with you. We will follow in your footsteps and stay at the Shack Up Inn. (you dog) Glad you found such great places at the Crossroads of the blues.
The Shack Up Inn What a fantastically quirky looking place... no wonder you felt you had to go and stay there, I would too - it looks great! Thanks for sharing
The Shack Up Inn Thanks Nomads. It even has a stage and blues gigs and festivals are featured there. At those times I'd really like to be staying there. The vibe would be sensational.
He dances to his own tune, but not her... Green onions. Gotta love it. How can you not move to that melody! Some great music & have to say some great dancing! Nothing better than being in the moment just moving to the groove, transported to another realm...wonderful memories! All I can say David is - if you drove any slower you would be in reverse!
For a Blues lover... it can't get any better. So right Bob. We are still buzzing from the brilliant highs of finding the Blues in Clarksdale of which I'll share further blues guitar licks and notes.
Brave, brave souls WOW! I would never have the courage to go in one of those places or even stop near one. It is so great to hear your love and enthusiasm for what is right under my nose. You are teaching us all a lesson.
Carolyn/Gunga
Brave, brave souls Love & enthusiasm Carolyn...together with a few dance steps...amazing where it takes us. We're not known as the Dancing Duo for no reason!
Thanks! What a marvelous excursion you two are on. And of course Denise drives fast - most excellent drivers do! ;)
And thanks for the Green Onions clip; it's one of my favorites.
Thanks! "And of course Denise drives fast - most excellent drivers do! ;)". Right on Karen. As Denise has a perfect driving record (no blemishes against her licence) no doubt she'd agree with you. But when my body tenses...we need Green Onions playing when that happens!!!
Shake up or Shack Up Either way sounds like a great time was had by all... you really are an adventurous pair. It all looks a bit scarey to me but obviously wasn't.
Looks a bit like that movie with Burt Reynolds .'.Deliverance' country.
Shake up or Shack Up One of the joys of travelling when looking for music Lynne, is to find a Blues joint like Red's that is the real deal. To find a place to stay as atmospheric as Shack Up Inn by an absolute fluke is serendipity in its brilliant glory.
The suporters of slave owners still goes on.... Are you really here in Memphis- again? Please e-mail me so we can meet. I have been to the Civil Rights Museum several times ( but not since it was updated last year). But it is Slave Haven that I think really tells a more personal story. It is privately owned and sometimes the woman that owns it is there. Her daughters help her run the place. I took a group of Russians who were here visiting Memphis there and they were astounded by the honestly shown. The young girl who gave them there tour sang some of the spirituals and it was incredibly moving.
I lived in Massachusetts for 64 years and only moved to Memphis several years ago so the reality of the history of the South stills shocks me. There is still a huge fight going on in Memphis between African - AM and some 'enlightened' folks and the ancestors of Nathan Bedford Forrest and the sons and daughters of the Confederacy. He was a founder of the Ku Klux Klan and his statue stands in a park on Union Avenue (love that irony). The park has been renamed but the good ol' boys are fighting to get it back to 'honor' the general who was quite a slaughterer.
Thanks for the history lesson. Carolyn / Gunga
The suporters of slave owners still goes on.... I am somewhat relieved to receive your comments Carolyn as only one other American has commented and to me that is of concern. This is probably my most important blog, yet to date the least popular. The silence is deafening, yet the subject so topical. If it was about the Killing Fields in Cambodia or a massacre in Africa or anywhere other than USA, the interest may be significantly greater. Yet those that have commented convey like concerned minds. Great you agree Slave Haven is worthwhile. I find the balance of your post disturbing and vital you have so advised. I am a firm believer that light shone in dark corners makes cockroaches scuttle. We saw the film "Welcome to Leith" yesterday about a small USA town versus white supremacists so there is hope for goodness to prevail in your country yet.
Powerful words! Racism is a scourge that needs to be eliminated from this world, it lays within each of us to treat everyone equally regardless of creed, sex and sexuality. It is within each of us to not be quiet when we see such things around us.
Powerful words! I agree with your powerful words Per-Olof that deserve to be repeated "Racism is a scourge that needs to be eliminated from this world, it lays within each of us to treat everyone equally regardless of creed, sex and sexuality. It is within each of us to not be quiet when we see such things around us." You have thus named the 'elephant in the room' which I neglected to name. I have reported on two must-see sites but the important stories these places convey go much much further than that.
Memphis, Tennessee Great post...I can imagine how moving it must have been to visit these places. I have been fascinated by this part of the US for a long time.
Memphis, Tennessee-Slave Haven & National Civil Rights Museum Hi Ren. Moving, yes. Important to let fellow TBers know of these must-see sights, more so.
Not our country's finest moments Dangerous Dave here......your blog allowed others to glimpse a part of our county's past which is very painful to many people. With many shining moments in our history, this chapter was for lack of a better term...horrendous. Thank you for sharing your thoughts so others might better understand what occurred in the hopes this type of man's inhumanity to man will never occur again.
Not our country's finest moments Thank you for your candid comments Dave. I report on two must-see sites of Memphis that were both shocking and victorious. Slave Haven for the ingenuity of the black slaves and their codes, National Civil Rights Museum for the fight for civil rights that had to be fought. These stories have to be told and shared by blacks and whites alike and I share with you the in the hopes that by so doing this type of man's inhumanity to man will never occur again.
Shaken to the heart I was touched beyond belief at both of these places. Slave Haven because we had wonderful soulful conversation with the volunteers & delighted at the wonderful inventiveness of the abolitionists in their fight for justice for another human being. The Civil Rights Museum for their interactive displays that put you in someone else's shoes for a moment which shook you to the heart...great blog David.
Bravo....you went there... This blog is amazing David...digging the uncomfortable truth up - this comment stood out. Thank you
Images that made me squirm...'cause 'twas obvious how fortunate I am...to be born white.
Bravo....you went there... Thank you for commenting Cindy. Probably my most important blog...possibly my least popular! The Blues Highway is not just fabulous music...it has a history that is impossible to ignore...a history that is an integral part of the blues...an integral part of the human fabric that you see and meet on the way.
My wife Denise & I like to travel "on paths less travelled" that capture our imagination, inspire my photography & where we mix with locals & remain safe.
Visited Countries Map
... full info
D MJ Binkley
Dave and Merry Jo Binkley
Denise on the blues highway
Pedal to the metal.....glad the blues lady was behind the wheel!