Mississippi Blues Travellers

04/08/2026

This Quiet Mississippi Town Keeps a Rare Blues Tradition Alive in the Most Remarkable Way 👇🏻 👇🏻

04/08/2026

Please join us as we unveil the 222nd marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail on April 9th at 2:00 p.m. The marker will be located in a lot on the west side of Abes BBQ. Plan to make a day of it by checking out other Blues Trail markers in Visit Clarksdale and surrounding areas including those for the Riverside Hotel, Sam Cooke, WROX Radio, Ike Turner, Wade Walton, the New World District, Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival, Delta Blues Museum - Clarksdale, Mississippi, and Big Jack Johnson. Also nearby in Coahoma County are markers for "Rocket '88" in Lyon, Muddy Waters's house site in Stovall, Robert Nighthawk in Friars Point, "Livin' in Lula" and Little Junior Parker in Bobo.

04/08/2026

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04/08/2026

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03/15/2026

HEY LOCO FANS – Lightnin’ Hopkins was born March 15, 1912. He was one of the most influential blues guitarists, singers, and songwriters in the blues, and the defining voice of Texas blues.

Born Samuel John Hopkins in Centerville, Texas, he grew up immersed in rural blues traditions. At age eight he met Blind Lemon Jefferson at a church picnic, an encounter that left a lifelong imprint. Hopkins also learned from his older cousin Texas Alexander, and later recorded with another cousin, electric blues guitarist Frankie Lee Sims. Early on, Hopkins accompanied Jefferson at informal church and community gatherings, absorbing both technique and storytelling.

His nickname “Lightnin’” was coined by a record executive in the late 1940s when he was paired with pianist Wilson “Thunder” Smith, the contrast proving irresistible. Hopkins soon emerged as a solo force, developing a highly individual fingerstyle approach that made him sound like an entire band. His playing combined bass lines, rhythm, lead, and percussive slaps on the guitar body, creating a hypnotic, rolling groove.

Although many of his songs followed the 12-bar blues, Hopkins’s phrasing was loose and conversational. He excelled at talking blues, delivering sharp observations on segregation, poverty, bad luck in love, and everyday survival, often laced with dry humor. He frequently referred to himself as “Poor Lightnin’,” turning hardship into wry poetry.

Hopkins recorded prolifically from the late 1940s through the 1970s for labels including Aladdin, Gold Star, Prestige, Folkways, and Bluesville, ultimately releasing more albums than any other blues musician. For more than three decades he served as Houston’s unofficial poet-in-residence, chronicling city life with unmatched authenticity.

Lightnin’ Hopkins died of esophageal cancer in Houston on January 30, 1982, at age 69. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked him No. 71 on its list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time, affirming his towering legacy as a singular voice in the blues.

03/15/2026

Remembering 2014 Blues Hall of Fame Inductee Robert Pete Williams 💙
March 14, 1914 – December 31, 1980

03/15/2026

03/15/2026

This record changed a lot of folks.... the "pre-war" gold rush was on. My moment was much later, when the Lightnin Hopkins Aladdin box set came out - thats when I stepped away from the flashy guitar heroes and dove deep in the deep, country blues.

03/15/2026

HEY LOCO FANS - A little blues history, plus context for songs still echoing through today’s repertoire. The 1927 recording “Match Box Blues” by Blind Lemon Jefferson was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, recognizing its lasting cultural and musical influence.

The famous “matchbox” lyric predates Jefferson. In March 1924, Ma Rainey recorded “Lost Wandering Blues” in Chicago, released by Paramount Records on a 10-inch 78 rpm disc. Her lyric used the matchbox as a symbol of travel and hardship:

I’m sittin’ here wonderin’, will a matchbox hold my clothes…

On March 14, 1927, Jefferson expanded that image into the title “Match Box Blues,” recording it for Okeh Records in Atlanta, Georgia. Blues scholar Paul Oliver noted that both Rainey and Jefferson likely drew the line from long-standing African American folk tradition rather than directly from one another. Jefferson re-recorded the song twice more in April 1927 for Paramount, preserving its core lyric while varying verses and delivery.

The song became a blues standard, later recorded by Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, the Shelton Brothers, and Roy Newman and His Boys, bridging blues, folk, and country swing.

In December 1956, Carl Perkins transformed the lyric into a driving rockabilly hit, “Matchbox,” recorded at Sun Records with Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. Though musically distinct from the 1920s blues versions, Perkins retained key lyrical imagery, helping carry a Depression-era blues metaphor into the rock and roll age.

The Carl Perkins version is also currently in the Big Train and the Loco Motives current playlist - be sure to request it the next time you catch us live!! ??

03/15/2026

https://youtu.be/rT8D_L2bBGQ?si=Y2r30Vi45bBzAftF

Matt "Guitar" Murphy Willie DixonMemphis SlimBilly StepneyThe American Folk Blues Festival tour of Europe (1962-1966)

01/02/2026

A new video on the Rumble channel...

Premium Only Content This video is only available to Rumble Premium subscribers. Subscribe to enjoy exclusive content and ad-free viewing. Dukes Of Dixieland - Best Of The Dukes Of Dixieland (1965) [Complete LP] Mississippi Blues Travellers 54 followers 0 0 Report Save Report Go Ad-Free with Rumble....