Includes hotels and restaurants; music clubs and bars; music landmarks; music festivals and events; interviews; jazz, blues, Cajun, zydeco, country, gospel, soul and rock and roll; and more.
Journalist Hugh Merrill takes us on a sweeping road trip in search of the distinctly American music known as the blues. Tracing blues culture from its beginning in rural Mississippi up through the Delta to Chicago and beyond, Merrill visits with legendary musicians such as Son Thomas, Koko Taylor, Son Seals, Valerie Wellington and Magic Slim. In fascinating interviews, Merrill uncovers wonderful stories about Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Jelly Roll Morton, Bessie Smith, Ida Cox and Ma Rainey. The trip dips into New Orleans as Merrill explores how the blues exploded in clubs and cribs, influencing dixieland, jazz and zydeco. A trip out west presents a lovely tour of the cocktail lounges of Oakland and Los Angeles and the guardians of the blues who live there. The Blues Route is an engrossing narrative, a book that celebrates not only the music but the continuing search for sympathy, understanding and affinity that the blues embodies.
Highway 61 is the legendary Blues Highway and route taken by modern-day blues pilgrims on their journey south into the Mississippi Delta. For anyone embarking on the journey this is essential reading that ensures the blues pilgrim gets the most from the land where blues began.
"Daniel Erickson has the blues. There's a Russian mobster wearing his finger on a necklace, two hit men hot on his trail, an FBI agent obsessed with his capture, and a rogue motorcycle gang hunting him down as he desperately races cross-country following musical clues he hopes will lead him to the stolen million dollars that might not be enough to save him. Or his son"--Cover p. [4].
At a crossroads in the Mississippi Delta, Robert Johnson is said to have sold his soul to the Devil so that he could become a guitar virtuoso and King of the Delta Blues. Blues Traveling: The Holy Sites of Delta Blues will tell you where that legendary deal was supposed to have been made and guide you to all the other hallowed grounds that nourished Mississippi's signature music. Johnson, Mississippi John Hurt, Memphis Minnie, Jimmie Rodgers, Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Howlin' Wolf, B. B. King, Little Milton, Elvis Presley, Bobby Rush, Junior Kimbrough, R. L. Burnside-the list of great artists with Mississippi connections goes on and on. A trip through Mississippi blues sites is a pilgrimage every music lover ought to make at least once in a lifetime, to see the juke joints and churches, to visit the birthplaces and graves of blues greats, to walk down the dusty roads and over the levee, to eat some barbecue and greens, to sit on the bank of the Mississippi River, and to hear some down-home blues music. Blues Traveling is the first and only guidebook to Mississippi's musical places and blues history. With photographs, maps, easy-to-follow directions, and an informative, entertaining text, this book will lead you in and out of Clarksdale, Greenwood, Helena (Arkansas), Rolling Fork, Jackson, Natchez, Bentonia, Rosedale, Itta Bena, and dozens of other locales that generations of blues musicians have lived in, traveled through, and sung about. Stories, legends, and lyrics are woven into the text so that each backroad and barroom comes alive. Touring Mississippi with Blues Traveling is like having a knowledgeable and entertaining guide at your side. Even people with no immediate plans to visit Mississippi will enjoy reading the book for its photos, descriptions, and lore that will broaden their understanding and enhance their appreciation of the blues. Steve Cheseborough is an independent scholar and blues musician. His work has been published in Living Blues, Blues Access, Mississippi, and the Southern Register .
A father and son take a road trip along Highway 61--the legendary road of the blues--and through some of the most musically fertile and diverse landscapes in America. 10 photos.
National Geographic presents the great outdoors through the world’s best auto trips, for nature lovers, hikers, and adventurers. Pack your suitcase, load up the car, and head for the open road! This lavishly illustrated, hardcover travel planner and gift book gives you every bit of information you'll need to navigate 400 amazing driving routes in some of the world's most fascinating locales. This practical travel planner provides specific, in-depth descriptions of the sights each drive offers. A clear, detailed, easy-to-read map of each route. Useful information on the best time to travel. And insider tips to help you get the most out of every fabulous trip. Abundant sidebars call your attention to standout sights along the drive or entertaining background information on the region and its culture. While handy indeed as a planner, Drives of a Lifetime doubles as a full-color gift book with more than 200 dazzling, large-format photos and crisp, evocative text that will enchant armchair travelers. The book immerses you in the unique appeal and beauty of hundreds of inviting locales. Sample entries include the road to the spectacular ancient ruins in and around Angkor Wat in Cambodia; the Natchez Trace Parkway, along an ancient Native American trail through Mississippi; the scenic old coastal route from Dublin to Wexford in Ireland; an off-road dune drive in Dubai; the famous ocean views along the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia, Canada; the Winelands Route through South Africa's Western Cape; a drive among the incredible land formations in South Dakota's Badlands; and an archaeological tour through Syria. In addition, you'll find several fun Top Ten lists: skyscraping drives, Mediterranean island roads, African wildlife excursions, and more. Chapters organized by theme include Ultimate Road Trips, featuring famous drives such as Highway One down the California coast; Over Hill and Mountains; By Sea and Shore; The Road Less Traveled, highlighting unpaved an
Hailed as a masterpiece of American travel writing, Blue Highways is an unforgettable journey along our nation's backroads. William Least Heat-Moon set out with little more than the need to put home behind him and a sense of curiosity about "those little towns that get on the map -- if they get on at all -- only because some cartographer has a blank space to fill: Remote, Oregon; Simplicity, Virginia; New Freedom, Pennsylvania; New Hope, Tennessee; Why, Arizona; Whynot, Mississippi." His adventures, his discoveries, and his recollections of the extraordinary people he encountered along the way amount to a revelation of the true American experience.
Hop in the car and set off on an adventure along the Natchez Trace Parkway, from the country music capital to the birthplace of jazz. Inside Moon Nashville to New Orleans Road Trip you'll find: Maps and Driving Tools: Over 20 easy-to-use maps keep you oriented on and off the parkway, along with site-to-site mileage, driving times, and detailed directions for the entire route Get to Know the Music of the South: Catch up-and-coming musicians play at quaint cafes, and hit the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. Bask in the sounds of blues on Beale Street, and pay homage to "The King" at Graceland. Listen to a soulful live jazz group, or learn about the South's musical legacy on the Mississippi Blues Trail Savor Southern Food: Enjoy authentic hot chicken, get your barbecue fix in Memphis, and indulge in Creole cuisine and fresh beignets in New Orleans Itineraries for Every Traveler: Drive the entire two-week route or follow suggestions for spending time in and around Nashville, Memphis, and New Orleans. Take an introspective moment at influential Civil Rights Movement sites, hike past dramatic waterfalls, spend a peaceful morning fishing, or bike along the Mississippi River Local Expertise: Nashville local Margaret Littman shares her love for the Natchez Trace Planning Your Trip: Know when and where to get gas, how to avoid traffic, and tips for driving in different road and weather conditions, plus essential advice for biking the route and suggestions for LGBTQ+ travelers, families, seniors, and visitors with disabilities With Moon Nashville to New Orleans' practical tips, detailed itineraries, and insider's view, you're ready to fill up the tank and hit the road. Looking to explore more of America on wheels? Try Moon Blue Ridge Parkway Road Trip. For more quintessential South, check out Moon Tennessee or Moon Asheville & the Great Smoky Mountains. About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell—and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you. For more inspiration, follow @moonguides on social media.
A small town once haunted by a serial killer braces for a new evil in this debut horror novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Ink. Thirty years ago, a blues musician called the Bone Man killed the devil at the crossroads, only to be beaten and hung like a scarecrow in a cornfield—or so the story goes. Today, the people of Pine Deep celebrate their town’s grisly past by luring tourists to the famous haunted hayride, full of chills and scares. But this year as Halloween approaches, “The Spookiest Town in America” will learn the true meaning of fear. Its residents will see the real face of evil lurking behind the masks of ordinary people. They will feel it—in their hearts, in their bones, in their nightmares. Because evil never dies. It only grows stronger . . . Winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Best First Novel First in the Pine Deep Trilogy Praise for Ghost Road Blues “Maberry supplies plenty of chills, both Earth-bound and otherworldly, in this atmospheric horror novel . . . . This is horror on a grand scale, reminiscent of Stephen King’s heftier works.” —Publishers Weekly Praise for Jonathan Maberry “Jonathan Maberry’s horror is rich and visceral. It’s close to the heart . . . and close to the jugular.” —Kevin J. Anderson “Maberry has the chops to craft stories at once intimate, epic, real, and horrific.” —Bentley Little “Maberry spins great stories. His (Pine Deep) vampire novels are unique and masterful.” —Richard Matheson “Maberry’s works will be read for many, many years to come.” —Ray Bradbury