See Mississippi’s unique musical heritage in photos
Written by admin on September 18, 2025
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK).
The Mississippi Delta is a vast, inland floodplain, crossed with a network of bayous, cypress swamps and oxbow lakes.
Photograph by Simon Urwin
It’s dotted with some of the most uniquely atmospheric and idiosyncratic small towns in America — including music-rich Clarksdale, the self-proclaimed ‘World Capital of Blues’.
Photograph by Simon Urwin
Life on cotton plantations, such as Dockery Farms, led to the emergence of the blues.
Photograph by Simon Urwin
Shaped by the hollers of workers in the field, spiritual songs shared in church and African musical traditions, the genre developed as a powerful response by the enslaved population to the brutal realities of their daily life.
Photographs by Simon Urwin
James ‘Super Chikan’ Johnson is a renowned Delta bluesman and guitar maker. His grandfather, Ellis Johnson, was also a prominent bluesman in Mississippi and played regularly with Robert Johnson, the man who’s said to have sold his soul to the devil at the junction of highways 49 and 61 in exchange for his otherworldly guitar skills. Super Chikan is based in Clarksdale, one of the US’s leading music destinations, where live music can be heard 365 days of the year. As well as custom-making guitars and diddley bows in his home studio-workshop, 74-year-old Johnson is still performing, and believes the blues is most impactful in the land of its birth.
Photograph by Simon Urwin
Come listen to the Blues in a Clarksdale juke joint — It’ll punch you in the gut and rip your heart out.
James ‘Super Chikan’ Johnson
The Delta’s southernmost point is historic Vicksburg, famed for its twin bridges over the Mississippi River.
Photograph by Simon Urwin
In 1863, the defeat of the Confederate army here proved pivotal, hastening the end of the Civil War. After slavery was abolished, the region stood at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement, its activism driven by faith.
Photographs by Simon Urwin
The Delta’s deep spirituality also played a crucial role in the development of gospel music.
Photograph by Simon Urwin
The fusion of blues with traditional hymns rings out on Sundays in many Delta churches, such as the iconic, white-wood Brooklyn Chapel in Greenwood, which featured in the 2011 film The Help.
Photograph by Simon Urwin
A road trip taking in sites along the Mississippi Blues Trail — a heritage project featuring more than 200 historical markers scattered across Mississippi and beyond — is one way to discover the people, places and events that have shaped the blues and the musical genres it inspired, from rock ’n’ roll to R&B. The markers include the bright lights of Beale Street, Memphis, where Mississippi blues musicians have come in search of stardom since the early 20th century.
Photograph by Simon Urwin
Also featured is Red’s, a Clarksdale juke joint housed in the former Levine’s Music Center, where Ike Turner’s Kings of Rhythm bought the instruments used on what’s widely considered to be the world’s first rock ’n’ roll record — Rocket 88. The venue still hosts performances today, with local Ann Flanagan among the regulars.
Photograph by Simon Urwin
Published in the September 2025 issue of National Geographic Traveller (UK).
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