The blues music genre originated on plantations up and down rivers across the South, including the Arkansas River from Little Rock to Sweet Home, Altheimer, Pine Bluff and as far downstream as Arkansas City. Besides vast fields of cotton, the plantations raised the procreators of America’s unique soulful music. Many of those blues founders have been forgotten for more than half a century. A new economic, educational and cultural heritage project means to correct that long oversight.
The Arkansas River Delta Blues Trail is a new nonprofit. Its initial project, “Arkansas Originals,” intends to honor six blues artists who left their mark on the culture.
The first honorees include Bobby Rush, from Sherrill; Big Bill Broonzy, from north Jefferson County; Cedell Davis, from Pine Bluff; Larry “Totsy” Davis, from England; Elmon “Driftin’ Slim” Mickle, from Keo; and “Quenn Sylvia Embry” Lee Burton from Wabbaseka.
The project’s founder, Billy Jeter, is a Delta roots and blues musician with six albums of original songs. A native of Wabbaseka, Jeter now divides his time between Little Rock and Crested Butte, Colo.
He shared how the organization plans to eventually construct 20 plaques along the route, including historic blues venues and influencers. He explained the importance of these commemorative markers to expand blues recognition across the region and dovetail with Jimmy “Catfish” Cunningham’s brainchild, the Delta Rhythm Bayous Highway.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
The alternate music-themed thoroughfare established in 2017 runs along U.S. 65 from Pine Bluff to Lake Village, before turning east along U.S. 82 to Greenville and Leland, Miss. Together the two corridors reflect important routes along the “chitlin’ circuit,” where blues was forged and legends made.
Jeter explained the origins of his idea.
“I’d leave Little Rock and drive through Sherrill headed to my pecan orchard near Wabbaseka,” he said. “Passing through the remnants of the farming community, I kept thinking, ‘Why isn’t there some kind of sign saying this is Bobby Rush’s childhood home?’
“Going to Marvell and seeing all the wonderful things done to remember their native son Levon Helm and visiting Clarksdale with all the memorial signs for the blues players that came from there, I decided to get a sign recognizing Bobby,” Jeter said.
He said every time he played a show across the Delta, someone would come up to him and share another long-forgotten blues great who came from the area. This inspired him to research the many blues artist from north Jefferson County and further along the river route.
“I read Catfish Cunningham’s book, ‘Delta Music and Film,’ and called him about his Delta Rhythm and Bayous Highway. He helped me discover a number of forgotten greats who originated around here,” Jeter said. “Drummer Dave Hoffpauir told me about the Northeast Louisiana Music Trail and I reached out to their founder, who just happened to be Enoch Doyle Jeter. He told me how they got started and now have 23 memorial music plaques along a route beginning in Monroe. I began to envision our two trails as a connecting thread between the Mississippi Blues Trail along Highway 61 and The Northeast Louisiana Music Trail.”
Jeter got his publicist, Kat Daniels, involved, and together they established nonprofit status and pulled together a group of volunteers to launch the ambitious endeavor.
Plaques average $3,500 each. He said while those previously founded music highways received federal grant money for their markers, such funds are no longer available, so they will have to rely on individual and corporate sponsors, as well as numerous fundraising events planned for coming months.
“We want to recognize the people worth recognizing that have until now been forgotten,” Jeter said.
He has built a playlist of the artists’ music that anyone can access on Apple and Spotify. The project will eventually include educational courses and help return live music to the region with blues shows each weekend along the trail.
The inaugural show in Scott happened Friday evening at Scott Station, with another on Saturday afternoon at Wabbaseka Founder’s Day in the City Park next to U.S. 79.
Further events are being scheduled for Little Rock, Pine Bluff, Bentonville and Fayetteville.
“We will be working with the Pryor Center and in close conjunction with local blues associations like Pine Bluff’s Port City Blues Society,” he said.
“Most of these little communities don’t have much tourist draw other than seasonal duck hunting. I’m already having tour guides from the Netherlands and Germany reaching out to schedule group trips. Our two main information center kiosks will be in Keo and Pine Bluff,” Jeter said.
Next on the slate of blues artists for recognition are Taildragger Jones, Calvin Leavy, Roy Lee Jones and Sippie Wallace, to be followed by Detroit Johnny Johnson, Willie Moore, Pine Bluff Pete, Hosea Leavy, Vernon Garrett and influential music executive Mayo Williams.
