From Mississippi to Chicago, the Blues Highway honors both music history and the complicated past of the deep South.
It’s often said that America’s number one export is its culture, and American music is no exception. From gospel to hip-hop to rock and roll, American sound is found worldwide but has roots in the deep South. The foundation of American music is said to have started with the blues, a unique sound that combined the rhythm of work songs with the soulfulness found in spirituals.
The blues were a product of the South’s formerly enslaved people and reflect the violence, injustice, and inequality that plagued the Black community over the decades. The South is dotted with places that have strong ties to the blues and teach the history of American music. The easiest way to take them all in is by traveling from Mississippi to Tennessee and up to Illinois along Highway 61, also known as the Blues Highway.