Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Miss., gets to the heart of the blues

Clarksdale, Miss., is often referred to as “Ground Zero” for anyone who wants to immerse themselves in the blues.  And, why not?  Geographically, it’s centrally located in the Mississippi Delta region.  It’s literally and figuratively located at the “Crossroads” of the blues where U.S. Highways 61 and 49 meet.  And it’s surrounded by sites that are historically significant to the birth and evolution of blues music.  So, it should come as no surprise that the biggest and most celebrated blues club in Clarksdale (and perhaps the entire country) is in the heart of downtown – the appropriately named Ground Zero Blues Club.

With its official address at 0 Blues Alley, practically adjacent to the Delta Blues Museum (which I highly suggest visiting), Ground Zero Blues Club can’t be missed.  That’s not just a recommendation.  The building is huge; it looks like a converted warehouse that reportedly once housed the Delta Grocery and Cotton Co. 

Was Pinetop Perkins the last of the original Delta bluesmen?

Pinetop Perkins died Monday, March 21, at the ripe age of 97.   Aside from having a really cool name, you might ask why this should matter so much to music lovers like myself.  Well, everyone who knows anything about blues music knows B.B. King, and he said, “He was one of the last great Mississippi Bluesmen.  He had such a distinctive voice, and he sure could play the piano. He will be missed not only by me, but by lovers of music all over the world."