This Week's Featured Marker:

Memphis Blues

On the morning of May 8, 2009, the 72nd Mississippi Blues Trail marker—and the first to be placed outside of the state—was unveiled in neighboring Memphis. The marker acknowledges the great influence of Mississippi musicians on the development of Memphis music from the early 1900s until the present day, and was placed just off of historic Beale Street in front of the FedEx Forum, which is the home of both the NBA Memphis Grizzlies and the Memphis Rock N Soul Museum.

Presiding over the ceremony was B.B. King, whose career took off in Memphis over sixty years ago. The previous evening King had performed and won two awards at the 30th annual Blues Music Awards at Memphis’ Cook Convention Center; the marker unveiling was scheduled in tandem with the Awards. King, who created a stir when he pulled up on his tour bus, was typically humble and noted that Memphis was his “second home” and acknowledged the nearby factory of Gibson, which produces his trademark Lucille.

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