Helena, Arkansas: Main Street of the Blues
In less than a lifetime, blues music emerged from the rural South and became the world's music. Helena, Arkansas: Main Street of the Blues focuses on the important part Helena played in the evolvement of blues music. For blues musicians in the 1930s and 1940s, Helena was the place to be, and many of them later became famous blues musicians. Cherry Street and Walnut Street served as Helena's main daytime business district. But at night, the business was entertainment. With saloons, cafes, billiard halls, gambling parlors and juke joints, Helena was a wide-open river town and blues music filled the air.
The blues was more than just a mixture of sounds and styles; it was also a product of the overall African-American experience, a unique and important expression of a distinct culture.
Although most of the saloons and juke joints are closed and many of the players are long gone, Helena still echoes the blues. Contemporary artists with ties to Helena - including Robert Lockwood, Willie Smith, Lonnie Shields, James Morgan, CeDell Davis and Sam Carr - still record and perform great new music, and many have performed at the annual Helena, Arkansas Blues Festival.
Helena, Arkansas: Main Street of the Blues features a wide variety of artifacts, many of which have never been displayed for public view. Photographs, clothing, musical instruments, magazines, posters and recordings are all a part of this three-year exhibit. And you definitely don't want to miss the interactive computer kiosk featuring I Got the Blues quiz, Learn More About the Harmonica, Arkansas Blues Greats, and Find Your Blues Name.
Helena, Arkansas: Main Street of the Blues is on display at the Delta Cultural Center's Visitors Center through April 2007.