Livin' at Lula
The Lula area has been home to legendary Mississippi blues performers Charley Patton, Son House, Frank Frost, and Sam Carr. Patton immortalized Lula in the lyrics of his recordings “Dry Well Blues” (1930) and “Stone Pony Blues” (1934). His wife Bertha Lee also sang of “livin’ at Lula town” in her 1934 record, “Mind Reader Blues.” Frost lived in Lula in the 1960s and ‘70s and performed with Carr and Big Jack Johnson in the Delta’s most renowned juke joint band, the Jelly Roll Kings.
Lula was an important center of blues activity in 1930, when two of Mississippi’s premier blues performers, Charley Patton (c. 1891-1934) and Son House (1902-1988), met here. Patton was living with Lula vocalist Bertha Lee Pate (1902-1975) when House arrived in town. Patton, House, guitarist Willie Brown, singer-pianist Louise Johnson, and a spiritual group, the Delta Big Four, traveled together from Lula to Grafton, Wisconsin, to record for the Paramount label in 1930. Among the songs they recorded, Patton’s “Dry Well Blues” and House’s “Dry Spell Blues” both addressed the severe drought that struck the Delta that year. Patton’s song dealt specifically with the problems the drought had wrought upon the citizenry of Lula. Bertha Lee and Patton did not record together until 1934, after they had moved to Holly Ridge.
In the 1960s and ‘70s, another group of musicians brought new energy to the Lula blues scene. Billed under various names, including Frank Frost and the Nighthawks, the Jelly Roll Kings, and the Little Sam Carr Rhythm & Blues Revue, the band featured Frank Frost (1936-1999) on harmonica, guitar or organ, Sam Carr (b. 1926) on drums, and Big Jack Johnson (b. 1940) from Clarksdale on guitar. Arthur Williams (b. 1937) from Tunica also played harmonica with the group for several years. Frost lived in Lula, where he once worked as a janitor at the elementary school, while Carr drove a tractor and Johnson drove an oil delivery truck. One of their performance bases was Joe’s Place, a juke joint operated by Joe Foy in Lula; another was Conway’s, a roadhouse run by country singer Conway Twitty’s parents on Moon Lake. The band’s first manager, who secured them recording opportunities with the Phillips International and Jewel labels in the 1960s, was Lula service station owner Lee Bass. Together or individually, Frost, Carr, and Johnson toured internationally and recorded a number of albums. Frost appeared in the 1986 Hollywood film Crossroads.
Many of the Lula area blues and gospel performers have lived on nearby plantations such as those owned by the Jeffries, Powell, and Mohead families. In 1942 singers Roxie Threadgill and Mary Johnson recorded for a Fisk University-Library of Congress project on the Mohead plantation, known as Texas Island. Owner Guy Mohead’s grandson, John Mohead, became a Southern rock singer-songwriter who named his first CD Lula City Limits. Another local musical site, Lady Luck Rhythm and Blues Casino, selected blues as a theme for its entertainment and décor when it opened in 1994. The casino, which later became the Isle of Capri, has sponsored both the Sunflower River Blues & Gospel Festival in Clarksdale and the Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival in Helena
The Mississippi Blues Trail markers tell stories through words and images of bluesmen and women and how the places where they lived and the times in which they existed–and continue to exist–influenced their music. The sites run the gamut from city streets to cotton fields, train depots to cemeteries, and clubs to churches. We have a lot to share, and it’s just down the Mississippi Blues Trail.
The Mississippi Blues Trail is an ongoing project of the Mississippi Blues Commission. Funding for this project has been made possible by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities, Mississippi Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration, AT&T, and the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University plus additional support from the Mississippi Development Authority Tourism Division.
For more information visit msbluestrail.org.
The name "Mississippi" comes from the Ojibwe word "misi-ziibi," which means "Great River."
The county was officially established in 1836 and was named after a Native American word meaning "red panther." In the decades that followed, Coahoma County saw a significant influx of settlers, mainly from the southern states, who were drawn to the fertile agricultural lands along the Mississippi Delta.
The economy of the county was heavily dependent on agriculture, with cotton being the primary cash crop. Plantations dominated the landscape, and the county's population grew rapidly due to the demand for labor. However, this growth came at the expense of the enslaved African Americans, who were forcibly brought to the region to work on the plantations.
Coahoma County played a significant role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 20th century. It was the birthplace of influential figures like Aaron Henry, who fought for racial equality and was a prominent leader in the Mississippi State Conference of the NAACP. The county also witnessed the efforts of civil rights activists like Medgar Evers and Fannie Lou Hamer, who organized voter registration drives and challenged segregation.
Today, Coahoma County continues to reflect its rich history through its cultural heritage and music. The city of Clarksdale, located in the county, is known as the birthplace of the blues. It has been home to influential musicians such as Muddy Waters, Sam Cooke, and Ike Turner. The county also houses the Delta Blues Museum, providing visitors with a glimpse into the region's musical heritage and its impact on American culture.
Coahoma County Timeline
This timeline provides a condensed summary of the historical journey of Coahoma County, Mississippi.
- 1836 - Coahoma County is established as a county in the state of Mississippi.
- 1839 - The city of Friars Point is incorporated.
- 1841 - The town of Clarksdale is founded.
- 1882 - The Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee District is formed to control flooding.
- 1888 - The Yazoo-Mississippi Delta Levee Board is established to oversee levee construction.
- 1903 - The first railroad arrives in Clarksdale, boosting economic development.
- 1920s - Coahoma County becomes a major center for blues music.
- 1930s - The Great Depression and the boll weevil infestation severely impact Coahoma County's economy.
- 1942 - The Coahoma County Fair is first held.
- 1954 - The "Coahoma County Project" is initiated to promote economic development.
- 1980s - Coahoma County experiences a decline in population and economic activity.
- 2002 - The Delta Blues Museum is designated as a Mississippi Landmark.
- 2011 - The Mississippi Development Authority designates Coahoma County as a "Gulf Opportunity Zone," aimed at stimulating recovery after Hurricane Katrina.