Memphis, the biggest city in Tennessee, epitomises the old and new South of the United States. Once a major slave-trading centre, in the 1960s it was the focus of civil rights action. Dr Martin Luther King was assassinated there, and the National Civil Rights Museum in the city is his memorial. It has always been, and still is, a major musical centre for blues, country, jazz … [Read more...] about Memphis: City of two kings
Music
Chicago colourful, contradictory and very much its own
Chicago, America’s self-styled second city is a special place defined by four factors: the magnificence of its buildings, as the cradle of electric blues, its long history of gangsterism and its blood brother political corruption, and its rather special food – deep dish pizza and the Chicago hot dog. On a quest to get a feel for all those elements I found one common factor: … [Read more...] about Chicago colourful, contradictory and very much its own
Buy carefully on London Food Tours
Each of the London food tours I chose varied widely in price and content. Deliberately so, because I wanted a range of experiences, and because I was determined to try free stuff (although, of course, it wasn’t actually free at all). Top of the line was a twilight food and cocktail tour of Soho which I undertook on a Friday night. At £95 this was the most expensive, but it … [Read more...] about Buy carefully on London Food Tours
The Robert Johnson mystery
Eric Clapton, arguably the greatest living blues-rock guitarist, called Robert Johnson "the most important blues musician who ever lived". Quite a compliment from a living legend whose own status was marked out with "Clapton is God' graffiti on buildings in the 1960s and 70s. I have never found anything more deeply soulful than Robert Johnson," says Clapton. "His music … [Read more...] about The Robert Johnson mystery
Cruisin’ the Blues highway
In Memphis’s famous Peabody Hotel there is a “Blues” marker declaring that this is the start of the Blues Highway. There are nearly 200 markers, mainly in Mississippi, and some in neighbouring States. They are placed by the Mississippi Blues Trail Commission, a State body set up to provide information about notable blues figures from the past. Incidentally, the Peabody … [Read more...] about Cruisin’ the Blues highway