Dr. Rolando Herts, Director of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning as well as Executive Director of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area was recently asked to pen an article about the importance of interpreting American music, specifically blues music from the Mississippi Delta.
Here is an excerpt:
Music heritage in Mississippi carries a legendary mystique that is well suited to interpretive storytelling. In-the-know locals are proud to share how Mississippi has earned its claim to fame as “The Birthplace of America’s Music.” Invoking their Southern storytelling authority, they will tell you that no other state has produced such a high percentage of internationally known, world- class musicians. They will tell you that Mississippi has produced more Grammy Award-winning artists than any state in the country. They will go on to say that this is why the first Grammy Museum outside of Los Angeles was built at Delta State University in Cleveland, the heart of the Mississippi Delta region, which is known worldwide as the “Birthplace of the Blues.”
While this music heritage interpretation may be crafted with a hint of healthy creative license, the stories point to the importance of pride of place and economic opportunity. This is especially so in the Mississippi Delta, proudly known as the “Birthplace of the Blues” and problematically labelled as the poorest region in the poorest state in the United States.
