Mississippi Juke Joint Confidential:House Parties, Hustlers & the Blues Life by Roger Stolle

Mississippi Juke Joint Confidential:House Parties, Hustlers & the Blues Life
Roger Stolle with photographs by Lou Bopp
Charleston SC: The History Press
2019: 176 pp + 16 pages color photos:

Subtitled "House Parties, Hustlers & the Blues Life" is, per the description on the back cover, an effort "to tell the tales, canonize the characters and explain the special brand of blues bottled in the quasi-legal establishments. Roger Stolle has owned the Clarksdale, Mississippi, Cat Head Delta Blues & Folk Art store since 2002. A contributor to various publications, founder of several festivals, producer of several blues albums and documentaries including the fascinating "We Juke It Up in Here," Stolle brings a wealth of experience and knowledge to the present volume. Lou Bopp is a commercial photographer who has also photographed so many of the artists in today's delta from James 'T-Model' Ford to 'Big' George Brock, and his blues photography graced Stolle's previous book, "Hidden History of Mississippi Blues."

Stolle has skillfully mixed his text, based on his years of observations, with interview quotes from juke joint operators, musicians, patrons, and others in a well-rounded overview. He quickly dismisses the notion that every blues club is a juke joint. In an early chapter, he observes that a real juke joint comes from the African American culture of the old South. It is like a house party, except not at the owner's house. Some characteristics include that a juke joint does not typically have a phone number or regular hours. They exist on the fringes of society and are cash economies. Some offer food, although one should not expect to look for a health department permit. Bluesman Jimmy 'Duck' Holmes, owner of Bentonia's Blues Front Café, says 'A juke house was where anything …" while Red Paden observes that "A juke joint has been our play world. You know, you get out and blow some steam.

Chapters provide background on some of the characters in this world, such as Robert 'Bilbo' Walker, who played juke joints and finally became an owner. Stolle has Walker tell his story and realized his dream before dying not long after that. In a sense, a juke joint is a field of musical dreams. Then, to illustrate the nature of juke joints and the blues life, Stolle brings together interview excerpts from many persons. These persons include Red Paden, Cadillac John Nolden, John Horton, James 'T-Model' Ford, Terry 'Harmonica' Bean, Big George Brock, Sam Carr, CeDell Davis, R. L. Boyce, Mary Ann 'Action' Jackson, Robert 'Wolfman' Belfour, and Louis 'Gearshifter' Youngblood.

There is also a chapter on Moonshine or white whiskey which Stolle first sampled at the late Junior Kimbrough's old juke and discusses going on a moonshine run. There is a chapter on Po Monkey's Lounge and its proprietor, the colorful Willie Seaberry. Another chapter is devoted to the Riverside Hotel with an overview of its history from the African-American hospital where Bessie Smith passed away to becoming the hotel where blacks traveling in the area could stay. Red Paden is a colorful figure, and there is a chapter devoted to Red's Lounge. This chapter introduces us to such juke joint characters as Miss Mae, Coburn, Dingo, and Big Charles. Stolle also provides tales from taking the juke joint performers on the road and the origins of the annual Juke Joint Festival.

In addition to Stolle's engaging and enlightening text, Lou Bopp's photographs cover a wide range of subjects from the juke joints themselves (interiors and exteriors), patrons, operators, performers, customers, and much more. There are black and white photos interspersed through a text and a sixteen-page section of color photos. Relevant web-links are provided at the end of the text. References and resources and an index follow these. This book is not merely a labor of love, but a book that will become an essential part of the libraries of many blues lovers.

I purchased this.