Local Students Interview Bluesman Jimmy Holmes

 

Local Students Interview Bluesman Jimmy Holmes

 

CLEVELAND� Seventh and eighth grade students at D.M. Smith Middle School in Cleveland recently interviewed bluesman Jimmy "Duck" Holmes of Bentonia, in conjunction with the "Save Our History" grant entitled "Live from the Birthplace of the Blues"  awarded by The History Channel to  the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State.

 

The students participated in the Lighthouse Arts & Heritage After-School program, which is run by the Delta Center for Culture and Learning.

 

Holmes is one of the few remaining musicians who can play the Bentonia Blues, a distinct style of Blues that originated in Bentonia and is known for a minor tonality.  He has two CD's, "Back to Bentonia" and "Done Got Tired of Tryin'."

 

Holmes is also the owner of the historic Blue Front Café in Bentonia, which recently became a stop on the Mississippi Blues Trail when the Mississippi Blues Commission installed a marker in front of the café.  The Blue Front Café was opened by Holmes' parents in 1948 and Holmes took over in 1970.  According to the Mississippi Blues Commission, the Blue Front was famed for its buffalo fish, Blues, and moonshine whiskey.  For more information, go msbluestrail.org.

 

The Delta Center regularly promotes and preserves Delta heritage, and this project combines both of the Center's objectives by teaching students about the Delta's rich cultural heritage and by preserving the Blues history of the region by interviewing local Blues legends. 

 

The stories collected during the project will be published and made available to the public at the conclusion of the project.  For more information, contact the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at (662) 846-4311 or go to www.blueshighway.org.