The Mt. Zion Memorial Fund is a Mississippi non-profit corporation formed in 1989 and named after the 101 year old Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in
Morgan CityMorgan City is a town in Leflore County, Mississippi, northeast of Swiftown and south-southwest of Itta Bena along Mississippi Highway 7. The population was 305 at the 2000 census...
,
MississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
. The fund was organized by Raymond 'Skip' Henderson, a former social worker turned vintage guitar dealer and event promoter (
New York Guitar ShowThe New York Guitar Show was an annual, two-day, vintage guitar exhibition and sale scheduled on the third weekend in September and held at the Mary Help of Christians Church on E. 12th St. and Avenue A in New York City. Over the span of a 15-year period the New York Guitar Show was the only...
) in order to create a legal conduit to get financial support to rural African-American
churchA local church is a Christian religious organization that meets in a particular location. Many are formally organized, with constitutions and by-laws, maintain offices, are served by pastors or lay leaders, and, in nations where this is permissible, often seek seek non-profit corporate status...
communities in Mississippi and to memorialize the contributions of numerous musicians interred in rural
cemeteriesA cemetery is a place in which dead bodies and cremated remains are buried. The term "cemetery" implies that the land is specifically designated as a burying ground. Cemeteries in the Western world are where the final ceremonies of death are observed...
without
graveA grave is a location where a dead body is buried. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as graveyards or cemeteries....
markers.
History
Over a 12-year period from 1990 to 2001, the Mount Zion Memorial Fund erected twelve
memorialA memorial is an object which serves as a focus for memory of something, usually a person or an event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or art objects such as sculptures, statues or fountains, and even entire parks....
s to
bluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
musicians across Mississippi. The organization was officially incorporated as The Robert Johnson Mount Zion Memorial Fund in the fall of 1989 to raise money to save the 112 year old Mount Zion Church from foreclosure and to place a
cenotaphA cenotaph is an "empty tomb" or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been interred elsewhere. The word derives from the Greek κενοτάφιον = kenotaphion...
historic marker (not a headstone as is often mistaken) in the Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church cemetery in honor of Robert Johnson whose death certificate lists "Zion Church" as a burial site. This goal was accomplished on 20 April 1991, in partnership with
Columbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
through the work of Columbia
A&RArtists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
man Arthur Levy, with the support of Columbia President
Don IennerDon Ienner was the Chairman of the Sony Music Label Group during first half of the decade of the 2000s. He worked closely with his predecessor Tommy Mottola and was partially responsible for the breakthrough of Mariah Carey....
, and with the cooperation of the Mt. Zion congregation under the guidance of Pastor Rev. James Ratliff. The ceremony was attended by over 300 people and was covered by Billboard Magazine, Rolling Stone Magazine, Newsweek Magazine, Guitar Player Magazine, and numerous local media. The granite obelisk has a central inscription by
Peter GuralnickPeter Guralnick is an American music critic, writer on music, and historian of US American popular music, who is also active as an author and screenwriter. He has been married for over 45 years to Alexandra...
, side inscriptions by Skip Henderson which were later used with permission on the Robert Johnson marker in Hazelhurst, Mississippi, and all of Johnson's known recordings added at the behest of Columbia Records. This marker has been vandalized on at least three occasions, apparently by souvenir seekers.
Shortly after the Robert Johnson memorial was placed, John FogertyJohn Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
, after meeting Henderson in the Mt. Zion cemetery, agreed to fund a headstone to be placed on the grave of Charley Patton at the New Jerusalem M.B. Church in Holly Ridge, MississippiHolly Ridge is an unincorporated community in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. It is located in the Mississippi Delta, approximately five miles west of Indianola.-Blues history:...
. The Patton ceremony took place on 20 July 1991, the same weekend as the Pops StaplesRoebuck "Pops" Staples was a Mississippi-born Gospel and R&B musician.A "pivotal figure in gospel in the 1960s and 70s," he was an accomplished songwriter, guitarist and singer...
Festival in nearby Drew, MississippiDrew is a city in Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 2,434 at the 2000 census. Drew, a rural community, is in the vicinity of several plantations and the Mississippi State Penitentiary, a Mississippi Department of Corrections prison for men.-Geography:Drew is located at...
and subsequently Roebuck "Pops" Staples was in attendance joining Fogerty and three generations of Patton's family including daughter Rosetta Patton Brown, granddaughter Martha Brown and great granddaughter Keisha Brown at the ceremony.
In early September, 1991 after reading an article about the Mt. Zion ceremony in the May 11, 1991 issue of Billboard Magazine, Phil WaldenPhil Walden was co-founder of the Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records with his younger brother Alan Walden and a good friend and former Atlantic Records executive, Frank Fenter....
of Capricorn RecordsCapricorn Records was an independent record label which was launched by Phil Walden, Alan Walden, and Frank Fenter in 1969 in Macon, Georgia.-First Incarnation:...
contacted Henderson and commissioned a bronze sculpture mounted on a granite headstone through the Mt. Zion Fund in honor of Elmore JamesElmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
. This memorial was placed on James' grave in the Newport Baptist Church Cemetery in Ebenezer, Holmes County, Mississippi on 10 December 1992 with several members of the Mississippi State Legislature in attendance along with Dick WatermanDick Waterman is an American writer, promoter and photographer, who has been influential in the development and recording of the blues since the 1960s.-Life and career:...
, Phil WaldenPhil Walden was co-founder of the Macon, Georgia-based Capricorn Records with his younger brother Alan Walden and a good friend and former Atlantic Records executive, Frank Fenter....
, musician Marshall CrenshawMarshall Crenshaw is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist best known for his song "Someday, Someway".-Biography:...
, members of James' family, and many others.
Several months afterwards with the help of Jackson, MississippiJackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
attorney Robert Arentson, on 6 August 1993 a memorial was placed on the grave site of Mississippi Fred McDowellFred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
at the Hammond Hill Baptist Church cemetery in Como, MississippiComo is a town in Panola County, Mississippi, United States which borders the Mississippi Delta. The population was 1,310 as of the 2000 census. Wayne Drash, a CNN.com senior producer, described Como as "a hard-hit rural community" in a 2007 article.-History:...
. The ceremony was presided over by Dick WatermanDick Waterman is an American writer, promoter and photographer, who has been influential in the development and recording of the blues since the 1960s.-Life and career:...
and the memorial with McDowell's portrait upon it was paid for by Bonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
. In this case the memorial stone was a replacement for an inaccurate (McDowell's name mis-spelled) and damaged marker - the original stone was subsequently donated by McDowell's family to the Delta Blues MuseumThe Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale exists to collect, preserve, and provide public access to and awareness of the blues. Along with holdings of significant blues-related memorabilia, the museum also exhibits and collects art portraying the blues tradition, including works by sculptor Floyd...
in Clarksdale, MississippiClarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 20,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Coahoma County....
.
The following year a large gravestone for Big Joe WilliamsJoseph Lee Williams , billed throughout his career as Big Joe Williams, was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar...
, who lies buried in a rural pasture near Crawford, MississippiCrawford is a town in Lowndes County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 655 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Crawford is located at ....
, was purchased through a collective effort of musicians led by California music journalistMusic journalism is criticism and reportage about music. It began in the eighteenth century as comment on what is now thought of as 'classical music'. This aspect of music journalism, today often referred to as music criticism , comprises the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of...
Dan Forte while gathered at Clifford AntoneClifford Antone was the founder of a well-known Austin blues club, record label, and a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan and numerous other musicians....
's nightclubA nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in AustinAustin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, TexasTexas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. The memorial was unveiled on 9 October, 1994; the inscription by Dan Forte: "King of the Nine String Guitar", and a eulogy by Charlie MusselwhiteCharlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
.
Following these memorials on 29 April 1995 a headstone was erected in the Mount Olive Baptist Church Cemetery in Nesbit, MississippiNesbit is an unincorporated community in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. Nesbit is approximately south of Horn Lake, approximately south of Southaven and approximately north of Hernando near U.S...
to honor Mississippi Joe CallicottMississippi' Joe Callicott , was a United States Delta blues singer and guitarist....
an original Memphis minstrel who began his performing career at the turn of the century. This marker was financed through the Mt. Zion Fund with the help of musician Kenny Brown and by Chris StrachwitzChris Strachwitz is a German-born American record label executive and record producer. He is the founder and president of Arhoolie Records, which he established in 1960 and which became one of the leading labels recording and issuing blues, Cajun, norteño and other forms of roots music from the...
, Arhoolie RecordsArhoolie Records is a small record label run by Chris Strachwitz. The label was founded by Strachwitz in 1960 as a way for him to record and publish previously obscure "down home blues" artists such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Snooks Eaglin and Bill Gaither...
and John FogertyJohn Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
. Callicott's original marker was a paving stone which read simply "Joe" and this was also subsequently donated to the Delta Blues MuseumThe Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale exists to collect, preserve, and provide public access to and awareness of the blues. Along with holdings of significant blues-related memorabilia, the museum also exhibits and collects art portraying the blues tradition, including works by sculptor Floyd...
.
For work with the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund Henderson received the W.C. Handy Award for historic preservation "Keeping the Blues Alive" in May 1995.
Memorial headstones were added for James Thomas (blues musician)James "Son" Thomas was an American Delta blues musician, gravedigger and sculptor from Leland, Mississippi.-Life and career:...
on 9 March 1996 at St. Matthews Church in Leland, MississippiLeland is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 4,790 at the 2008 census.The town is located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta on the banks of Deer Creek, which is decorated each Christmas season with floats that bring visitors from afar to view the...
and Memphis MinnieMemphis Minnie was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist considered a match to male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist.-Career:...
(Minnie Douglas Lawlers) at the New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery in Walls, MississippiWalls, is a village located in Northern DeSoto County, Mississippi near the Mississippi River, part of the larger region known as "The Delta", and known for its rich, dark soil.-History:...
, on 13 October 1996. Both memorials were paid for by John FogertyJohn Cameron Fogerty is an American rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist, best known for his time with the swamp rock/roots rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival and as a #1 solo recording artist. Fogerty has a rare distinction of being named on Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 Greatest...
and Bonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
respectively. The ceremony for Memphis Minnie was recorded by the BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and attended by 35 members of the extended Douglas family, many of whom had no idea of their relative's musical legacy. The headstone inscription was written by Minnie biographer Paul GaronPaul Garon is an author, writer, and editor, noted for his meditations on surrealist works, and also a noted scholar on blues as a musical and cultural movement. He was one of the founding editors of Living Blues magazine in 1970...
: "The hundreds of sides Minnie recorded are the perfect material to teach us about the blues. For the blues are at once general, and particular, speaking for millions, but in a highly singular, individual voice. Listening to Minnie's songs we hear her fantasies, her dreams, her desires, but we will hear them as if they were our own."
With the help of Greenville, MississippiGreenville is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 48,633 at the 2000 census, but according to the 2009 census bureau estimates, it has since declined to 42,764, making it the eighth-largest city in the state. It is the county seat of Washington...
wet plate photographer Euphus "Butch" Ruth, the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund dedicated a memorial headstone for Sam ChatmonSam Chatmon was a Delta blues guitarist and singer. He was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks and may have been Charlie Patton's half brother.-Life and career:...
in Sanders Memorial Cemetery, Hollandale, MississippiHollandale is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 3,437 at the 2000 census. The town was incorporated in 1890 and almost totally destroyed by fire in February 1904.-Geography:...
on 14 March 1998. Chatmon's headstone reads: "Sitting On Top of the World" and includes an inscription by a Chatmon friend and former student, Libby Rae Watson. Shortly after the Chatmon ceremony, again with the help of Euphus Ruth, a memorial headstone for Eugene Powell "Sonny Boy Nelson", was placed on 4 November 1998 at the Evergreen Cemetery in Metcalf, Mississippi. Both memorials were funded once again by grants from Raitt and Fogerty respectively.
On 8 October 2000 a memorial paid for by Fogerty and Rooster Blues Records, was placed on the grave of Lonnie PitchfordLonnie Pitchford was an American blues musician and instrument maker from Lexington, Mississippi. He was notable in that he was one of only a handful of young African American musicians from Mississippi who had learned and was continuing the Delta blues and country blues traditions of the older...
near Elmore JamesElmore James was an American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and band leader. He was known as "the King of the Slide Guitar" and had a unique guitar style, noted for his use of loud amplification and his stirring voice.-Biography:James was born Elmore Brooks in the old Richland community in...
at the Newport Baptist Church cemetery in Ebenezer, Mississippi. This headstone was designed to have a playable, one-string diddley bowThe diddley bow is a string instrument of African origin made popular in America, probably developed from instruments found on the Ghana coast of west Africa. The diddley bow is rarely heard outside the rural south...
mounted on the side as per the family's wishes.
In April, 2001 a headstone for Tommy Johnson was commissioned by members of his family and paid for by a grant from Bonnie RaittBonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter and a renowned slide guitar player. During the 1970s, Raitt released a series of acclaimed roots-influenced albums which incorporated elements of blues, rock, folk and country, but she is perhaps best known for her more commercially...
. On 20 October, 2001 the unveiling ceremony was conducted in the town square of Crystal Springs, MississippiCrystal Springs is a city in Copiah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,873 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Crystal Springs is located at ....
by the Mayor of Crystal Springs with over twenty members of Johnson's extended family in attendance as well as Johnson's biographer Dr. David Evans, John SinclairJohn Sinclair may refer to:* John Sinclair , Ordinary Lord and later Lord President in the Court of Session* Sir John Sinclair, 1st Baronet , politician and writer on agriculture and finance...
and a contingent of people from radio station WWOZWWOZ is a non-profit community-supported radio station in New Orleans, Louisiana broadcasting at 90.7 FM. The station specializes in music from or relating to the cultural heritage of New Orleans and the surrounding region of Louisiana.-Programming:...
in New Orleans, many local musicians, blues fans, and local media. As of 2011 the tall, granite memorial engraved with Johnson's portrait and the names of his songs running down each side has not been placed on Johnson's grave in the Warm Springs Methodist Cemetery, a site recognized for its importance by the State of Mississippi Department of Archives and History, which is located in a rural, unincorporated part of Copiah County. Due to the ongoing dispute between Tommy Johnson's family led by his niece Vera Johnson Collins and the Copiah County Board of Supervisors who side with influential land owners, a lawsuit to gain access to the cemetery is pending. The headstone has remained on view in the Crystal Springs, MississippiCrystal Springs is a city in Copiah County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,873 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Crystal Springs is located at ....
Public Library since being unveiled. An annual Tommy Johnson Blues Festival is now held outside of Terry, MississippiTerry is a town in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 664 at the 2000 census. It is located near Interstate 55, about 15 miles southwest of Jackson, Mississippi and located in Supervisors District Five of Hinds County...
on this weekend.
Originally founded in Clarksdale, MississippiClarksdale is a city in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 20,645 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Coahoma County....
as of November, 1997 the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund has been working out of New Orleans, LouisianaLouisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
where it continues to press for final placement of the Tommy Johnson headstone, and forwards support to Rosetta Patton and the family of Charley Patton through private donations.
External links
[Guitar Player Magazine "Save Poor Bob If You Please", by Tom Wheeler, November, 1990]
"The Legacy of a Bluesman", by Donna St. George, February 27, 1991, p. 7C & 8C
"There's Blues in the News", by Chas. Leerhsen, November 12, 1990, .72
"Marking The Blues", by Anne Rochell, February 22, 1998, Dixie Living M1
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/ive-never-felt-more-like-singin-the-blues-582552.html
"Legacy in Stone, May 11, 1991
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