Live From the Birthplace of American Music





								We would like to thank the following organizations and people for their contributions to the project. The History Channel Delta State University D.M. Smith Middle School Luther Brown Allison Melton Lee Aylward Jimmie Washington Bobbie Dean Bill Abel “Cadillac” John Nolden Pat Thomas Butch Ruth Monroe Jones Roger Stolle James “T-Model” Ford Mary Margaret Miller Jimmy “Duck” Holmes Teretha Lewis Kay Stricklin Emily Weaver Don Allan Mitchell Shelley Collins Talbot Brooks Billy Johnson Matthew Wood The Lighthouse students who participated in the project: Chrissy Daniels Korsinskee Frazier Danyala Smith Dominique Burks Gabrielle McGee Isah Hodges Jaquala Green Marshekia Stacy Sarah Sampson Nicholas Proctor Sharika Scott Rodriquez Craig! Director Lighthouse Arts & Heritage After-School Program John Heggen May, 2008
					Live from the Birthplace of the Blues was funded by The History Channel’s Save Our History program. Its aim is to document the story of the Blues in the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of this uniquely American art form. The project was administered by the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University in Cleveland, MS. The students of the Lighthouse Arts & Heritage After-School Program, located at D.M. Smith Middle School, were the project’s participants. The students of the Lighthouse program, all 7th and 8th graders, learned background knowledge about the Blues and formative events in the Delta and the country during the early days of the Blues. They received oral history training, and then interviewed five local Blues musicians. This project has multiple goals. First, it can be used to learn the history of the Blues, and the culture from which it rose. The Blues influenced much of modern music (rock and roll, hip-hop, and rap), and as an important American contribution to the world, it is worth studying. The website is a teacher’s resource, five lesson plans are available online.There is a section that details oral history training with youth. It is our hope that this project will spur other groups and classrooms to discover the heritage of their hometowns, and preserve it before it is lost. Copies of the accompanying booklet are available from the Delta Center. For a copy contact us: Delta Center for Culture and Learning Delta State Unviersity 662-846-4311 Box 3152 Cleveland, MS 38733 or cick here download a PDF version of the booklet.