Route 61 Blues Highway. Dozens of blues artists have recorded songs about Highway 61, including Mississippians Sunnyland Slim, James “Son” Thomas, “Honeyboy” Edwards, Big Joe Williams, Joe McCoy, Charlie Musselwhite, Eddie Shaw, Johnny Young, Eddie Burns, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. On the surface, itâs not much different than most small, Southern towns, except you canât seem to go more than a couple feet without hearing the whine of a harmonica. Highway 61 Blues - Tunica U. S. Highway 61, known as the "blues highway," rivals Route 66 as the most famous road in American music lore. Highway 61We travel Highway 61, famous worldwide as being the Blues Highway. Here you can see some awesome artifacts, like Isaac Hayes' car or Booker T. Jones' keyboard, all while learning about the amazing history and influence of the Stax record label. It's a big space that can get crowded, but it's got drinks and dancing late into the night. - Road Trips Forum U. S. Highway 61, known as the "blues highway," rivals Route 66 as the most famous road in American music lore. June 7, 2017 / 1 Comment. Travel Old Route 61 from New Orleans past the plantations and civil war sites and the Mississippi Delta into Memphis, St Louis and Route 66 into Chicago. U.S. Route 61 or U.S. Highway 61 (US 61) is a major United States highway that extends 1,400 miles (2,300 km) between New Orleans, Louisiana and the city of Wyoming, Minnesota. You might be singing them if you walk away from the casinos of Tunica with empty pockets, and you can hear them sung by the masters in juke joints all along the way. The best of Roadtrippers - hand picked by our team! TIP: Ask to upgrade to one of their suites to really experience what it was like to be the King of Rock and Roll. Hours: 10:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Monday - Saturday. There are self-guided tours across the 40-acre living history Burden Plantation. 662-686-2004 A must-visit in Clarksdale is the Ground Zero Blues Club. Another cool feature is that there are jukeboxes in the exhibit rooms, so you can hear music from each time period. They also do mean fried chicken and great ribs, and they serve beer to wash it all down. Just around the corner from Graceland (the hotel is literally steps away), the Heartbreak Hotel is a fun 1950's-inspired hotel that Elvis fans (and just visitors to Memphis) will thoroughly enjoy. The original road began in downtown New Orleans, traveled through Baton Rouge, and ran through Natchez, Vicksburg, Leland, Cleveland, Clarksdale, and Tunica in Mississippi, to Memphis and north to the Canadian border. But otherwise, there are faster ways to get from A to B - Highway 61 ⦠So, plan your road trip accordingly. Anything you plan or save automagically syncs with the apps, ready for you to hit the road! By now, you should be an expert, so go ahead and sing along. While in Vicksburg, we had a drink and (a variation of) poutine at the Cottonwood Public House. Address. B. While in Memphis, visit Lauderdale Courts, where Elvis Presley and his parents lived from 1949 til 1953. From Chicago to New Orleans: Follow the Blues Highway along Route 61 and explore the roots of blues music! And once you cruise into New Orleans, you don't even have to go inside to listen to music...although there's tons of awesome joints to stop into, like Tipitina's. The 61 Highway (as we know it today) did not exist during the Civil war, but it was an important north-south connection for commerce and trade. Next stop is the Stax Museum of American Soul Music. It's a beautifully restored 19th century railroad station. Starting in Nashville, you've got to hit up B.B. 453 Highway 61 S ⢠Natchez, MS 39120 Baton Rouge Hours. There are tour guides onsite and a short film to start off your experience. The Delta Blues Museum is a great stop for die-hard blues lovers, and Abe's Bar-B-Q at the legendary crossroads of highways 61 and 49 is brilliant. COVID-19 HOURS : Mon â Thu: 11:00 am â 8:00 pm, Fri - Sat 11:00 am â 9:00 pm B. Mississippi Petrified Forest, Flora. On your way south toward Jackson, take a short detour into the ⦠A road is a road, but sometimes it's more. When you're ready to call it a night, head to the Natchez Grand Hotel. Admission is $15 per person, or if you have a student ID it's only $10. Next up is Elvis Presley's Heartbreak Hotel. Highway 61 is better known as âThe Blues Highwayâ as many of the famed Blues musicians grew up along this swath of the state just east of the Mississippi ⦠T he soul of the Blues Highwayâwhich follows the Mississippi River from Tennessee to the Gulf of Mexicoâlies along the blacktops that connect Memphis, Tunica, Clarksdale, Mound Bayou, and ⦠The route went from New Orleans to Minnesota, but most of the history of the blues is in Mississippi. For your last stop, grab dinner in Biloxi, Mississippi at Mary Mahoney's Old French House. For a great place to stay in NOLA, the Cornstalk Hotel is a gorgeous Victorian house that's surrounded by an iron fence that looks like cornstalks. En route are blues clubs and the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale. Dozens of blues artists have recorded songs about Highway 61, including Mississippians Sunnyland Slim, James âSonâ Thomas, âHoneyboyâ Edwards, Big Joe Williams, Joe McCoy, Charlie Musselwhite, Eddie Shaw, Johnny Young, Eddie Burns, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. If you're hungry grab a bite at Abe's Bar-b-q, which has been serving up the best BBQ in town since 1924. Highway 61 runs for 1,400 miles (2,300km) between New Orleans, Louisiana, and Wyoming, Minnesota. â This Budget Travel Guide is also available in German Every year, millions of tourists travel to the USA for their beautiful beaches, redwood forests, vibrant cities, magnificent canyons, delicious burgers or endless highways. Along this route, from New Orleans to Memphis , blues, jazz, soul, and gospel has poured and spread out like rain over the flat Mississippi Delta. BB King Museum and Delta Interprative Center, A dreamy drive down the Pacific Coast Highway (One Week), An Atlantic Coast road trip from Boston to Miami, A neon-fueled road trip along Route 66's most iconic spots, The Blue Ridge Parkway connects two national parks, All of the Cool Stops and Attractions on I-40, Beaches, beef and the Bean: 48 Hours in Chicago, The best-kept secrets of Disney World and Disneyland, The Coolest Attractions and Stops Along I-80, The Ultimate Guide to North Cascades National Park. The whole place feels like you're stepping back in time to the '50s. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry 4. If you're lucky, Mr. Pat Thomas will play guitar while you peruse the exhibits and memorabilia in the three rooms. 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