That one-time hospital is now, and has been for almost fifty
years, a boarding house/inn, the Riverside Hotel. The establishment is
owned by Mrs. Z.L. Hill, who bought it in 1944 when the hospital was closing.
Mrs. Hill, a wonderful woman with many stories to tell, has seen many famous
faces at her hotel. Among those who have stayed at the Riverside either short- or
long-term: Sonny Boy Williamson, Robert Nighthawk (she still has his suitcase)
and Kansas City Red. Ike Turner ("...when he thought he was all grown up...")
left home and came to stay at the Riverside. Years later, when he'd found
success, he and Tina came to play a big concert in Clarksdale. Mrs. Hill went to
the show but afterwards, when she went backstage to say hello, Ike was surrounded
by a crowd of folks. Mrs. Hill told me,"I didn't bother with that. I knew him, I
knew I knew him." When Mrs. Hill's son greeted Turner backstage, Ike
asked,"Where's Momma?" Told she attended the show but had gone home, he
said,"Call her and tell her not to get undressed. I'm coming over." He, Tina and
their chauffeur later appeared at the door of the hotel and, while Tina slept on
the couch and the chaffeur dozed in an easy chair, Ike and Mrs. Hill stayed up
until four a.m., talking over old times. It was a delightful honor to get to meet
Mrs. Hill. I urge you to look her up when you're in Clarksdale.
There's a great store here, too, that you should check out if you're in these parts. It's called Stackhouse-Delta Record Mart. The owner and resident blues expert is Jim O'Neal; he was out of town (in Chicago, for a blues fest) while I was there but his sister was quite amiable and helpful. They can help you get your hands on just about any blues disc you desire. Also there for me in the clutch was a very helpful woman at the Delta Blues Museum, located at the public library. where you can see the sign from the store where Robert Johnson was killed, one of B.B. King's many Lucilles and assorted other blues paraphernalia and memorabalia. I'm embarassed to admit that the names of these two helpful women have slipped my mind's loose grip. They know who they are, though, and I thank them for their good deeds.
Looking over the Delta Blues Map that I purchased at the above-mentioned Stackhouse-Delta Record Mart, I realized that I'd missed some pretty cool stuff during the couple of days I spent south of here in Indianola and Greenville and the surrounding area. It seems the Delta has me in its grip; I really should be heading north but...ah, what the heck, it's just a few extra hours, right? So, I headed back down Hwy. 61 to Greenville to spend the night.
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