TUNICA, Miss. — It’s the road that brought his music to Memphis, and eventually the masses.
Wednesday, Highway 61 brought the King of the Blues home.
Luke Jones pulled up at the state line to watch the procession pass.
“I think it’s only fitting he comes down this way,” he explained.
The hand-off happened at the Tennessee, Mississippi State Line.
Fans and friends lined up to get a look at the procession and say goodbye to the man who’s music they fell in love with.
After the handoff, they pit stopped in Tunica.
About forty members from King’s procession stopped at the Blue and White Restaurant.
It’s a known stop by musicians heading up the blues highway.
BB King mega-fan Johnny White said today’s visit marked a sign of real change from back in the day.
“They couldn’t come through the front door at that time,” White went on. “They came through the back door. But, today he was parked out front. That shows you how he brought about a change.”
White’s been a fan since he was four years old when King first played at his town’s high school.
White still had the newspaper cutout.
“We had to sit in the car and listen to his music. That’s when I fell in love with the blues, baptized by the blues,” he said.
White brought pictures from his run-ins with King over the years to share with fellow fans and his family.
He said King’s music was a gift from God.
“When you can’t say the words, the music steps in and says the words for you,” White explained.
After a quick car wash, the crew gathered up and headed back down Highway 61 to bring King home to Mississippi where he belongs.
