Tutwiler is where the blues began its migration from oral tradition to popular art form. Here, WC Handy, known as the 'Father of the Blues', first heard a sharecropper moan his 12-bar prayer while the two waited for a train in 1903. That meeting is immortalized by a lonely, faded mural that feels a thousand years old.
Tutwiler Tracks
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Emmett Till Interpretive Center
4.69 MILES
In 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago, was lynched in Mississippi after being accused of flirting with a white woman. An all-white…
25.15 MILES
Open since 2016, this glossy outpost of the GRAMMY Museum – the other is in Los Angeles – traces the development of recorded music, with a focus on its…
28.08 MILES
There's not much left to see other than a dilapidated building covered with vines, a historic marker and the railroad tracks, but the scene remains…
Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center
15.12 MILES
Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black youth from Chicago, was abducted from his uncle's house by two white men for allegedly flirting with one of the men's…
22.6 MILES
This legendary rural juke joint, famous for its knick-knacks, string lights and Thursday night gatherings, closed its doors in 2016 after the death of…
15.14 MILES
A small but well-presented collection of memorabilia is on display here. The shrine to Delta legend Muddy Waters includes the actual cabin where he grew…
22.33 MILES
Some of the earliest and most influential blues musicians, including Charlie Patton, worked and gathered here, developing and sharing their unique playing…
14.81 MILES
A historic marker fronts the historic Riverside Hotel, a well-loved place soaked in blues history. Blues singer Bessie Smith died here in 1937 when it was…
Nearby attractions
1. Sonny Boy Williamson II's Grave
1.4 MILES
Acclaimed harmonica player and host of the King Biscuit Time radio hour, Williamson – aka Aleck Miller – is buried amid a broken-down jumble of…
2. Emmett Till Interpretive Center
4.69 MILES
In 1955, Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black boy from Chicago, was lynched in Mississippi after being accused of flirting with a white woman. An all-white…
14.54 MILES
The Crossroads of Hwys 61 and 49 is supposedly the intersection where the great Robert Johnson made his mythical deal with the devil, immortalized in his…
14.81 MILES
A historic marker fronts the historic Riverside Hotel, a well-loved place soaked in blues history. Blues singer Bessie Smith died here in 1937 when it was…
5. Emmett Till Historic Intrepid Center
15.12 MILES
Emmett Till, a 14-year-old black youth from Chicago, was abducted from his uncle's house by two white men for allegedly flirting with one of the men's…
15.14 MILES
A small but well-presented collection of memorabilia is on display here. The shrine to Delta legend Muddy Waters includes the actual cabin where he grew…
22.33 MILES
Some of the earliest and most influential blues musicians, including Charlie Patton, worked and gathered here, developing and sharing their unique playing…
22.6 MILES
This legendary rural juke joint, famous for its knick-knacks, string lights and Thursday night gatherings, closed its doors in 2016 after the death of…