Historical Marker
Bukka White
Houston, Chickasaw County · Mississippi
Erected 2009
In 1963 guitarist John Fahey wrote to Bukka White at General Delivery, Aberdeen, Mississippi, assuming from White's song "Aberdeen, Mississippi" that he still lived there. The card was forwarded to Memphis, where White worked at a tank factory. Bob Dylan had put "Fixin' to Die Blues" on his 1962 debut album, and the revival interest it stirred helped Fahey and Ed Denson find him. White went to California that year, played folklore classes and clubs, and recorded for Takoma and Arhoolie, then toured North America and Europe until 1975.
Where it stands
33.89208, -88.99383 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Chickasaw Council House — 20 miA roadside exhibit on the Natchez Trace Parkway marking the Chickasaw capital of the 1820s and the council house where the 1832 treaty of Pontotoc Creek ended Chickasaw title to Mississippi.
- Howlin' Wolf Memorial and Blues Trail Marker — 28 miA Mississippi Blues Trail marker and granite memorial on East Broad Street honoring Chester Burnett, who was born nearby in 1910 and became the Chicago blues giant Howlin' Wolf.
More markers nearby
- Carnegie Library — 0.5 mi
- William Colbert's Last Homesite — 12 mi
- Egypt Station — 15 mi
- Battle of Okolona — 16 mi