Blues in the Alley
So what's the big deal about Maxwell Street??
The Maxwell Street Market was the first stop for many bluesmen after they stepped off the trains from the Mississipppi Delta in the early and middle parts of the 1900's. During those years, Maxwell Street was a small section of Chicago that offered transplanted blacks from the rural South some of the comforts of their former lifestyles. It was a social center, where they could gather during their time off from jobs in the city's burgeoning steel mills, slaughterhouses, and factories. A real melting pot, the street was full of people of all ethnic and racial backgrounds. From late every Saturday afternoon, the street was transformed into a carnival atmosphere of joyful commerce. Street hustlers barked their wares, while gleeful, rambunctious children darted out of alleyways and vanished under tables laden with trinkets. Amidst the bustle of the area, clouds of greasy smoke billowed from sausage and porkchop stands. Meanwhile, musicians ranging from the unknown to the soon to be famous, including Muddy Waters, Koko Tayleor, Hound Dog Taylor, Honeyboy Edwards, Big Walter, Little Walter, and countless others played for the change that made ends meet. Hound Dog Taylor described his time on Maxwell Street: "You used to get out on Maxwell Street on a Sunday Morning and pick you a good spot, babe. Dammit, we'd make more money than I ever looked at. Put you out a tub you know, and put a pasteboard in there, like a newspaper. I'm telling you, [Maxwell Street] was jumpin' like a champ, jumpin' like mad on Sunday morning."
Without Maxwell Street as an incubator and proving ground for Chicago Blues musicians, there would be no Chicago Blues as we know them today. Maxwell Street gave blues musicians a chance to hear each other jam and pick up extra money between jobs. Without Maxwell Street, many of the imigrating blues musicians could not have stayed long in Chicago; they would have had to return to Memphis, St. Louis, or the Delta. Sadly, the original Maxwell Street market met its demise in the 90's when the area was bought up and converted to university housing. While the Maxwell Street market is no longer the incubator of new blues talent, the role it played in the developement of the blues continues to inspire blues musicians around the world who busk for change on street corners hoping that, like their predeceddors, their time on the street will be rewarded with a full fledged career in music.
In honor of the role that Maxwell Street played in the developement of the blues, the West Michigan Blues Society decided to host "Blues In The Alley". The event will help us fulfill our educational function by not only exposing attendees to this slice of blues history but also by providing funds to help the Society's Blues In The Schools program, which helps young people understand the significant role that blues has played in the developement of modern music. Besides that, the event should just plain be fun!
Mark Smith
for more information, check out some of these sites:
The Maxwell Street Market Home Page
The Unofficial New Maxwell Street Market Home Page