The name ‘Mississippi Millie’ has become synonymous with the original Delta Blues. A child born with a veil over her face, indicating a sixth sense, delivered by her midwife grandmother into a family of six children, Millie remembers not just the hymns she heard the choir sing in the  Baptist church where her mother played piano, but also the ‘Devil’s Music’ she heard in the Delta  Juke Joints. “They called it the Blues,” says Millie, “and to me it sounded as natural as the willows  above and the rich earth below. I would sneak into the local party houses and rundown joints every  chance I could, so I could get up on stage and sing with the ‘bad boys.’ They called me the ‘little girl  with the big voice.’

Millie McClaine has been belting out the original Delta Blues for decades. Sharing the stage with many world renowned entertainers and going on her own international tour in Europe, Millie continues to share her immense talents on stage as she keeps the Delta Blues alive all while exposing a totally new generation to this true form of musical art.

Below is a video shot of Millie in the studio while on tour in Rome two years ago.

 

This music legend was recently inducted into the Library of Congress! Interviewed by Southern Trace Songwriters founder Don Swartz, the full recording is now in the national archives.  Mississippi Millie will be the special guest on this week’s ‘In The Studio’ show on Southern Trace Songwriters’ ‘The Stage’ podcast! Click on ‘The Stage’ to go straight to our page where you can listen to past shows. Make sure to ‘follow’ us while you’re there!

Look for the new episode with a one-on-one interivew with Mississippi Millie to be posted just in time for the Thanksgiving Holiday and Black Friday shopping. Take the show along with you to listen while you shop!