The list of markers and locations was developed by a panel of blues scholars and historians. The trail has been implemented in stages as funds have become available. The
National Endowment for the Arts,
National Endowment for the Humanities, and Mississippi Department of Transportation have provided grants for funding of various markers, which are co-sponsored with funds from local communities. The marker texts are researched and written by Jim O'Neal and Scott Barretta, former editors of
Living Blues magazine, together with an editorial and design team that has included Wanda Clark; Chrissy Wilson; Allan Hammons; and Sylvester Oliver. Prior to the founding of the Mississippi Blues Trail, two preliminary markers were placed in
Indianola, Mississippi, at a corner where
B.B. King played as a young man, and at the Club Ebony. The first three Mississippi Blues Trail markers were dedicated on December 11, 2006. The first, at
Holly Ridge, is dedicated to Delta blues pioneer
Charley Patton. The second marker is located by the Southern Whispers Restaurant on Nelson Street in
Greenville. Nelson Street, the home of many nightclubs, cafes, and juke joints over the years, was once the primary center of African-American business, entertainment, and social life in the Delta. For many decades this historic strip drew crowds to the flourishing club scene to hear
Delta blues;
big band;
jump blues;
rhythm & blues; and
jazz. The third marker was unveiled at the original location of
WGRM radio station in
Greenwood, where
B.B. King first broadcast as a gospel singer. They honored individual artists, clubs, record companies, radio stations, and historic events, but also the plantations, streets, cities, and counties that developed as centers of blues activity.
Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman was also commemorated, as folklorists such as
Alan Lomax recorded blues there by inmates (most notably
Bukka White) on several occasions, dating to the 1930s. ==Current markers==