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Mississippi Fred McDowell - Mt. Zion Memorial Fund

Fred McDowell

Hammond Hill MB Church in Como, MS

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The headstone of Fred and Ester Mae McDowell at Hammond Hill Church in Como, MS
The headstone of Fred and Ester Mae McDowell at Hammond Hill Church in Como, MS

The Mt. Zion Memorial Fund dedicated the tall, granite headstone for Fred McDowell at the Hammond Hill Baptist Church cemetery in Como, Mississippi, in pouring rain on the afternoon of August 6th, 1993.  The finances for the memorial were arranged with the help of noted blues photographer Dick Waterman, who contacted Bonnie Raitt and Chris Strachwitz, of Arhoolie Records, each of whom contributed a third of the costs.

Mt. Zion Memorial Fund attorney Robert Arentson, who also contributed to the project, almost lost his life that day. While attempting to stop and turn into the church parking lot, his vehicle hydroplaned and slid down the road for a ways, nearly careening down a steep embankment. He managed to regain control, however, and pulled safely into the parking lot. He was white as a ghost upon exiting his vehicle.

The headstone of Fred and Ester Mae McDowell at Hammond Hill Church in Como, MS
The headstone of Fred and Ester Mae McDowell at Hammond Hill Church in Como, MS
The original headstone of McDowell that was donated to the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, MS
The original headstone of McDowell that was donated to the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, MS

Waterman eulogized McDowell in front of a small crowd, including a number of the musician’s surviving relatives who were assembled at the church. In this case the memorial stone was a replacement for a smaller, damaged and inaccurate marker. The original headstone was subsequently donated by McDowell’s family to the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Fred McDowell was born in Tennessee just outside of Memphis in 1904. When he performs he begins by warning the audience. “There’s one thing I want you to know…I don’t play no rock ‘n’ roll. You may not like my music but that’s all right, because I’m gonna play it for you anyway.” When you hear his music either live or recorded you’re struck by its incredible intensity. He starts off every song with an introduction on the guitar. The vocal comes in and the guitar drones on, playing the same initial riff over and over until suddenly you realize the hypnotic force of it. Fred sings what he feels:

 

Lord, when you get home, baby,
Sit down and write me few o’ your lines
Lord, that’ll be a consolation
Lord, mama, to my worryn’ mind.
Fred McDowell in the late 1960s
Fred McDowell in the late 1960s