Southaven in DeSoto County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)

Po' Monkey's

Photographed by Steve Masler, June 17, 2017

1. Po' Monkey's Marker

Inscription. According to Willie “Po’ Monkey” Seaberry he opened a juke joint at his home in this location in 1963. Seaberry (b. 1941) worked as a farmer and operated the club, where he continued to live, at night. By the 1990s Po’ Monkey’s was attracting a mixed crowd of locals as well as college students from Delta State University and blues aficionados in search of “authentic” juke joints. The dramatic décor both inside and outside the club also attracted attention from news outlets including the New York Times and noted photographers including Annie Leibovitz and Mississippi’s Birney Imes, who featured the club in his 1990 book Juke Joint. Despite such notoriety Po’ Monkey’s in many ways continued to typify the rural juke joint, furnished with a jukebox, a pool table, beer posters stapled to the walls, and Christmas lights strung across the walls and ceiling. Modern juke joints were preceded by informal “jookhouses” that were actually tenants’ houses on plantations. Residents would clear the furniture from the largest room and spread sawdust on the floor in preparation for an evening, and often

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sold fried fish and homemade liquor to those who gathered for music, dancing, and gambling. Such gatherings were called house parties, fish fries, country suppers, Saturday night suppers, balls, or frolics. Many musicians recall first hearing blues at jookhouses run by neighbors or family members. Some artists, including Muddy Waters, ran their own jukes in Mississippi. In the 1930s coin-operated phonographs became widely distributed throughout the South and quickly became known as “jukeboxes.” Since that time, most music at juke joints (including Po’ Monkey’s) has been provided not by live performers but by jukeboxes and, later, by deejays.

The term “juke”—sometimes spelled “jook” and often pronounced to rhyme with “book” rather than “duke”—may have either African or “Gullah” origins, and scholars have suggested meanings including “wicked or disorderly,” “to dance,” and “a place of shelter.” Used as a noun, “juke” refers to small African American-run bars, cafes, and clubs such as Po Monkey’s; as a verb,

Photographed by Steve Masler, June 17, 2017

2. Po' Monkey's Marker

it refers to partying. Variations of “jook” first appeared on recordings in the 1930s, and at a 1936 session in Hattiesburg the Mississippi Jook Band made what were later described as the first “rock ’n’ roll” records. “Juke” gained widespread recognition in 1952 as the title of a hit record by blues harmonica player Little Walter. More formal establishments in towns and cities eventually replaced most rural juke joints, but jukes continued to occupy an important place in the imagination of blues fans and performers. In the 21st century Mississippians Little Milton, Lee Shot Williams, Bill “Howlin’ Madd” Perry, and Johnny Drummer sang and composed new songs about jukes, and in 2004 Clarksdale established an annual “Juke Joint Festival” to celebrate the city’s down-home venues.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music • Entertainment. A significant historical year for this entry is 1963.

Location. 34° 56.212′ N, 89° 59.558′ W. Marker is in Southaven, Mississippi, in DeSoto County. It can be reached from Airways

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Blvd. Marker is at Tanger Outlet. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 5205 Airways Blvd, Southaven MS 38671, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

in the Mississippi Delta,

and in the Great River Road Region.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Club Ebony (a few steps from this marker); Albert King (within shouting distance of this marker); Charley Patton (within shouting distance of this marker); Hubert Sumlin (within shouting distance of this marker); Documenting the Blues (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Peavine Branch (about 400 feet away); Birthplace of the Blues? (about 400 feet away); Big Walter Horton (approx. 2.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Southaven.

More about this marker. This is part of a display at the mall and not the original marker. It does not include the front of the marker, only the rear side.

Also see . . . Po’ Monkey's, The Last Juke Joint Life, death, and the blues in the Mississippi Delta. (Submitted on July 4, 2017, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 24, 2019. It was originally submitted on July 4, 2017, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 421 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 4, 2017, by Steve Masler of Memphis, Tennessee. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.