SoLost: Po Monkey's Juke Joint
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 2 окт 2024
- One of Mississippi's greatest hidden treasures is Poor Monkey Lounge located in the tiny Delta hamlet of Merigold. Better known simply as "Po Monkeys," the establishment is one of the oldest juke joints operating in America today. Nestled on the edge of a cotton field nearly two miles down a dirt road in this rural agricultural outpost, Po Monkey's was created decades back by the irrepressible Willie "Po Monkey" Seaberry (it's a childhood nickname). And, as any visitor will quickly learn, if advanced degrees were offered in the purveying of good times, Mr. Seaberry would certainly have a Masters Degree-- if not an endowed chair.
Mr. Seaberry is a field hand on several area farms and while his days always begin at the crack of dawn, his Thursday nights also end near the crack of dawn as he turns his shack-like residence of nearly 50 years into a juke joint for locals and awestruck out-of-towners. SoLost was one of the visitors recently and while we must confess some cross-cultural difficulty during our interview with Mr. Seaberry, what was never misunderstood was that this was a man who has created something of extraordinary beauty that has stood the test of time. Poor Monkey's has given generations of music loving customers an experience that is uniquely Southern and uniquely American. It was, after all, in places like this where American music was born.
Willie Seaberry has fashioned a hand-made masterpiece of folk art, blues and good times in this cypress and tin shack. Its interior is plastered with hundreds of red lights, monkey dolls and photos that span subject matter as diverse as Bud Light, school photos, strippers, and promotional images of John Deere tractors. It's an impossible-to-forget gem of the Southern rural landscape.
And did we mention he owns 300 suits and sometimes changes five times in the course of a single evening (though it was just a t-shirt the night we were there)? Did we mention the sign outside that advertises his house emcee DJ Doctor Tissue? How about the sign that proclaims: NO LOUD MUSIC NO DOPE SMOKING NO RAP MUSIC or the dress-code-focused sign that shouts: NOT LIKE THIS (with a graphic of a man with his hat on sideways) and NOT LIKE THAT (with a graphic of someone whose baggy jeans have fallen far below the waist). And there's so much more. To dig further, check out this extended piece from our friends at Southern Spaces:
southernspaces.....
In the meantime, enjoy our little SoLost sojourn to Poor Monkey Lounge.
Producer / Director: Dave Anderson Photography
Editing and Postproduction: Jonathan Childs
Motion Graphics: TJ McCoy
Executive Producer: Warwick Sabin
SoLost is an Oxford American production.
(c) 2010 The Oxford American Literary Project
![FendiDa Rappa - Clock Dat ft. Shamar Marco [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/3NBU8KHdxYY/mqdefault.jpg)
RIP. Another good man done gone.
Hey I'm da young lady in that documentary and I had a ball as you can see!! Truly had a wonderful time!! On behalf of Poor Monkey I Suki would like too say thank you!!
Girl you was doing the Thang. Live each day to the fullest.
Greetings from Savannah Georgia 🍑🍑❤️🍑🍑
I wish I could have seen this place for just one night!
This is shot amazingly. and the people in it are beautiful!
I need a list of all the songs that were played in this video
WOW I wanna go.............
Wonderful video, but the interviewer should try to find another line of work.
I want to go!!!!
Original juke joints, actually, did not have a live band. They were juke houses where people would clear out their furniture, put down saw dust, play the phonograph and serve libations and games of chance. It is called jukebox for a reason--- because a original jukes had a coin operated phonograph AKA a jukebox. And if you notice he refers to his establishment as a club and a lounge- not as a juke joint. But this DEFINITELY is a juke!
Incorrect. Juke (sometimes spelled jook, thought to be Sengalese in origin for naughty or misbehavior) joints started up after the end of slavery, found in rural areas of the south, they featured gambling, liquor, and music, usually a solo musician, sometimes two or three, the fiddle was the popular instrument at the time, later banjo, then the piano and guitar. Rural America didn't have electricity until the mid 1930s, most juke joints didn't until the late 30s and early 40s. Coin op. record players weren't seen in juke joints until he early 40s, they quickly became popular and the term jukebox was first used.
Good job; Love to See Mississippi Represent
He did not obey!! love it.
Thank you on this one!
I've been there last year February the 6 th,
and think I met some misterious black buy in Cadillac in front of Juke Joint. Mmmmmmmm, I thought that I met the same "person" as Robert Johnson, but unfortunately, I did'n get a contract.
Name of the song at 2:20?
Loved it.
hope i can visit!!!
Lol…laughing at the dorky white guy asking questions. Obviously, he didn’t group up in the Deep South because he struggles understanding the dialect. 😂