Portal:Blues/Selected article/2
The Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers. Technically not a delta but part of an alluvial plain, created by regular flooding over thousands of years, this region is remarkably flat and contains some of the most fertile soil in the world.
The Delta is strongly associated with the origins of several genres of popular music, including the Delta blues, jazz, and rock and roll. The music came out of the struggles of lives in which poverty and hardship were ever present for mostly black sharecroppers and tenant farmers. (more)