Ike Turner Birthplace — Clarksdale, Mississippi

Ike Turner was born on 5 November 1931 in Clarksdale, Mississippi — the Delta town that produced a remarkable concentration of blues and R&B talent in the twentieth century. Turner showed early musical ability, playing piano at local events as a child, and by his early teens was leading a band called the Kings of Rhythm that would become one of the most important R&B bands of the 1950s. A Mississippi Blues Trail marker in Clarksdale marks the birthplace and early career of a musician who helped create rock and roll before the genre had a name.

Turner's most significant early achievement was the 1951 recording session he organised at Sam Phillips's Memphis Recording Service, bringing the Kings of Rhythm — with vocalist Jackie Brenston — to cut 'Rocket 88.' Released under Brenston's name on Chess Records, 'Rocket 88' is frequently cited by music historians as the first rock and roll record: a driving, distorted electric guitar sound, boogie-woogie piano, and shouted vocals about an automobile that captured something new in American music. Turner went on to work as a talent scout and session musician for various labels through the 1950s before forming his partnership with Anna Mae Bullock, who became Tina Turner, in the early 1960s.

Clarksdale's blues heritage is concentrated in the downtown area, where the Delta Blues Museum, Ground Zero Blues Club, and multiple Blues Trail markers are all within walking distance. Turner's birthplace marker is part of this constellation of sites. The town is approximately 70 miles south of Memphis via Highway 61 and is the natural starting point for any Delta blues heritage journey.