Alongside the blues, Jimmie Rodgers (much more rooted in the blues than commonly know ) helped usher the formative years of what became country music. Meridian native
If I remember, I will send the article. Rodgers existed in the same geographic region as these artists. Hell, Robert Johnson’s sister claims Jimmie was their favorite singer. He was our first pop star.
Anyway, back to the meeting, the Wolf says it was after Rodgers performed at a plantation, and then he went to sing for the share croppers. Also, they both lived in West Point at the same time, though Wolf was a baby and outside the city limits in Clay County.
This is the music that made Dylan. I love this subreddit for the opportunity to have these discussions!
Not only that but the name itself just sounds great and instantly imbues your song with a sort of folksy authenticity. It’s just one of those words that sounds good when sung in a song.
There is no credible evidence that Mississippi is the birthplace of the blues, zero. It was something Alan Lomax liked to say without evidence after (coincidentally) he had recorded a lot in Mississippi.
Zero credible evidence that Mississippi is the birthplace of blues music. "Joe Turner" is about events in Tennessee and W.C. Handy recalled that he heard it by 1892. There is no comparable evidence of blues music in Mississippi that early.
Delta Blues is the style that inspired modern music. Of course, the blues that came from Gospel and field songs had variations across the rural South in Black communities, but this attempt to deny Mississippi's place seems to be in bad faith, and quite frankly, is foolish.
There's nothing foolish (or bad faith) about writing "There is no credible evidence that Mississippi is the birthplace of the blues, zero. It was something Alan Lomax liked to say without evidence after (coincidentally) he had recorded a lot in Mississippi." It's all true (bearing in mind we understand that "coincidentally" is sarcasm).
The blues song "Joe Turner" was written about events in Tennessee, by someone who was more likely in Tennessee at the time than anywhere else, by about 1892 because W.C. Handy knew it by then according to his '20s interview with Dorothy Scarborough, and Handy was a sober-minded guy who was born in the 1870s. Let me know what similarly concrete evidence you have that blues music was in Mississippi by about 1892, which you won't, because you don't.
I think he means the undertones/themes of the song are usually that it’s an unpleasant place to be. “Stayed in Mississippi a day too long”, the racial hatred in Oxford Town and the murdering of Abraham’s son on Highway 61. They all depict the place as an unpleasant (uninviting) one.
Oh okay. Well I'd say he's harkening back to a time when Mississippi was (to put it this way) a much harder place to be. Blues comes from spirituals and hymns and songs that talked of misery and oppression and such, so when he uses Mississippi as a place in his lyrics it may be meant to just convey a similar feeling
I’m from a rural Mississippi town of 200 people. I received a quality education at Ole Miss, a place I love. I have a complicated relationship with my home state.
He seemed to suggest in his 60 Minutes interview that he was born in the wrong place and to the wrong parents. My guess is that he wished he grew up where I did.
While obviously growing up in rural MS doesn’t give you a leg up in life, he probably felt like it gave some of the musicians he idolized some, I don’t know, credibility (?) that Minnesota doesn’t necessarily give you as an Americana musician.
I’m so glad I no longer live there and I can’t stress enough to people how difficult of a place it is, but I will say that growing up in Mississippi prepared me well for appreciating everything I’ve enjoyed in life. The “day too long” part resonates with me in a way that I don’t think most folks can relate.
I highly recommend listening to both Dylan’s Mississippi and also Chris Rea’s Mississippi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si9p6xUHr8g). My feelings about the place lie pretty comfortably in both songs.
UM alumni as well. I share a deeply complicated relationship with the University, and the state? Depends on the definition. If referring to policy and the ruling class, I’m beyond ashamed. But the people? Average, hard working Mississippians? We’re the best place on Earth. Also, living in such a hot bed of talent, you will find yourself down some random dirt road and suddenly you’re at the grave of a world class blues musician. Big Joe Williams (the guy who told Dylan to start writing original material) lays in a cowfield in southern Lowndes County
yup this is exactly how i feel as an ole miss alum. the state has some of the best goddamn people trapped under a fascist state government that continues to thrive because of gerrymandering and active voter suppression. i can go on and on about how much that state means to me
It's like being in Mississippi offered more of a richer American culture than someone coming from Minnesota. It's a very beautiful place. The University [Ole Miss] attracts many these days but they don't stay in the state ... no jobs.
I’d stop short of saying Mississippi offers a richer American culture, because it’s just not true that someone born in the MS delta is any more American than someone from the iron ore hills. BUT I will say that Mississippi has punched far above its weight in contributing fabric to America’s cultural tapestry. Hardship fosters soul and spirit and drive, and Mississippi lacks none of that.
I lived in Wisconsin until age ten. I have lived in Mississippi since (21). There’s no doubt I’m a more vibrant and composed individual because of the experiences here. There is something unique about this state
I’m not. Also, Wisconsin plays a major role in the development of blues music. Look at Grafton. It’s a shame the bigotries of that area stopped Grafton becoming Motown.
Even more disappointing is the building doesn’t even stand. Totally forgotten, even by those that appreciate the music. Charley Patton recorded there. Nothing more to say.
Even the term “Ole Miss” is pretty dang complicated. Students feel like it encapsulates the warm “alma mater” feelings they have to the university but the term is an explicit reference to slavery and the slavers’ rebellion, which UM has proudly celebrated for much of its existence and continues to in many ways.
Dylan can’t resist complicated American stories encapsulated in a melodic word.
Highway 61 has been a very powerful symbol for the blues and roots sound.
It starts in New Orleans and travels up through the farms and South picking up flavor on the way to that Chicago blues sound.
And if you keep following it you’ll end up landing right on Bobby Zimmerman.
For Dylan Mississippi is a return to god. A return to the source of it all. He does a really good job writing about this in Chronicles where the line of metaphor and reality almost disappear
If you're from Minnesota, the Mississippi will loom large in your life. Same with Highway 61, which runs from Minnesota to New Orleans all along the Mississippi River.
Plus all the other reasons people have listed here.
The Mississippi River starts in Minnesota and is the life blood of most of the central and southern part of the country. Mark Twain put it on the literary map, so a lot of Americana references it.
Look up “Oxford Town” although the lyric is obvious.
The night he performed the song I believe he opened with a ZZ Top cover “My Head’s in Mississippi”
For a 1960s folk singer who’s best known for writing songs that lament racial injustice and championing social change during the civil rights movement and beyond, I’d imagine it would be pretty hard to avoid writing about Mississippi
“Oxford Town” is about the white riots at Ole Miss when James Meredith integrated it … “only a pawn in their game” is about the murder of Medgar Evers … “the ballad of Emmett Till” is about, well, you know. Blowing in the wind, paths of victory, etc are also civil rights songs. Of course they don’t give an “inviting” impression of Mississippi.
https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-political-bob-dylan/
Apologies if this is common knowledge, but the line “(ain’t but the one thing) I did wrong: stayed in Mississippi a day too long” is a floating verse from chain gang songs. So, depending on how you want to interpret it, it’s either about an innocent person being convicted because he stayed too long in Mississippi, or it could be about someone guilty but wholly unrepentant for doing anything except lingering long enough to get caught. Probably the former, I’d say
Just a guess - His Broadway show, Girl from the North Country, is set in 1930's Minnesota where Bob was born - with a lot of suffering related to poverty and the Depression. It's a total downer - not recommended. I think Mississippi is a stand-in for a poor, rural place where people live hard lives, with dramatic situations and choices. And it's the source of the Blues, so it has its own musical story, which is a good starting point for his songwriting.
It was a scattershot of good performances in great songs that were about as useful in a non-existent plot as a gospel in a shithouse. The musical was awful
Every character was in a shitty situation with no hope or joy, and they met a sad end - either death or destitution. I walked out of the theater wanting to blow my brains out.
Mississippi is the cradle of popular american music, in short. So you can see why its so revered in much of american music specifically the genres most related to old blues and folk.
Mississippi is the cradle of popular american music, in short. So you can see why its so revered in much of american music specifically the genres most related to old blues and folk.
I heard a story from someone somewhere that Dylan's tour bus broke down in Mississippi and they had to stay an extra day or two.
Obviously the state has significance for Dylan (the blues), but I think a lot of his songs are fairly autobiographical.
From what I know, in the 1960s, the frequency you would have political conversations about Mississippi were similar to how often you would discuss places like “Israel,” “Gaza,” and “Ukraine” today.
Since “High Water (for Charley Patton)” is on the same album, and is a paean to Patton’s song of the same title, and is about the Great Flood of 1927 and the devastation it caused in that state… I’d guess there’s a connection.
Elvis,Robert Johnson, many more greats from Mississippi. I came across an on line pole a few years ago listing top musicians from each state Mississippi imo, had the most.
Mississippi is the cradle of popular american music, in short. So you can see why its so revered in much of american music specifically the genres most related to old blues and folk.
Well, most popular american music is largely influenced by rock and roll of the mid century era. That music comes from blues, which came from Mississippi. As a matter of fact, one of their “slogans” or whatever is literally “Mississipi, Birthplace of America’s Music”. I know this first hand because a sign i saw had this crossing the border into ms.
Blues music came from lots of places, e.g., the most influential electric guitarist of the mid century era as jump blues evolved into rock and roll was T-Bone Walker, from Texas. (He said his favorite blues guitar soloist was Scrapper Blackwell, who wasn't from Mississippi either, and blues guitar soloing in a jazz-influenced style generally was popularized by Lonnie Johnson, who was from Louisiana.) The rock and roll sound in general was developed in about 1947-1949 by people such as Wild Bill Moore, Wynonie Harris, and Roy Brown, who were born in Michigan, Nebraska, and Louisiana respectively.
Ehhh your right about it coming from alot of places around the south, but it by and large came from the delta, with those bluesmen basically starting the singer songwriter tradition. Also personally i wouldnt place so much emphasis on people like t bone for guitar, i think rock more so had its origins in the vocal side of things like with Ledbelly and Charlie Pattons rough vocals. But ledbelly is from texas so your definitely right about it being a movement across the south! Mississippi definitely can still claim to be the birthplace of american music imo, being the most crucial state in the development of rock. Hell, elvis is from ms. The blues of chicago and others was essentially a spreading of the blues from ms, for example charlie patton has some songs mentioning chicago
"\[P\]opular American music" by and large came from the Delta is not how the math works out.
I disagree with you about Leadbelly or Patton having much influence on rock. Elvis was born in Mississippi and was very important, but I don't think any one state was crucially important to the development of rock in general the way you seem to be suggesting. Mississippi was very important to Chicago blues (and lots of other places in the South were important to it too), but Chicago blues wasn't as important to rock and roll and rock of about 1947-1966, e.g., if you look at artists of that era case by case, as people often like to imagine. E.g. Louis Jordan was far more important to the people developing rock and roll as of about 1949 than Muddy Waters was; he had had far greater professional success than Muddy and they wanted to be big stars too.
Math? Its the epicenter, the origin, so by and large you could say it came from there. Again, its literally on the signs that say "Welcome to Mississipi", so maybe take it up with them lmao, since i cant convince you. From my studying of american music i find its definitely a fair claim.
You answered yourself; it’s the birthplace of the blues. So it just easily lends itself to many of his lyrics
Alongside the blues, Jimmie Rodgers (much more rooted in the blues than commonly know ) helped usher the formative years of what became country music. Meridian native
I love the fact that both Merle Haggard Howlin’ Wolf called Jimmie Rogers their favorite musician.
Wolf boasts his howl was a direct imitation of Rodgers and his yodeling. They met at least once
Did they? I never knew that. The links between country and blues gets overlooked by some.
If I remember, I will send the article. Rodgers existed in the same geographic region as these artists. Hell, Robert Johnson’s sister claims Jimmie was their favorite singer. He was our first pop star. Anyway, back to the meeting, the Wolf says it was after Rodgers performed at a plantation, and then he went to sing for the share croppers. Also, they both lived in West Point at the same time, though Wolf was a baby and outside the city limits in Clay County. This is the music that made Dylan. I love this subreddit for the opportunity to have these discussions!
Jimmie Rodgers' recordings are great. Howlin' Wolf's as well. Wolf's not a yodler, however, which is not a knock on him.
“I couldn’t do no yodeling but I could howl” is what the Wolf said himself
Not only that but the name itself just sounds great and instantly imbues your song with a sort of folksy authenticity. It’s just one of those words that sounds good when sung in a song.
There is no credible evidence that Mississippi is the birthplace of the blues, zero. It was something Alan Lomax liked to say without evidence after (coincidentally) he had recorded a lot in Mississippi.
Zero evidence? I mean Delta Blues originated almost entirely in Mississippi
"Delta" refers to a part of Mississippi. There is no credible evidence that Mississippi is the birthplace of blues music, zero.
Put down the pipe. Zero? Where the hell are all these guys from? Wyoming???
Zero credible evidence that Mississippi is the birthplace of blues music. "Joe Turner" is about events in Tennessee and W.C. Handy recalled that he heard it by 1892. There is no comparable evidence of blues music in Mississippi that early.
Delta Blues is the style that inspired modern music. Of course, the blues that came from Gospel and field songs had variations across the rural South in Black communities, but this attempt to deny Mississippi's place seems to be in bad faith, and quite frankly, is foolish.
There's nothing foolish (or bad faith) about writing "There is no credible evidence that Mississippi is the birthplace of the blues, zero. It was something Alan Lomax liked to say without evidence after (coincidentally) he had recorded a lot in Mississippi." It's all true (bearing in mind we understand that "coincidentally" is sarcasm). The blues song "Joe Turner" was written about events in Tennessee, by someone who was more likely in Tennessee at the time than anywhere else, by about 1892 because W.C. Handy knew it by then according to his '20s interview with Dorothy Scarborough, and Handy was a sober-minded guy who was born in the 1870s. Let me know what similarly concrete evidence you have that blues music was in Mississippi by about 1892, which you won't, because you don't.
He loves the musical traditions of the state, but his lyrics of the state are uninviting.
What do you mean by uninviting?
I think he means the undertones/themes of the song are usually that it’s an unpleasant place to be. “Stayed in Mississippi a day too long”, the racial hatred in Oxford Town and the murdering of Abraham’s son on Highway 61. They all depict the place as an unpleasant (uninviting) one.
Oh okay. Well I'd say he's harkening back to a time when Mississippi was (to put it this way) a much harder place to be. Blues comes from spirituals and hymns and songs that talked of misery and oppression and such, so when he uses Mississippi as a place in his lyrics it may be meant to just convey a similar feeling
I'm guessing you are either proudly from or have never been to Mississippi.
I’m from a rural Mississippi town of 200 people. I received a quality education at Ole Miss, a place I love. I have a complicated relationship with my home state. He seemed to suggest in his 60 Minutes interview that he was born in the wrong place and to the wrong parents. My guess is that he wished he grew up where I did. While obviously growing up in rural MS doesn’t give you a leg up in life, he probably felt like it gave some of the musicians he idolized some, I don’t know, credibility (?) that Minnesota doesn’t necessarily give you as an Americana musician. I’m so glad I no longer live there and I can’t stress enough to people how difficult of a place it is, but I will say that growing up in Mississippi prepared me well for appreciating everything I’ve enjoyed in life. The “day too long” part resonates with me in a way that I don’t think most folks can relate. I highly recommend listening to both Dylan’s Mississippi and also Chris Rea’s Mississippi (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Si9p6xUHr8g). My feelings about the place lie pretty comfortably in both songs.
UM alumni as well. I share a deeply complicated relationship with the University, and the state? Depends on the definition. If referring to policy and the ruling class, I’m beyond ashamed. But the people? Average, hard working Mississippians? We’re the best place on Earth. Also, living in such a hot bed of talent, you will find yourself down some random dirt road and suddenly you’re at the grave of a world class blues musician. Big Joe Williams (the guy who told Dylan to start writing original material) lays in a cowfield in southern Lowndes County
yup this is exactly how i feel as an ole miss alum. the state has some of the best goddamn people trapped under a fascist state government that continues to thrive because of gerrymandering and active voter suppression. i can go on and on about how much that state means to me
*"Big Joe Williams (the guy who told Dylan to start writing original material) lays in a cowfield in southern Lowndes County"* Proof?
Look it up.
Google is your friend.
I rather think that Google is more of a foe with their monopolistic, anti-privacy business practices.
Then consult your local library!
My local library has closed down, sadly.
I am very sorry to hear that. Genuinely.
It's not your fault but thanks for the sentiment. You're a good human.
It's like being in Mississippi offered more of a richer American culture than someone coming from Minnesota. It's a very beautiful place. The University [Ole Miss] attracts many these days but they don't stay in the state ... no jobs.
I’d stop short of saying Mississippi offers a richer American culture, because it’s just not true that someone born in the MS delta is any more American than someone from the iron ore hills. BUT I will say that Mississippi has punched far above its weight in contributing fabric to America’s cultural tapestry. Hardship fosters soul and spirit and drive, and Mississippi lacks none of that.
I lived in Wisconsin until age ten. I have lived in Mississippi since (21). There’s no doubt I’m a more vibrant and composed individual because of the experiences here. There is something unique about this state
Don’t be pooping in wisconsin. Hwy61 passes through here also.
I’m not. Also, Wisconsin plays a major role in the development of blues music. Look at Grafton. It’s a shame the bigotries of that area stopped Grafton becoming Motown.
True. People don’t talk about paramount enough.
Even more disappointing is the building doesn’t even stand. Totally forgotten, even by those that appreciate the music. Charley Patton recorded there. Nothing more to say.
Even the term “Ole Miss” is pretty dang complicated. Students feel like it encapsulates the warm “alma mater” feelings they have to the university but the term is an explicit reference to slavery and the slavers’ rebellion, which UM has proudly celebrated for much of its existence and continues to in many ways. Dylan can’t resist complicated American stories encapsulated in a melodic word.
ole miss alum who left the state after graduation here😅
hotty toddy❤️ -fellow ole miss alum
He’s a wordsmith. Mississippi is a cool word.
Sounds a hell of a lot better in a song than “New Hampshire”
“I stayed here in Delaware just one day too long…”
He stayed there a day too long
That was the only one thing that he did wrong.
To me Mississippi and Hwy61 and Oxford are stand-ins for the American experience. The backwardness, the injustice and also the complexity.
Highway 61 has been a very powerful symbol for the blues and roots sound. It starts in New Orleans and travels up through the farms and South picking up flavor on the way to that Chicago blues sound. And if you keep following it you’ll end up landing right on Bobby Zimmerman. For Dylan Mississippi is a return to god. A return to the source of it all. He does a really good job writing about this in Chronicles where the line of metaphor and reality almost disappear
If you're from Minnesota, the Mississippi will loom large in your life. Same with Highway 61, which runs from Minnesota to New Orleans all along the Mississippi River. Plus all the other reasons people have listed here.
The Mississippi River starts in Minnesota and is the life blood of most of the central and southern part of the country. Mark Twain put it on the literary map, so a lot of Americana references it.
Look up “Oxford Town” although the lyric is obvious. The night he performed the song I believe he opened with a ZZ Top cover “My Head’s in Mississippi”
Not exactly sure but I could make an argument that "Mississippi" is his greatest song.
It's my personal favourite out of all his songs
The man begins the song by describing the human condition in 32 words.
Such a beautiful song that he recorded 47 different versions! 😂
For a 1960s folk singer who’s best known for writing songs that lament racial injustice and championing social change during the civil rights movement and beyond, I’d imagine it would be pretty hard to avoid writing about Mississippi
“Oxford Town” is about the white riots at Ole Miss when James Meredith integrated it … “only a pawn in their game” is about the murder of Medgar Evers … “the ballad of Emmett Till” is about, well, you know. Blowing in the wind, paths of victory, etc are also civil rights songs. Of course they don’t give an “inviting” impression of Mississippi. https://www.dissentmagazine.org/online_articles/the-political-bob-dylan/
Dylan grew up near highway 61 in Minnesota, so I'm not sure he's referring to Mississippi in that song/album. Am I missing something?
In fairness many of the Mississippi blues singers too had the blues about Mississippi, think Dylan’s just influenced by them
His brother lived there.
It rolls off your tongue
Apologies if this is common knowledge, but the line “(ain’t but the one thing) I did wrong: stayed in Mississippi a day too long” is a floating verse from chain gang songs. So, depending on how you want to interpret it, it’s either about an innocent person being convicted because he stayed too long in Mississippi, or it could be about someone guilty but wholly unrepentant for doing anything except lingering long enough to get caught. Probably the former, I’d say
Just a guess - His Broadway show, Girl from the North Country, is set in 1930's Minnesota where Bob was born - with a lot of suffering related to poverty and the Depression. It's a total downer - not recommended. I think Mississippi is a stand-in for a poor, rural place where people live hard lives, with dramatic situations and choices. And it's the source of the Blues, so it has its own musical story, which is a good starting point for his songwriting.
Are you calling it a downer as a criticism? I thought it got pretty great reviews...
Saw the touring production. Music is great, plot is garbage.
I saw it; I liked it. Not everything has to have a happy ending.
It was a scattershot of good performances in great songs that were about as useful in a non-existent plot as a gospel in a shithouse. The musical was awful
Every character was in a shitty situation with no hope or joy, and they met a sad end - either death or destitution. I walked out of the theater wanting to blow my brains out.
Phil Ochs did this too. It’s Mississippi, so I guess it’s easy to slander lol
Mississippi is the cradle of popular american music, in short. So you can see why its so revered in much of american music specifically the genres most related to old blues and folk.
Mississippi is the cradle of popular american music, in short. So you can see why its so revered in much of american music specifically the genres most related to old blues and folk.
I heard a story from someone somewhere that Dylan's tour bus broke down in Mississippi and they had to stay an extra day or two. Obviously the state has significance for Dylan (the blues), but I think a lot of his songs are fairly autobiographical.
An extra day or two too long.
From what I know, in the 1960s, the frequency you would have political conversations about Mississippi were similar to how often you would discuss places like “Israel,” “Gaza,” and “Ukraine” today.
Things are going on, down in Mississippi- JJ Grey
Since “High Water (for Charley Patton)” is on the same album, and is a paean to Patton’s song of the same title, and is about the Great Flood of 1927 and the devastation it caused in that state… I’d guess there’s a connection.
And, let’s not forget: goddam.
Because he was born there, son of a bluesman... ;)
It all stems from the Civil Rights struggles of the early 1960s, when Dylan was the chief bard of those struggles.
He’s probably got as many songs about Tennessee, Louisiana, New York, maybe others.
Da blues!
Highway 61 runs through a lot of statesi just sayin'.
In blues songs since the inception of the genre Mississippi is mentioned all the time.
Didn’t he help work in the fields of north MS /Yazoo Basin when he was 15-16?
Ragebait.
Elvis,Robert Johnson, many more greats from Mississippi. I came across an on line pole a few years ago listing top musicians from each state Mississippi imo, had the most.
Better then misery.
Wonder if he's ever visited Waveland ?
Mississippi is the cradle of popular american music, in short. So you can see why its so revered in much of american music specifically the genres most related to old blues and folk.
"Mississippi is the cradle of popular american music" That's an unusual claim that isn't true.
Well, most popular american music is largely influenced by rock and roll of the mid century era. That music comes from blues, which came from Mississippi. As a matter of fact, one of their “slogans” or whatever is literally “Mississipi, Birthplace of America’s Music”. I know this first hand because a sign i saw had this crossing the border into ms.
Blues music came from lots of places, e.g., the most influential electric guitarist of the mid century era as jump blues evolved into rock and roll was T-Bone Walker, from Texas. (He said his favorite blues guitar soloist was Scrapper Blackwell, who wasn't from Mississippi either, and blues guitar soloing in a jazz-influenced style generally was popularized by Lonnie Johnson, who was from Louisiana.) The rock and roll sound in general was developed in about 1947-1949 by people such as Wild Bill Moore, Wynonie Harris, and Roy Brown, who were born in Michigan, Nebraska, and Louisiana respectively.
Ehhh your right about it coming from alot of places around the south, but it by and large came from the delta, with those bluesmen basically starting the singer songwriter tradition. Also personally i wouldnt place so much emphasis on people like t bone for guitar, i think rock more so had its origins in the vocal side of things like with Ledbelly and Charlie Pattons rough vocals. But ledbelly is from texas so your definitely right about it being a movement across the south! Mississippi definitely can still claim to be the birthplace of american music imo, being the most crucial state in the development of rock. Hell, elvis is from ms. The blues of chicago and others was essentially a spreading of the blues from ms, for example charlie patton has some songs mentioning chicago
"\[P\]opular American music" by and large came from the Delta is not how the math works out. I disagree with you about Leadbelly or Patton having much influence on rock. Elvis was born in Mississippi and was very important, but I don't think any one state was crucially important to the development of rock in general the way you seem to be suggesting. Mississippi was very important to Chicago blues (and lots of other places in the South were important to it too), but Chicago blues wasn't as important to rock and roll and rock of about 1947-1966, e.g., if you look at artists of that era case by case, as people often like to imagine. E.g. Louis Jordan was far more important to the people developing rock and roll as of about 1949 than Muddy Waters was; he had had far greater professional success than Muddy and they wanted to be big stars too.
Math? Its the epicenter, the origin, so by and large you could say it came from there. Again, its literally on the signs that say "Welcome to Mississipi", so maybe take it up with them lmao, since i cant convince you. From my studying of american music i find its definitely a fair claim.
"the origin" The actual evidence for where blues music originated doesn't, e.g., support Mississippi over Tennessee (and more the reverse).
Tennessee just had the closest big cities with recording studios
I'm referring to where blues music originated.