Mark Muleman Massey

Mark “Muleman” Massey’s life story reads like a work of fiction, or perhaps more appropriately, like a tall tale told in an old blues song. He grew up in the blues hotbed of Clarksville, MS, and learned to play the blues himself in Parchman farm prison from  none other than David Kimbrough, the son of the pioneering Hill Country blues great Junior Kimbrough. Following his release, he befriended and was mentored by two other legends of the genre, Big Jack Johnson (who gave him his nickname) and Blind Mississippi Morris. Since then, Massey has carried on this wealth of knowledge admirably, assembling an excellent band that has played at virtually every major blues festival in North America. “Today when I play their music, I can really feel those guys. I keep playing because I want to keep their songs alive,” he says.