Another smaller wall contains the awards that have been received by Robert Johnson’s own recordings and individual compositions,
mainly from the Blues Foundation in Memphis. LaVere says The Greenwood Blues Museum & Gallery was an outgrowth of his
personal, as well as professional interest in the music of the Mississippi Delta and especially the music of Robert Johnson.
"I had so much material that I thought the best way to maintain it was to share it with the people of the Delta", says LaVere.
"With a single tour of the site, one will learn a great deal about the Blues." LaVere continues, "With changing displays as often as we are
planning, the average person will see something new with each visit."
LaVere says that the best aspect of the project was displaying Johnson's many awards. LaVere, who is originally from California,
Now makes his home in Greenwood. LaVere says that he decided to move to Greenwood for two reasons, one being the massive
population of his native Southern California, and the other the warm welcome he received from Greenwood residents on previous visits
and the even warmer friendships that have developed since. "I've been coming to Greenwood on research and business trips since 1973
and I’ve loved this town ever since then, when I drove down Grand Boulevard for the very first time," LaVere states.
LaVere says the goal of the Museum is to raise the awareness and appreciation of Blues music in the Delta. "I hope that the people
of Greenwood and the Delta will better understand and appreciate, hopefully due in part to the existence of The Greenwood Blues
Heritage Museum & Gallery, the part Robert Johnson has played in the history of Blues music and the role Blues music has played
in the history of American music in general."
The museum houses the largest collection of Robert Johnson materials ever assembled. In addition to all the gold and platinum
sales awards described above, the collection also includes the most complete collection of Robert Johnson original 78’s in the world,
plus thousands of long play records, CDs and videos each of which contains a Robert Johnson composition as well as numerous
awards honoring him. There are also photographs, posters, guitars, & accessories, t-shirts and memorabilia, including numerous
Examples of the use of the 29¢ Robert Johnson stamp issued by the United States Postal Service in 1994.
Any donations made to the Greenwood Blues Heritage Museum & Gallery will be gratefully accepted and used for the furtherance
of our mission.
The Greenwood Blues Heritage Museum & Gallery opened to great fanfare on the evening of November 15, 2001. Many local
dignitaries, including Greenwood Mayor & Mrs. Smith, as well as Mississippi State Representative May Whittington, were in
attendance along with other parties interested in the development of Greenwood's standing among blues tourists, fans and record
collectors across America. The event was hosted by Janice Moor and the Greenwood Chamber of Commerce and was actively
assisted and encouraged by The Greenwood Convention & Visitors' Bureau, as well as Main Street Greenwood. The Museum is
now located at 222 Howard Street, on downtown Greenwood's primary commercial thoroughfare.
The Museum is owned and operated by Stephen LaVere. With various kinds of art, including posters and photographs by some of
America's leading photographers, among them, The Hooks Bros. of Memphis and Californian Jim Marshall, as well as many by
LaVere himself, the Museum honors the memory and history of a wide variety of blues musicians from across the central Delta to
places such as Memphis, Texas and Louisiana. In addition, the museum strives to increase the awareness of the role of
Greenwood, Mississippi, in the development and history of the blues, as well as to increase awareness of the importance of the
blues in the history of American music.
