Red Paden, owner of Red’s Blues Club in Clarksdale, Miss., grooves with saxophone player Dick Lourie at a tribute to Delta bluesman Big Jack Johnson, who died March 14, 2011. (Lance Murphey / For The Times)
Ellison Coleman, nephew of Big Jack Johnson, dances with his wife, Brenda, at Red’s. The juke joint was the home base for the blues legend. (Lance Murphey / For The Times)
Red was best friends with Big Jack Johnson. With the death of the musician, Red is considering closing down the club. (Lance Murphey / For The Times)
Saxophone player Dick Lourie belts out a blues tune at Red’s, arguably the last of the real Mississippi Delta juke joints. (Lance Murphey / For The Times)
Red Paden is as elusive as the juke joint, which has historically been a word-of-mouth affair. He won’t disclose his age, although he is a contemporary of Big Jack’s. And he won’t say how he got the nickname Red although he swears it’s quite a story. (Lance Murphey / For The Times)
Ellison Coleman visits with Angenette Johnson, the wife of Big Jack. (Lance Murphey / For The Times)
Fans and friends pay their respects to the family of Big Jack Johnson. When the bluesman wasn’t touring, he was fishing and talking about country-boy things with Red. (Lance Murphey / For The Times)
Big Jack Johnson, pictured in 1994, grew up on the blues. He began playing at a young age, but his career didn’t take off until the early 1990s. (Bill Steber)
