I listen to the blues quite often, and while listening to it recently a huge grin took over my face as I reflected on the reason why I came to develop an appreciation for it in the first place.

My first real experience with the blues was somewhere around 1990 when I met my blues family in Chicago and learned more about my great uncle, the amazing blues musician Howlin' Wolf (Chester A. Burnett). His beloved wife, my Aunt Lillie, held an annual memorial/cookout in his honor that went on for approximately 25 glorious and consecutive years. I feel blessed to have attended those cookouts for at least 10 of those years. My cousin tells me that Uncle Wolf was actually at the first cookout in the mid 70s, and then it became a memorial after he died in 1976.

My beloved grandmother ("Mama") had been coming to Chicago for the annual memorial for her brother Howlin' Wolf since the late 70s. Mama used to always tell her children that they needed to come with her to Chicago for these celebrations in honor of Uncle Wolf. She'd say her peace, and then proceed on with her journey. Mama had no qualms about traveling alone. When she had to go, she went. (Now I see where I get it from. As I get older, I keep finding things that we have in common.)

My grandmother was never the forceful type, either ... choosing instead to gently encourage everyone to go. However, for whatever reason, we didn't attend the annual cookouts until around the early 90s. It then quickly became something we looked forward to every first Saturday in July until they ended in 2000, a year before my Aunt Lillie passed on. Mama and Aunt Lillie were two of the most joyful, kind-hearted people you'd ever want to meet. They were true kindred spirits. Sometimes I'd catch myself just watching them interact.

Although it's been 16 years since the last official memorial/cookout, I still find myself reflecting on the amazing times we had. I can barely put the experience into words. It was electric. It was magical. It was overwhelming. It was emotional. It was explosive. It was euphoric. It was the best kind of happy. It was a really, really phenomenal time. I remember the blues musicians performing in honor of my uncle, and the infamous harmonica marinading with the sounds of sexy, beautiful live instruments, overwhelming and engulfing my entire soul. It still gives me chills.

Let me tell you about the blues: It demands your attention, pulling you in slowly and effortlessly ... especially classic, traditional blues. Then, once the blues gets into your soul, you're done. You won't even understand what's happening to you and how long this condition will last. Forever is the answer. It will last forever.

The blues wasn't something I even knew to reach for when I was comfortably listening to an over abundance of 80s pop and rap music, with an overwhelming emphasis on Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna. My musical interests didn't evolve until I met Chicago and the blues, forever changing my musical palette. I am overjoyed about it too, as today I find myself selecting blues playlists on Internet radio before R&B quite often, especially when I'm writing, cleaning. Sometimes house music gets into a little battle with the blues while I'm cleaning, but it's an all Chicago battle, so it's more than fine.

Sometimes it makes me sad that I never got to meet my Uncle Wolf. I think we would've had some nice little chats. I would've loved to soak up whatever his unique, raspy voice had to say. But I do relish in the stories I've been told about him as well as enjoy listening to my CD collection of his music and watching many videos on YouTube like the one below. I also love the movie Cadillac Records, which gives me a small glimpse into what he may have been like.

I don't know that I realized it at the time, but I think this annual memorial is what ultimately led me to move from Omaha to Chicago, since I moved after attending one or two of the cookouts. Modeling was probably more of a secondary reason for my abrupt departure from my hometown. Chicago and the blues had gotten into my bloodstream rapidly. In fact, for many of the 22 years I lived there, I often trotted down to the Chicago Blues Festival by myself and sometimes met up with family, as most of my friends never got bit by the blues bug.

Sometimes the trajectory of your life is nothing more than amazing. It is now clear to me that my choosing the city with the greatest skyline in the country as home was not by mistake. It was my unconscious self simply trying to catch up with Mama's footsteps in Chicago.

"I couldn't do no yodelin', so I turned to howlin'. And it's done me just fine." ~Howlin' Wolf

#HowlinWolf #Chicago #blues #ChesterBurnett