Growing up on Egypt Plantation in Holmes County, Loretta Harris-Wilson heard plenty of blues music.
Her father, the late Kapus Rooks, had a cafe on the plantation. At home, she heard the music of Bobby Rush, Muddy Waters and other greats, and her mother had pictures of them on the walls. But Harris-Wilson didn't know who they were.
"These people were legends; I was a little girl," she said. "But I was listening to the music - but I did not know who I was listening to."
Now, for the last five years, she has toured with one of those legends. As a backup singer and dancer for Bobby Rush, she has traveled to France, Switzerland, Norway, Italy, Spain and other places she might never have seen otherwise. This weekend, she was scheduled to perform in Canada.
Recently, a photo featuring her and Rush appeared on the front page of a newspaper in Finland.
Growing up in low-income surroundings, she never expected to make this kind of living.
"I never knew that I would have the dream or would be able to make the money that I make," she said. "I never could see it from there to here. … When I look back, I'm like 'Oh, my God - I can't believe this is happening to me.'"
Harris-Wilson, 34, was born on Egypt Plantation but moved to Leflore County at a young age. As a girl, she sang in the church choir, and she enjoyed singing, but she didn't aspire to a career in it. She later graduated from Amanda Elzy High School.
As an adult, she worked for Irvin Automotive Products for about seven years. After the plant closed, she took a job as a desk clerk at Super 8, which is now Executive Inn.
Again, she got glimpses into the blues without knowing it.
Artists such as Marvin Sease and Mel Waiters would come to town for festivals and stay at the hotel, but she didn't recognize them. "I used to check them in, and I didn't know who it was."
She first met Rush at the Mississippi State Fair in Jackson, which he was attending with his family. She had seen him perform once at a festival in the Browning community, but this was her first time to speak to him. "He said, 'You don't know me.' I said, 'Oh, yeah, indeed I do know you,'" she recalled.
They continued corresponding, and Rush later asked her to go on the road with him - without an audition. "He liked me and told me I had it."
For a while, she declined his requests to tour, but she eventually said yes. And she loves working with him.
"He's fabulous," she said. "He's always trying to help someone."
For a while, she kept her job at Super 8 while periodically going on the road. But in 2003 she decided it was time to leave the hotel. "I let that go and became dedicated to this, and it has taken me all around the world."
Since then, she has met some of those musicians she checked in, and they remembered her.
She also performed with B.B. King last year at a festival in Pickens. She performed with Little Milton Campbell and later attended his funeral.
"I never knew I was going to meet these people," she said. "I never could even imagine that I was going to meet some of these people."
And Rush has told her plenty of stories about the old days with Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf and Little Richard.
Most of the band's foreign tours last two or three weeks. Harris-Wilson said the crowds are very enthusiastic. In fact, in many areas of Europe, blues music is more popular than it is in the United States. Those countries have areas comparable to Clarksdale and Memphis' Beale Street in their love of the blues.
"Over there, it's hotter, and it's incredible," Harris-Wilson said.
Now that she's had a taste of the spotlight, she wants to take it even further.
She wants to learn guitar and piano, and she's picked up all kinds of knowledge spending time around musicians.
She also got more exposure last year when she toured the West Coast alone with Rush and his band.
"At first I was scared; I was a little intimidated and didn't know if I could do it, could pull it off," she said. "But my crowd, my audience accepted me."
Others also have advised her on her career path. Robert Lockwood Jr., who studied under Robert Johnson, told her how many artists have to succeed overseas before making their mark in the United States.
But she's already more popular overseas than she is here. So the other major piece of advice they give is to have patience, and she listens.
"I understand it's not going to happen overnight," she said.
She is confident that the band will support her in whatever she chooses. She might not be ready to step out front just yet, but "when I'm ready, I will do it," she said.
She also gets plenty of support from her family.
She is married to Tchula Alderman Leo Wilson. She has three daughters and two sons: Nanetta Harris, 18, a student at Alcorn State University; 17-year-old Shaquisheia Harris and 14-year-old Le-Porchia Wilson, students at Amanda Elzy High; and the two sons, Generio Harris and Kadarious Wilson, who attend S.V. Marshall High School.
Then there's her mother, Rosie Wilson of Greenwood, who looks after the daughters while their mother is on tour and helps in other ways. "She's very supportive. She's been there from day one."
The children already know a lot about the music industry, having spent time on the road with her in the summers. A couple of them are musical as well; Kadarious plays piano, and Generio plays drums and some guitar.
"They like music, period," she said.
