Hans Lebuser traveled from Frankfurt, Germany, to a small church cemetery just outside Greenwood to gaze at the headstone of blues legend Robert Johnson.
That same week he stopped in Clarksdale, Avalon, and Rosedale as part of his trip to the Mississippi hometowns of early blues musicians.
"This is a dream come true. This is one of the creators of the blues," Lebuser said of Johnson.
Sen. David Jordan, a black Democrat from Greenwood, believes generating tourism dollars from blues enthusiasts like Lebuser could help lift the Mississippi Delta from its perpetual poverty.
Jordan has drafted a bill to create a blues commission to study the best ways to market and foster an appreciation of the blues in Mississippi. The bill also says the commission will establish a "Blues Trail" with significant musical sites.
The Senate approved the bill last week. It is now in the House, where it is expected to pass.
Jordan said the bill brings under one umbrella the various organizations, associations or tourists attractions in the Delta - from the Mississippi Delta Blues & Heritage Festival in Greenville to the numerous blues-themed museums.
Steve LaVere, owner of the Greenwood Blues Heritage Museum and Gallery, said museum draws about 100 visitors a month. He said in the past, the region's blues museums didn't support each other's tourism efforts.
"As people tour us, we should recommend the other museums," LaVere said. "There's not enough people living the Delta to be in conflict with one another."
In 2003, non-gaming tourism pumped $173 million in to the Delta's economy, according to the Mississippi Development Authority.
MDA executive director Leland Speed, a supporter of Jordan's bill, has been working with members of the commission, which was formed last year by an executive order from then-Gov. Ronnie Musgrove.
Jordan wants the commission to be a legislative mandate so it could access state and federal funds.
The president of Viking Range Corp., Fred Carl Jr., who was the original commission's chairman, has injected the blues in his business ventures.
Viking Range opened a cooking school in 2003 at the corporate training center in downtown Greenwood. One of the features is a "cooking to the blues" class, said Carol Puckett Daily, director of special projects for Viking.
"The blues musician interacts with the cook. When the cook is talking about catfish. The musician sings about catfish," Daily said. "We really tie in the point that in the Delta, wherever there's great food, there's always great music."
Travelers to Greenwood can spend a night at The Alluvian, a luxury hotel Viking bought and renovated. Room costs range from $175 to $295 a night.
Daily said the guests also can opt for a late-night visit to Johnson's grave, where a blues musician sings and tells Johnson's life story.
On the other side of the railroad tracks, about a mile from the hotel, is a less attractive reality of the Delta. Baptist Town is a section of the city that looks much like it did when Robert Johnson lived there six decades ago.
Young blacks stand on the corners in front of dilapidated homes and shotgun shacks. The main businesses there, a small grocery and laundromat, are operated by Sylvester Hoover, who acts as an unofficial tour guide.
"A lot of people come by here and get me to show them a lot of different blues sites," said Hoover, who expressed some doubts about whether the commission could help his community.
Hoover said he's never received a payment for his tours.
Hoover led Lebuser to Baptist Town. The German man said he was struck by the poverty of the people in the Delta.
"It's really strange coming here as a European. America is one of the wealthiest country's in the world. And this is Third World," Lebuser said. "It's a shame."
But Lebuser noted that out of the poverty came the blues music played by Mississippi John Hurt, Memphis Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson, Muddy Waters and Elmo James.
"This is the one asset this area has to raise the standard of living of the people," Lebuser said. "You can create jobs through tourism."
Through its cooking school, Viking has been able to generate business for some of the local musicians and restaurant owners, Daily said.
"It's not going in and fixing up Baptist Town, but it's building people's lives by allowing them more access to the system and allowing them to have more access to the tourism effort," Daily said.
Jordan said he wanted to ensure that blacks would reap benefits from the blues legacy.
"Baptist Town, where Robert Johnson played and died, will not be left out of the equation," Jordan said. "Even if I have to build something myself and put it up there."
