The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center announce the upcoming unveiling of four bronze sidewalk plaques outside Club Ebony that will honor the club’s founder, Johnny Jones, as well as subsequent owners Ruby Edwards, Mary Shepard, and B.B. King.
The ceremony will take place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 21, 2024, at 404 Hanna Avenue in Indianola. A soul food lunch menu will be available from noon until the time of the unveiling, and there will be a jam session inside Club Ebony featuring Lil Ray Neal, Larry Neal, Dr. Alphonso Sanders, Jimmie Lee, and a host of other musicians.
Club Ebony underwent a major renovation in 2023 to add interpretive panels that show the depth of talent that has played there since its opening in the late 1940s. This list includes nationally-known names such as Ray Charles, Count Basie, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, Albert King, Willie Clayton, and —of course—B.B. King himself. A Mississippi Blues Trail marker was installed outside on September 7, 2009, with former owners B.B. King and Mary Shepard in attendance. Sue Evans, the daughter of Ruby Edwards, was also present and spoke about her memories made there. Ms. Edwards ran Club Ebony in the mid-1950s and purchased it in 1958. It was here that Sue Evans met B.B. King when he came to perform in 1955, and they were married in 1958. They remained close until B.B.’s death in 2015.
Mary Shepard and her husband, Willie, leased Club Ebony in 1974, and continued the tradition begun by Johnny Jones of booking nationally-known acts from the "chitlin circuit" as well as local blues artists. Ms. Shepard ran the club until her retirement in 2008, when B.B. purchased it to ensure its legacy could remain. He later donated it to the museum that bears his name, which is only a few blocks from Club Ebony. This is the place he refers to in his autobiography, where “I found love back down in the Delta.”
“Without the dream of Johnny Jones and his family who made Club Ebony a destination for world- class music, we would not have this venue with its amazing history to celebrate,” said Malika Polk- Lee, executive director of the B.B. King Museum. She added, “This ceremony will be a symbol of our commitment to ensure that the legacy of Club Ebony and the work of those who came before us will be long remembered.”
