Correspondent Tom Wilmer reports from Louisiana's East Baton Rouge Parish, in the outback near the village of Zachary. Following a pitch-black evening drive along a gravel road, we arrive at Teddy’s Juke Joint for a visit with the legendary proprietor 73 year-old Lloyd Johnson Junior.
Historically Juke joints like Teddy’s were housed in the front room of a sharecropper’s shack where neighbors congregated to sing the blues, dance the night away and down a pint or two. At one time, hundreds of juke joints dotted the rural countryside throughout rural Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama. Today less than five remain in business along the legendary Swamp Blues Trail.
This show was originally broadcast April 22, 2019 and is reposted as a “best-of-the-best” Journeys of Discovery show (celebrating 30 years producing on-air travel features) broadcast on NPR affiliate KCBX and the NPR ONE mobile app.
You are invited to subscribe to the Lowell Thomas Award-winning travel show podcast, Journeys of Discovery with Tom Wilmer, featured on the NPR Podcast Directory, Apple Podcast, iHeartRadio, the NPR One App & Stitcher.com. Twitter: TomCWilmer. Instagram: Thomas.Wilmer. Member of the National Press Club in Washington D.C. Underwriting support provided by the Society of St. Vincent De Paul.
