Morgan Freeman goes to 'Ground Zero' in Clarksdale
By Steven Godfrey • The Daily Mississippian • June 14, 2001

There is a method to Bill Luckett's madness; you just have to look for it. The lawyer turned realtor turned entrepreneur never has a dull moment and seemingly never has time to spare.

"Smell that magnolia, there's nothing like it," says Luckett outside his Clarksdale law firm, pointing to a bloom on an overgrown tree.

Whith a bustling Clarksdale law firm, scores of rental property he restores and two of the most talked about restaurants in the state under his partial ownership, both less than a year old, Luckett should be over his head in work. He is, but he certainly hasn't gotten too busy to notice the magnolias.

Such has become the ethic of Luckett and his associates in bringing about a change in Clarksdale; one of diligence and innovation, coupled with the desire to include the more attractive parts of the Delta and create a new cultural renaissance in the small city known as the heart of American music.

Those partners, or one in particular, have helped elevate the work being done to national attention. Oscar nominated actor and Mississippi native Morgan Freeman is Luckett's partner in action, and together the duo have set about to give blues enthusiasts a place to experience their music, and the local economy a helping hand.

With Ground Zero, a traditional blues music juke joint located at 0 Blues Alley next to the famed train tracks Muddy Waters left for Chicago on, the third brainchild of Freeman and Luckett has come to fuition.

Citing no real place in town to hear great live music on a regular basis with Ground Zero the blues history of the Delta finally has an accessible and artist friendly venue to showcase the years of musical history and influence that until recently had been hidden under poverty and disinterest.

With Clarksdale home to the Crossroads (the intersection of Highways 49 and 61 where, according to legend, famed guitarist Robert Johnson sold his soul to the devil.) large amounts of tourists, a good bit of which were from as far as Europe, were already visiting the city.

Opening in May to much local and some national fanfare, Luckett and Freeman entertained scores of reporters, locals and a few celebrities as well.

"Bill and I had originally gone in on a place called Crossroads. It was fun but it had no feeling of permanence. With [Ground Zero] we have an 'on the map' kind of feeling," said Freeman.

Working with the Delta Blues Museum's Howard Stovall ( also a co-owner), Freeman and Luckett wanted a venue for visitors interested in the music, and to create a juke joint experience. The interior of Ground Zero looks gritty and unrefined: the floorboards are mismatched and uneven, the chairs are random and rickety, the menus are written on chalkboards and painted on the walls, in a sense it's as close to a run down blues joint as a month old establishment can be.

"We wanted it to look authentic, it has the pool tables, the Christmas lights, it's a real juke joint" said Luckett. "People would leave the museum and ask where they could hear music, and there never was a sure answer. Now they can just point down the street."