The TRAVELER'S JOURNAL: October fourth, kicking out the Blues in Helena.

Mark Twain once described the area around Helena, Arkansas as "One of the prettiest situations on the Mississippi." Located 65 miles south of Memphis, the small town grew prosperous in deep Delta cotton country, but its real claim to fame has nothing to do with fiber.

It's been 60 years since Sonny Payne, a local Bluesman, convinced the owner of radio station KFFA AM in Helena to let him have a live, 15-minute show each weekday at 12:15. Sponsored by King Biscuit Flour, Sonny featured performances with Delta Blues artists who played in area juke joints. The regular assemblage included now legendary Blues players like Robert Lockwood, Sonny Boy Williamson, Pinetop Perkins, Houston Stackhouse, Willie Wilkins and Dudlow Taylor, and came to be the King Biscuit Boys.

Their daily radio exposure helped the Delta Blues spread upriver to Memphis, Chicago and eventually around the world. King Biscuit's still airs daily on KFFA with Sonny Payne at the mike, making it the world's longest running blues radio program, with over 14,000 shows.

More than that, it's expanded into an annual event, an October pilgrimage to the "Buckle of the Blues Belt." This weekend, Helena hosts its 16th King Biscuit Blues Festival. Today through Saturday, some 50 Blues and Gospel acts, including several of the original King Biscuit Boys, will perform on four stages set up downtown along the Mississippi. Last year, the free festival attracted over 100,000 Blues lovers from around the world.

FMI For information about the King Biscuit Blues Festival, call 1-870-338-8798 or visit www.kingbiscuitfest.org

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