A Mississippi Blues Trail marker, coupled with his recordings, ensures that the memory and music of James “Son” Thomas will live on.

The marker in honor of the folk artist and Delta bluesman has been unveiled in Leland.

Recalling Thomas’ hard life, Billy Johnson, founder of the Highway 61 Blues Museum, in front of which the marker stands, described Thomas as having “13 children and about as many jobs.”

Johnson said Thomas commanded such a deep understanding of a specific Delta pain, that he could capture its essence in the simplest language.

Thomas died of a stroke in 1991.