John Lennon's sister unveils first Mississippi to Mersey Blues Trail marker outside Cavern Club

Rock music in Britain was largely inspired in the 1960s by the recordings and tours of American blues artists, including Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and others born in the state of Mississippi. Now, a new Blues Trail marker has been unveiled on Mathew Street outside the Cavern Club to celebrate this musical connection.

John Lennon's sister Julia Baird was on hand to help reveal the sign, and she said: "Well, what other street could it be on? I mean, it couldn't be anywhere else. Could it? You can relate if you've been to Beale Street in Memphis."

The Mississippi Blues Trail markers tell stories through words and images of bluesmen and women and how the places where they lived and the times in which they existed - and continue to exist - influenced their music. This is the first permanent Mississippi Blues Trail marker in the UK.

Director of Visit Mississippi, Rochelle Hicks, told LiverpoolWorld: "Mississippi is the birthplace of American music; blues music, rock ‘n’ roll, jazz - so many different genres of music. This is just a way for us to really tell our story here in Liverpool."

Liverpool has a history of cultural exchange between Britain and the United States, and The Cavern, famed for its Beatles history, also booked many blues and R&B acts.

The Cavern Club opened in a warehouse cellar at 10, Mathew Street, Liverpool on Wednesday 16 January 1957. Named after a Parisian nightspot, it started off live as a jazz venue. Six hundred people crammed inside, and hundreds more queued in Mathew Street, hoping to get into the club.

Beatles manager Brian Epstein, who ran the NEMS Record Store on Whitechapel, imported blues records, and the band's second LP featured a cover of Money, first recorded by Mississippi-born singer Barrett Strong.

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