Juke joint

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Exterior of a juke joint in Belle Glade, Florida, photographed by Marion Post Wolcott in 1944

Juke joint (or jook joint) is the vernacular term for an informal establishment featuring blues music, dancing, and alcoholic drinks, primarily operated by African American people in the southeastern United States. The term "juke" is believed to derive from the Gullah word joog, meaning rowdy or disorderly ^[1]. Besides the Blues, juke joints are known for improvised, often bawdy and humorous, styles of rhythmic dancing associated with jazz, blues, or funk called "juking." A juke joint may also be called a "barrelhouse," itself another name for this style of dancing.^[2]

Juke joints emerged along with new patterns of African American labor following Emancipation. Migratory laborers and sharecroppers needed a place to relax and socialize following a hard week of work, particularly since they were barred from most white establishments by Jim Crow laws.^[3] Set up on the outskirts of town, often in ramshackle buildings or private houses, juke joints offered food, drink, dancing and gambling for weary workers. Owners made extra money selling groceries or moonshine to patrons, or providing cheap room and board.

Juke joints were not exclusively an African American or rural phenomenon. The term was used for both white and black establishments. Later, honky tonk became a more common term for a generally white establishment that emphasized music and dancing over food and socializing. In Mexican American culture, cantinas served much the same purpose.^[4]

In 1934, anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston made the first formal attempt to describe the juke joint and its cultural role, writing that "the Negro jooks...are primitive rural counterparts of resort night clubs, where turpentine workers take their evening relaxation deep in the pine forests." Jukes figure prominently in her studies of African American folklore.^[5]

Dancers "juking" at an outdoor blues festival, Holly Ridge, Mississippi, 2006

Juke joints are most famous in American culture as incubators for the Delta blues. Virtually all the great early figures of blues, including Robert Johnson, Son House, Charley Patton, and countless others, traveled the juke joint circuit, scraping out a living on tips and free meals. While musicians played, patrons enjoyed the dances of the period, including the Jitterbug and the Slow Drag.

Jukes have been celebrated in photos and film as well. Marion Post Wolcott's images of the dilapidated buildings and the pulsing life they contained are among the most famous documentary images of the era.

Dancing at a juke joint outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1939

The low-down allure of juke joints has inspired many large-scale commercial establishments, including the House of Blues chain, the 308 Blues Club and Cafe in Indianola, Mississippi and the Ground Zero Blues Club in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Traditional juke joints, however, are under pressure from other forms of entertainment, including casinos.^[6] Many get more business from tourists in search of an authentic blues experience than local patrons. The annual Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale was founded in 2004 to foster appreciation for local jukes and promote their preservation.^[7]