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Clarksdale is a historical blues city.

Born and raised in Clarksdale, Miss., in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, arguably the cradle of the blues, Kingfish comes from a family of musicians and singers.

The impact falls on people like Otibehia Allen, a single mom of five in Clarksdale, Mississippi, who makes too much to qualify for some public assistance programs.

Red Paden, who as the self-proclaimed “king of the juke joint runners” spent four decades as the owner of Red’s, an unassuming music spot in downtown Clarksdale, Miss., and one of the last places in the United States to offer authentic Delta blues in its natural setting, died on Dec. 30.

Among them was Ike Turner, a Clarksdale native who used instruments from the store on “Rocket 88,” a 1951 hit with his band the Kings of Rhythm that is widely considered the first rock ’n’ roll recording.