Robert Terrell knows a little bit about business, more about the music industry, and everything about Club Ebony.
The deputy director of the B.B. King Museum & Delta Interpretive Center oversaw the recent renovations of the legendary blues location.
With work of more than $1.3 million done, the Indianola music spot retained its feel and shined up the splendor of its history and added a few amenities. But before Terrell made his way to Indianola, the Hollandale native, and relative of the late blues legend Sam Chatmon, spent a few decades in Chicago.
“I used to own seven gas stations like the Double Quicks here but they’re a little bit bigger than that,” Terrell said. “Before that, I worked for Atlantic Richfield – ARCO. I was over the state with all of their corporate stores in the state of Illinois.”
When he wasn’t working all things gas station, Terrell found his roots so to speak.
“I had a recording studio that I operated on Michigan Avenue. I had some guys signed to, you know, MCA Records and different labels. I worked with a bunch of the older cats, the Chi Lites and the Dells and, you know, those kinds of cats. And now I’m down here.”
He still has a foot in Chicago as he helps put on the annual Chicago Blues Festival’s Visit Mississippi Stage. The four-day, free event draws some of the biggest names in blues music. But most of his time is working on ideas and outings for Club Ebony.
Once a hot spot and in-demand stop on the Chitlin’ Circuit of blues musicians, Club Ebony was a destination and not a juke joint. Attendees put on their Sunday best and rubbed elbows with acts such as B.B. King, Ray Charles, Count Basie, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, Albert King, Willie Clayton and many others.
The club had four owners before B.B. King himself bought the venue and later put it under the purview of his museum.
“The first owner was John Jones, who actually died in 1950. Then after him and his family was a neighbor named Ruby Edwards, which happened to be B.B. King's second wife's mother. B.B. met her (the daughter) in the club in 1955 and they got married in ‘58,” Terrell explained. “And then the next person was Mary Shepard, who took it over in 1974 and operated it until B.B. bought it. And then he later gave it to the museum.”
These days, Terrell is breathing new life into the legendary establishment – first with the renovations and second with more music and activities to attract locals and tourists to downtown Indianola.
“We have a lot going on at the club. We were able to get all of the work done and get it finished and I did a little grand opening back in March,” Terrell said. “But it was a pre-grand opening. It was a little bit early only because I hadn't really finished the work. I still needed to finish the sprinkler system when I brought in Tedeschi Trucks. We did a three-day opening.”
The renovation included keeping “a lot of the original stuff – the original ceilings with the recessed pieces in the ceiling with the red lights in them and all of the glass block that was there,” Terrell explained. “We were able to keep the original floor. But we upgraded some things as well. We put in a sound booth, and made the kitchen bigger so we would have a real, workable kitchen. We also redid the Green Room to make it a nice green room in the back and redid the washrooms to make everything ADA compliant. But for the most part it's still Club Ebony. You feel the environment when you're in there.”
Terrell was excited to bring the former night club back to its former glory. And he wants everyone to know what it’s not.
“Yeah, it’s a lot bigger than a juke joint. That was a nightclub and if you look at all the photos that we had of people who were in the club, they were all dressed. They had on suits and ties and the ladies had on real nice dresses. It wasn't a juke joint where you just come in there with whatever, come out of the field. I was glad to be able to do the work on the club and to make it look more like what it should look like,” Terrell said.
The 6,400-square-foot club was closed in 2020 due to COVID and wasn’t re-opened as it needed substantial work. The break allowed the staff to fundraise and apply for grants to pay for the much-needed renovation. A 460-square-foot exhibit space showcasing the many artists who have performed at Club Ebony was added.
“The history of the club, it almost looks like one of the walls in the museum here,” Terrell said. “The club was part of the Chitlin’ Circuit for blues musicians. A lot of people don't realize the type of history that club had, so I did something just to kind of show a lot of the history. This wasn’t a tiny juke joint. It seats more than 400.”
With the interior/exterior of Club Ebony renovated, Terrell and his staff are now working on the surrounding area.
“We've also purchased some property next door to it and tore a house down. And now we've got another piece of property, so we're trying to do it where it's workable,” he said. “We have a really big, nice parking lot there that we can fence in and pave and put lights on it and have it where everybody feels safe coming there.”
Club Ebony’s doors will be wide open with events from music to food and more.
“Here recently, I just started doing something a little bit different, trying to make the place more family-friendly,” Terrell explained. “We started a Karaoke Night, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. every Friday night at the club. And then we have breakfast at the club. We call it ‘Breakfast with B.B.’ on Saturday mornings from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. We have chicken and waffles and the pancakes and other made-to-order breakfast items. And then on Sunday we’ve started doing ‘Soul Food Sunday’ that starts at noon and runs till 4 p.m.”
Looking at the broader picture, Terrell is looking to connect deeper with the state’s Blues tourism economy.
“I'm trying to make it where it's a place that's open and it'll actually bring tourism and it'll get some night life to the place,” he said. “If you really want a tourist town, you have to open up. You have got to have something where you have live music. Anytime a person comes into this area and they go to the museum, they say, ‘oh my gosh, B.B. King Museum’ and they get all inspired by his story and hear all the music and then what do they want to do? They want to go and hear some live music. We have to get this place ready so that they can actually have live music and that's what's going to draw and keep tourists in Indianola.”
In addition to bringing in more tourists, the renovation and more events at Club Ebony will also impact the local economy with jobs.
“If we can get this place going, then that'll start making a difference. And I say what the club should be able to do is employ its own staff. Right now, we're doing everything from the museum. But eventually, it'll be an economic driver. It'll give out some jobs. We have kitchen people, we have somebody in the sound booth, we have security. It'll be able to provide some jobs.”
The club will be hosting music events quarterly and will be open for rental for events such as wedding receptions, parties, reunions and more.
Coming up in May the continued First Thursdays Concert series continues May 2 and each month thereafter. For more information, check out the Club Ebony Facebook page, Historic Club Ebony.
