On Nov. 22, 1981, The Rolling Stones came to Chicago while on tour. While in the city, they visited Buddy Guy’s The Checkerboard Lounge to see Mississippi native Muddy Waters perform. Before long, Waters had urged the band to come on stage and perform with him. They did songs such as “Baby, Please Don’t Go.” Eventually, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and Lefty Dizz went on stage and played with the band as well. The figures in the museum show Stones lead singer Mick Jagger performing with Waters.
Many people don’t know that there’s a museum on the second floor of the restaurant. But what else do they not know? Here’s a few items to look out for the next time you go to Iron Horse: a train that runs from the bar to the backroom (also keep an eye out for a Super Mario-themed train car). Look for the Mississippi River bridge on the track; a Peavey guitar chandelier on the second floor; pictures of famous people who have visited the restaurant; and an American flag couch.
Much like the story of Robert Johnson’s music, his death is shrouded in mystery. Three grave sites in Mississippi are marked in honor of Johnson. Columbia Records erected an obelisk at Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Morgan City; the band The Tombstones marked a site at Payne Chapel near Quinto; and Sony Records placed a marker beneath a pecan tree at Little Zion Church in Greenwood. The cause of his death is still unknown. Some suggest he had been poisoned from a bottle of whiskey laced with strychnine; some say he died from complications of syphilis; and some say he died of Marfan syndrome, which is a connective tissue disorder.
The Mississippi Musicians Hall of Fame starts from Mississippi’s music roots and wraps around into the modern day, with wax figures and exhibits on the left side and memorabilia on the right.
The Crossroads in the museum’s Hall of Fame.
The museum includes memorabilia from places such as the B.B. King Museum and Delta Blues Museum.

“Mississippi Music Experience,” which is on the second floor of The Iron Horse Grill, tells the story of Mississippi’s musical past and its contribution to music. It was completed earlier this year.

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.