Mississippi State Penitentiary (Parchman Farm)

MSP or Parchman is the oldest prison and only max security prison for men in Mississippi. Parchman has a rich blues tradition associated with it, starting with chants and work songs the inmates sang while working. In 1939 folk song collectors John and Alan Lomax recorded prisoners singing. These recordings are saved in the Library of Congress. Blues performer Son House spent two years on the farm for shooting a man who went on a shooting spree. Mose Allison wrote his song, "Parchman Farm in 1957. There are many more references to Parchman in popular culture.