“Why Don’t You Do Right?” – Lil Green (Bluebird, 1941)
“Why Don’t You Do Right?” was a pop hit for Peggy Lee with Benny Goodman and his Orchestra in 1942 and the song originated as “Weed Smoker’s Dream” on a 1936 record by the Harlem [...]
“Driving Wheel” – Junior Parker (Duke, 1961)
“Driving Wheel” was one of several older blues successfully reworked by Junior Parker with his smooth vocal expertise. Based on Roosevelt Sykes’ “Driving Wheel Blues” from 1936, the title equated the powered wheel of a [...]
“Key to the Highway” – Jazz Gillum (Bluebird, 1940)
“Key to the Highway” becomes the first song elected to the Blues Hall of Fame twice—first by Big Bill Broonzy in 1941 and now by a Broonzy colleague, Jazz Gillum. Broonzy was better known than [...]
“Okie Dokie Stomp”- Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown (Peacock, 1954)
Gatemouth Brown’s instrumental prowess was on full display on his 1954 classic “Okie Dokie Stomp.” Brown’s nonstop guitar masterpiece was recorded with hot backing by the Pluma Davis Orchestra in Houston in May 1954. Bandleader-trombonist [...]
“I Ain’t Got You”- Billy Boy Arnold (Vee-Jay, 1955)
Vee-Jay Records first recorded “I Ain’t Got You” by its star, Jimmy Reed, in July 1955, but Billy Boy Arnold recalled in his autobiography that writer-producer Calvin Carter wanted a “swingin’, upbeat” version—which Billy Boy [...]
Here’s the Man!!! – Bobby Bland (Duke, 1962)
Here’s the Man!!!, Bobby Bland’s second full LP on the Houston-based Duke label, was loaded with the kind of first-rate blues and R&B that made Bland such an idol in his time. In common with [...]
Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday, by Angela Davis (Pantheon, 1998)
In Blues Legacies and Black Feminism, Angela Davis, controversial activist, author, and professor widely known for her revolutionary politics, argues against some conventional views of women and their songs in the blues. The lyrics sung [...]
Lil’ Ed and The Blues Imperials
Lil’ Ed and The Blues Imperials stand as a testament to the enduring power of tight-knit, infectiously cheerful blues bands. Led by singer and slide guitar maestro Lil’ Ed Williams, the group, which includes his half-brother [...]
Lurrie Bell
Lurrie Bell, a prominent figure in the blues world, follows in the footsteps of his late father, harmonica maestro Carey Bell, who was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2023. Born on December [...]
Sugar Pie DeSanto
Sugar Pie DeSanto packed astonishing power and plenty of personality into a tiny frame. Her spunk and vigor impressed bandleader and producer Johnny Otis enough to sign her to her first recording session in 1955 after [...]