Roebuck “Pops” Staples
Roebuck “Pops” Staples, one of the foremost figures in American gospel music as a singer, guitarist, and patriarch of the Staple Singers family group, was a blues performer in his younger days, and his blues-drenched [...]
Al Benson
In the heyday of Chicago blues, no one had more say about which records became hits or which products and businesses got advertised to the Windy City’s huge African-American population than the powerful disc jockey, [...]
I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy, by Bob Riesman (University of Chicago Press, 2011)
I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy, by Bob Riesman, has earned a place as one of the most definitive blues biographies since it was published in 2011 by University [...]
Blues Is King, B.B. King (ABC BluesWay, 1967)
Blues Is King is the third B.B. King album selected for the Blues Hall of Fame, following Live at the Regal and Live in Cook County Jail. All three were recorded live in Chicago for the ABC label group. [...]
“Cross Cut Saw” – Albert King (Stax, 1966)
“Cross Cut Saw,” one of Albert King’s early chart hits, was a song with a complicated evolution. Originally a downhome Delta blues recorded in 1941 by Tony Hollins and Tommy McClennan, it was later recorded [...]
“Green Onions” – Booker T. & the MG’s (Stax/Volt, 1962)
A No. 1 R&B hit which also reached No. 3 on the pop charts in an era of hit instrumentals, “Green Onions” embodied a simple but memorable 12-bar blues groove laid down by session musicians [...]
“I’m a Man” – Bo Diddley (Checker, 1955)
“I’m a Man,” the first song recorded by Bo Diddley in 1955, became the flip side of his debut single, the eponymous “Bo Diddley,” which was selected as a Blues Hall of Fame classic in [...]
“Roll ’Em Pete” – Joe Turner (Vocalion, 1938)
The exuberant “Roll ’Em Pete” was the first studio recording of Big Joe Turner’s powerful pipes and Pete Johnson’s rollicking boogie-woogie piano. Recorded in New York City on December 30, 1938, a week after the [...]
“See See Rider Blues” – Ma Rainey (Paramount, 1924)
The original rendition of “See See Rider,” which became a standard recorded by countless artists in many genres, was a low-moaning version by the “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey, in October 1924 in New [...]
Johnny Copeland
Johnny Copeland (1937-1997) was one of a bevy of blazing guitar slingers to emerge from the vibrant Third Ward of Houston, Texas, and one of the city's most powerful singers as well. Establishing himself with [...]