When folklorist Alan Lomax recorded Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Slim, and John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson in 1947 in New York City, the results were so controversial that he waited a decade to release the [...]
"Crazy Blues" by Mamie Smith was the record that launched a new era for blues in the music business. Smith was not the first person to sing the blues on record, but up until "Crazy [...]
"That's All Right" by Jimmy Rogers was not a chart hit when first released as a Chess 78 rpm single in 1950 but has since become a standard in the blues repertoire, recorded by dozens [...]
"I Wish You Would," a 1955 single for Vee-Jay Records, exemplified the creative flair of the then 19-year-old blues phenom who recorded and composed the song, Billy Boy Arnold. Its catchy riffs and propulsive rhythmic [...]
"Merry Christmas Baby," the first Yuletide song in the Blues Hall of Fame, remains a perennial favorite years after its first release by Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, featuring Charles Brown on piano and vocals, in [...]
"Blues at Sunrise" was one of several signature pieces contributed to the blues canon by pianist Leroy Carr, one of the most influential bluesmen of the pre-World War II era. Carr's litany of woes is [...]
Tommy Brown, hailed during the 1950s as "one of the most dynamic entertainers in show business," has spent most of the past four decades out of the performing spotlight, but his resume of vintage records, [...]
Eric Clapton has been tapped for Blues Hall of Fame induction not only for his many achievements during a long and successful career but also for his role as a popularizer who has brought the [...]
Little Richard joins an elite group of Blues Hall of Fame icons, including Fats Domino, Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, who built rock 'n' roll from a foundation in the blues. Richard's earliest recordings were [...]
Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson was an acclaimed alto saxist who fit in comfortably in a variety of blues, jazz and R&B settings. A contemporary and admirer of Charlie Parker, he contributed to the first wave of [...]