Robert Pete Williams
Robert Pete Williams made his first recordings in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola in 1959 while serving time for murder. Folklorist Dr. Harry Oster was in search of work songs but found instead one [...]
Right Place, Wrong Time — Otis Rush (Bullfrog, 1976)
Capitol Records made a brief attempt to mine the late 1960s/early '70s blues revival market, releasing albums by James Cotton, Fred McDowell, Guitar Jr. (Lonnie Brooks) and Stu Ramsay & Chicago Slim, none of which [...]
Moanin’ in the Moonlight – Howlin’ Wolf (Chess 1959)
Moanin' in the Moonlight (Chess 1434) was the first compilation of Wolf's work to be issued on LP, in 1959, and marks the fifth time the Blues Hall of Fame has inducted a Wolf album [...]
“High Water Everywhere, Parts I & II” – Charley Patton (Paramount 1930)
Often regarded as Delta blues king Charley Patton's masterpiece, the two-part 'High Water Everywhere' is a dramatic account of the flooding that inundated parts of the Mississippi Delta and Arkansas in 1927 (and perhaps later). [...]
“It’s Tight Like That” by Tampa Red & Georgia Tom (Vocalion 1928)
Guitarist Tampa Red and pianist Georgia Tom joined together in a playful vocal duet to rework a hot street slang phrase of the 1920s into a genre-crossing national hit. 'It's Tight Like That,' a prime [...]
“Milk Cow Blues” – Kokomo Arnold (Decca 1934)
Milk Cow Blues' (Decca 7026), a solo performance by slide guitarist James 'Kokomo' Arnold, was one of the biggest blues hits to come out of Chicago in the 1930s. Decca kept it in print with [...]
Dick Shurman
Dick Shurman is widely recognized in the blues community not only for the quality and care evident in his record productions and writings but also for his love for the music and the artists who [...]
Don Robey
Don Robey built one of the most formidable entertainment empires in the independent music business with his Duke and Peacock labels, Buffalo Booking Agency, Lion Music publishing company, nightclubs, and other associated activities. His hardnosed [...]
Mike Kappus
Mike Kappus has been the kind of manager and booking agent any musician would want, and the blues world is filled with musicians who wish they could have been represented by The Rosebud Agency. The [...]
Big Jay McNeely
Big Jay McNeely became the act no one wanted to follow during the 'honkers and shouters' era of rhythm & blues that preceded rock 'n' roll, when the gunslingers of the trade wielded saxophones, not [...]