Bob Koester
Bob Koester founded America's oldest continuously operated independent record label, Delmark Records, in St. Louis in 1953. Koester's vaunted status in the blues and jazz world came not only from the many historic albums he [...]
Fever — Little Willie John (King, 1956)
Eighteen-year-old Little Willie John (1937-1968) didn't want to record 'Fever' when the song was presented to him in 1956, according to King Records producer Henry Glover, but Glover persisted and John's career got its biggest [...]
Night Beat – Sam Cooke (RCA Victor 1963)
Sam Cooke may be best remembered for his Top 40 hits and pioneering soul sounds, not to mention his gospel gems with the Soul Stirrers, but he had a profound gift for singing the blues, [...]
False Accusations – Robert Cray (HighTone 1985)
False Accusations was the first Robert Cray album ever to hit the “Billboard 200” charts - quite a feat for an independent label blues release, and noteworthy enough to secure a major label deal for [...]
The Real Folk Blues – Howlin’ Wolf (Chess 1965)
Most of Chess Records' Real Folk Blues albums were compilations of singles recorded over a span of years (in Wolf's case, from 1956 to 1965). This album did not fit the usual definitions of “folk [...]
Five Long Years — Eddie Boyd (J.O.B., 1952)
Eddie Boyd, a Chicago blues pianist, songwriter, and steel mill worker, came up with a true-to-life blues in 1952 that hit home with many a working man in “Five Long Years,” a No. 1 record [...]
Love in Vain — Robert Johnson (Vocalion, 1937)
In honor of the 2011 Robert Johnson Centennial celebrations, “Love in Vain” joins several Johnson classics that have already been enshrined in the Blues Hall of Fame. Johnson's poignant original was cut in 1937 in [...]
All Your Love (I Miss Loving) — Otis Rush (Cobra, 1958)
All Your Love (I Miss Loving)' is the third of Otis Rush's classic Cobra singles to earn Hall of Fame status and the second from the same 1958 session that featured both Rush and Ike [...]
Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues — Skip James (Paramount, 1931)
Skip James' 1931 recordings for the Paramount label in Grafton, Wisconsin, all but vanished after their limited release during the Depression, now ranking among the rarest and highest-priced records on the collectors' market. But through [...]
Alberta Hunter
Alberta Hunter was a leading diva during the first wave of classic blues recording in the early 1920s and astonished the world with a remarkable singing comeback in 1977 when at the age of 82. [...]