Jimmy Witherspoon
Jimmy Witherspoon was one of the most prominent of the blues shouters who emerged in the 1940s and 50s, a smooth vocalist whose style made him a favorite among jazz audiences as well as blues [...]
Mississippi Sheiks
The Mississippi Sheiks were the premier African-American string band of the pre-World War II era, responsible not only for creating new hits for the blues audiences but for keeping alive a tradition that predated the [...]
John Hammond
John Henry Hammond Jr. qualifies for any number of Halls of Fame in the music business for his many accomplishments as an A&R man, producer, critic, and promoter. In his role at Columbia Records in [...]
Paul Oliver
For decades after the publication of his first book on the blues, Paul Oliver remained the blues world's foremost author, still writing and lecturing on the blues in his eighties. Oliver's works have been based [...]
7 Guitars, by August Wilson
7 Guitars was one of ten plays by playwright August Wilson that chronicled 100 years of African-American history, one play per decade. Blues was a central theme in much of Wilson's work, and the main [...]
Buddy Guy
George 'Buddy' Guy was a guitar hero and an inspiration to blues and rock guitarists alike long before he finally achieved success in the pop market with his 1991 album 'Damn Right I've Got the [...]
Moanin’ at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin’ Wolf, by James Segrest & Mark Hoffman
The larger-than-life legend of Chester Arthur Burnett, better known as Howlin' Wolf, is chronicled with care and respect by co-authors James Segrest and Mark Hoffman in their detailed biography Moanin' at Midnight: The Life and [...]
Chicago/The Blues/Today! Vol. 1-3 — Various Artists (Vanguard, 1966)
Producer and blues author Sam Charters headed the historic Vanguard Records project, Chicago/The Blues/Today!, which served to introduce the hardcore South and West side blues sounds to a new young audience in 1966. While Vanguard [...]
Rocket ’88’ — Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (Chess, 1951)
Rocket '88'' is one of many blues and R&B singles cited in retrospect as 'the first rock 'n' roll record.' Producer Sam Phillips recorded it at his Memphis Recording Service, where Elvis Presley would launch [...]
Chester Burnett A.K.A Howlin’ Wolf — Howlin’ Wolf (Chess, 1972)
Chester Burnett A.K.A. Howlin' Wolf was one of the three double albums issued by Chess in 1972 (under the new ownership of G.R.T. in New York) that have been elected to the Blues Hall of [...]