When the Leavee Breaks- Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie (Columbia, 1929) Millions of listeners heard “When the Levee Breaks” when Led Zeppelin recorded it in 1971, inspiring some to search for the original version recorded [...]
Vicksburg Blues- Little Brother Montgomery (Paramount, 1930) Little Brother Montgomery’s classic “Vicksburg Blues”—the first of his many versions—derived from a piano anthem known as “The Forty-Fours” played by a number of Deep South musicians. Montgomery, [...]
Honky Tonk Train Blues -- Meade Lux Lewis (Paramount, 1927) Although now regarded as a seminal classic of boogie woogie piano, “Honky Tonk Train Blues” didn’t have much impact when first released in 1930—two and [...]
Feelin' Good- Little Junior, Parker's Blues Flames (Sun, 1953) Little Junior's Blue Flames’ “Feelin’ Good” was a wailing, electrified reinvention of John Lee Hooker’s “Boogie Chillen.” Recorded at Sam Phillips’ Memphis Recording service on June [...]
Black, Brown and White- Big Bill Broonzy (Vogue, 1951) In Big Bill Broonzy’s lifetime it was rare or a Black artist to be as outspoken about topics such as job discrimination and Jim Crow as [...]
Under the production of Bill Szymczyk, B.B. King updated his blues in both style and subject matter on his March 5, 1969, rendering of “Why I Sing the Blues.” In the pulsating performance, propelled by [...]
Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded “See That My Grave Is Kept Clean” for Paramount in Chicago in 1928, following up an earlier version that was issued under a religious pseudonym, Deacon L.J. Bates, 1927’s “See That [...]
Blues empress Bessie Smith delivered one of her finest, most expressive performances on “Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out,” a classic hard times blues recorded for Columbia in New York on May 15, [...]
Sylvester Weaver was the Louisville musician who introduced the guitar to blues recording in 1923, first accompanying singer Sara Martin and then on his own solo sides, promoted with a flurry of fanfare about his [...]
“Don't Mess With Man,” Irma Thomas’ first record, hit the “Billboard” R&B charts in 1960 and not only established her but also provided plenty of women singers with a song to spice up their repertoire [...]