Jimmy Witherspoon applied his ample pipes to revivals of several blues standards from the 1920s and '30s during his November 1947 sessions for Supreme Records in Los Angeles. “Ain't Nobody's Business” was first recorded in [...]
One of most enduring songs of pre-World War II blues, 'Sitting on Top of the World' was recorded by the duo of singer-guitarist Walter Vinson and fiddler Lonnie Chatmon, who performed as the Mississippi Sheiks. [...]
Louis Jordan was the biggest African-American star of his era thanks to his infectious, good-time, boogie-based blues performances, in the studio, in person, and on the screen. Jordan has been called the father of rock [...]
At the age of 23, Otis Rush was able to mine the essence of deep blues with his classic single 'Double Trouble' for the Cobra label of Chicago in 1958. The minor-key masterpiece depicted a [...]
My Babe' was a No. 1 rhythm & blues hit for Chicago blues singer-harmonica player Little Walter in 1955 on Chess Records' subsidiary Checker label. With Robert Jr. Lockwood's memorable guitar riffs propelling the arrangement, [...]
Vee-Jay Records of Chicago came up with an unlikely formula to put John Lee Hooker on both the rhythm & blues and pop music charts with the catchy original version of his bad-man theme, 'Boom [...]
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 [...]
Elmore (Elmo) James ushered in a new era of electric slide guitar with his historic recording of 'Dust My Broom' for Trumpet Records of Jackson, Mississippi, in 1951. It was the only release on the [...]
Texas Flood was the 1958 classic covered for a far wider audience by Stevie Ray Vaughan 25 years later. Larry Davis was already a soulful vocalist in 1958, and would become a powerful guitarist, but [...]
Come On In My Kitchen' was one of several songs from Robert Johnson's first session in 1936 that have come to be regarded as classics, although like most of his other records, it was not [...]