Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin made his mark with his sharp, innovative and unpredictable guitar work on Howlin' Wolf's classics such as Killing Floor, Shake for Me, and Hidden Charms, and became an acclaimed and beloved figure in [...]
Double Trouble — Otis Rush (Cobra, 1958)
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 — Little Walter (Checker, 1955)
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, [...]
Piney Woods Blues — Big Joe Williams (Delmark, 1958)
Big Joe Williams, whose 1935 classic Baby Please Don't Go is already in the Blues Hall of Fame in the singles category, had been recording singles, first on 78 rpm and then 45 rpm, for [...]
Members Only — Bobby Bland (Malaco, 1985)
Bobby Bland's first LP with Malaco Records provided him with his biggest hit of recent decades, the title track Members Only, written by Larry Addison. Bland, a model for company loyalty in the record business, [...]
Etta James Rocks the House — Etta James (Argo, 1964)
Etta James Rocks the House, recorded live at the New Era Club in Nashville on September 27 and 28, 1963, is only the fifth live album elected to the Blues Hall of Fame. It joins [...]
I’m Jimmy Reed — Jimmy Reed (Vee-Jay, 1958)
Jimmy Reed was already making history in 1958 when Vee-Jay Records of Chicago released his first album, I'm Jimmy Reed. Not only had Reed already had ten singles on the national rhythm & blues charts [...]
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 [...]