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 [...]
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 [...]
Jimmy McCracklin
One of the pioneers of West Coast blues, singer, pianist and songwriter Jimmy McCracklin enjoyed one of the longest recording careers in the blues, lasting from 1945 until 2010. Born James Walker on Aug. 13, [...]
Peetie Wheatstraw
The colorful persona of Peetie Wheatstraw The Devil's Son-in-Law (The High Sheriff From Hell) belonged to William Bunch, a singer, pianist and guitarist from Ripley, Tennessee. Born on December 21, 1902, Bunch was using the [...]
Freddy King Sings — Freddie (Freddy) King (King, 1961)
Texas-born Freddy (or Freddie) King came up on Chicago's West Side blues scene alongside Otis Rush, Magic Sam and Buddy Guy and burst on the national R&B scene with a string of hit singles in [...]
Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson
Johnny 'Guitar' Watson reinvented himself as a flamboyant funkster and ultra-hip player extraordinaire in the 1970s, when his career reached new heights with hits such as A Real Mother For Ya, Superman Lover, and Lover [...]
Back-Water Blues — Bessie Smith (Columbia, 1927)
Back-Water Blues' was one of the best known works of the Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith, recorded for Columbia Records in 1927 with James P. Johnson on piano. Bemoaning the fate of losing a [...]