Furry Lewis
Furry Lewis was one of the foremost figures in Memphis blues, both during the 1920s when he made his first recordings and again during the blues revival of the '60s and '70s. Lewis was born [...]
Frank Stokes
Frank Stokes, a muscular blacksmith, singer and guitarist, is often regarded as the seminal figure in Memphis blues history. His duets with guitarist Dan Sane, his partner in the Beale Street Sheiks, laid a bold [...]
Pervis Spann
Pervis Spann, "The Blues Man" of Chicago radio, has been a major force in promoting the blues over the past four decades. Spann started as a DJ, promoted concerts at the Regal Theater, co-owned one [...]
Horst Lippmann and Fritz Rau
Horst Lippmann and Fritz Rau promoted concerts of all sorts in Europe beginning in the 1950s, but they left their mark in blues history with the groundbreaking American Folk Blues Festival tours of the '60s. [...]
Doc Pomus
Doc Pomus was one of the foremost songwriters of rhythm & blues, pop, and rock 'n' roll in the 1950s and '60s, when his resume included hits by Ray Charles, Big Joe Turner, Elvis Presley, [...]
Matt "Guitar" Murphy
Matt "Guitar" Murphy only garnered widespread public attention through the 1980 Blues Brothers movie, in which he acted in a scene with Aretha Franklin and played with Jake and Elwood's band, but his laurels in [...]
Lazy Lester
Lazy Lester, the last surviving member of the colorfully nicknamed South Louisiana blues artists who created the "swamp blues" sound on Excello Records, joins his friend, the late Slim Harpo, in the Blues Hall of [...]
Billy Boy Arnold
Billy Boy Arnold emerged as the youngest recording star among Chicago's impressive corps of blues harmonica players in the 1950s, when he cut a series of invigorating blues for Vee-Jay Records, including "I Wish You [...]