“Shake Your Moneymaker,” recorded in New Orleans in 1961, marked an exuberant, uptempo departure from slide guitar master Elmore James’ deep blues recordings. First issued as a 45 on Bobby Robinson’s Fire label, the single [...]
“The St. Louis Blues” is one of the most recorded songs of all time, in any genre. Few versions of the W.C. Handy tune, however, can compare with Bessie Smith’s. Part of the magic of [...]
Elmore James' The Sky Is Crying is the other James recording being honored with a Blues Hall of Fame induction this year. James, who died in 1963, did not live to see the release of [...]