MickeyV | All About Blues Music

LIGHTNIN’ SLIM

Otis V Hicks from St. Louis found fame in Baton Rouge, Louisiana playing his guitar in local bars with Big Poppa’s band, where Buddy Guy would later learn his chops. He signed for Feature Records in 1954, billed as ‘Lightnin’ Slim’ and recorded his ‘Bad Luck Blues’ for them before beginning a fruitful 12 years…

PIANO RED

A native of Atlanta who played piano with Barbecue Bob and Blind Willie McTell in his early days, William Perryman could really pound the 88s. William was the much younger brother of Rufus a.k.a. Speckled Red, who was also albino, and this accounts for both men adopting the tag ‘Red’. Emulating his older brother, who…

‘CHAMPION JACK’ DUPREE

‘Champion Jack’ was not a great piano virtuoso, a stunning singer or a prolific songwriter, but he could play a huge variety of piano Blues styles and he took them around the world, thrilling audiences wherever he went. His affable stage presence and endless supply of funny stories made him a great entertainer and a…

LONG JOHN BALDRY

In the early 60s, Chicago Blues was a source of inspiration for a generation of young players in the UK who were looking for a way of expressing their frustration with a dull and restrictive post-WWII society. When they heard Muddy Waters’ moan, Elmore James’ searing guitar, and Jimmy Reed’s simple but powerful songs, the…

CARLOS SANTANA

If “Blues is the roots and other music is the fruits”, (to quote Willie Dixon) then Carlos Santana’s music might be a strawberry/melon/mango hybrid; a rich blend of flavours with plenty of juice. From the heyday of experimental 60s San Francisco Blues bands to jazz-fusion, devotional music, Latin grooves and monster selling collaborations, Carlos has…

ALAN LOMAX

Writer, film-maker and musicologist Alan worked with his father John making field recordings of all kinds of folk music for the Library of Congress. He was responsible for discovering and promoting many Blues performers and went on to cast his net wide across the world, including Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and the Caribbean, promoting…

SCREAMING JAY HAWKINS

Screamin’ Jay Hawkins never sold a lot of records in the greater scheme of things, but his one hit, ‘I Put a Spell on You’ was hugely influential and his talent for theatrical live shows made him a star. Usually emerging from a coffin onstage, wild-eyed and raving, toting a smoking skull on a pole…

WASHBOARD SAM

The washboard was the rhythm instrument of choice for street musicians playing the Blues in the early days, but Washboard Sam took it into the studio and made himself a strong career as a session musician in Chicago. He also had a great voice and a talent for songwriting that saw him record more than…

BROTHER JOE MAY

Probably the greatest Gospel singer of all time. ‘The Thunderbolt of the Middle West’ had a massive vocal range and unparalleled dynamic control, slipping effortlessly from a whisper to an earth-moving blast. His commanding stage presence and superb delivery could have made him a Blues star, but he would have nothing to do with secular…

SAM ‘The Man’ TAYLOR

A “certified honking legend”, Sam Taylor was renowned for his superb tone and hard-driving energy. Starting out with the likes of ‘Scat Man’ Crothers and Lucky Millinder, Sam spent six years touring the world with Cab Calloway’s band, then working as a first-call session man for Louis Jordan and Ray Charles. Sam contributed the sax…