Blues Music Artists

BUSTER BENTON

Even when The Blues is going through one of its slow spells, some performers still come to the fore who have something powerful and urgent to communicate. Buster Benton was one of those guys who put his body and soul into his music: his emotive vocals and heartfelt guitar lines gave his slow Blues an…

LONNIE MACK

Some people make a huge contribution to our music and are rightly immortalised with awards, statues and Hall of Fame accolades. However some, like Lonnie Mack, remain little known, despite the great groundbreaking work they did in those formative days, five decades ago. With a guitar style that owes as much to Bluegrass as the…

ZOOT MONEY

In the sixties, ‘Swinging London’ was full of extroverted, colourful characters, and one of the brightest was Zoot Money, the merry prankster who led The Big Roll Band from behind his huge organ. In a long career, where he has always rolled with the punches, Zoot embodies an irrepressible spirit that celebrates the good-time vibe…

SWAMP DOGG

Wearing a white suit and a super-fine hat, the much loved and highly under-rated Swamp Dogg has the glamorous image and rich-toned voice of a Soul/Blues Superstar, but his talent for hilarious and cynical lyrics also mark him out as a masterful songwriter. Swamp Dogg is a cult hero to many, but the character is,…

PAUL LAMB

When Paul Lamb blows his harp, you would never instantly recognise his style, because he can play The Blues every-which-way. From ‘whoopin’ country tunes to blistering runs, with sprays of well-chosen notes spinning off the theme, to down-home boogies and up-tempo rockers, Paul’s accuracy and command of tone make him a phenomenal player. He has…

JACK WHITE

Millions of young music fans got their first taste of Blues guitar played with a soulful slide by Jack White of The White Stripes. His adaptations of Son House‘s songs were a central plank of the Detroit garage band’s early repertoire, and Jack’s love of that original Blues has informed much of his work. Since…

RONNIE WOOD

Ron Wood is best known as the mirror image of Keef Richard cranking out guitar riffs for The Rolling Stones behind the exuberant Mick Jagger and in front of the inscrutable Charlie Watts, as they continue to fill the world stage. He performed in similar style with The Faces, but outside the lime-light, there is…

LARRY TAYLOR

Canned Heat was one of the biggest Blues-based American bands of the 60s, which took up the challenge to Tin Pan Alley’s emasculated pop music set up by The Rolling Stones and other British ‘invaders’. As American youth culture struggled with War and Civil Rights issues, Canned Heat added important anthems of awareness and solidarity…

‘St LOUIS JIMMY’ ODEN

An early Blues pianist with a dry, laconic vocal style, ‘St. Louis Jimmy’ Oden is remembered now more for his songwriting talents than for his records. ‘Goin’ Down Slow’ has been a classic, drag-out Blues piano standard for generations, and Muddy Waters recorded several of Jimmy’s tunes in the 50s. James Burke Oden was born…

OTTILIE PATTERSON

Jazz fans at Chris Barber’s concerts in 1955 were surprised when a tiny, slim girl stepped up to the mic, but when she let loose with her big, soulful Blues voice, they knew they were in the presence of a unique talent. A few years later, patrons of some Chicago South-side Blues clubs had the…