Blues Music Artists

J B HUTTO

The distorted slide-guitar of Elmore James electrified Chicago in the early 50s, and the effects were heard down the years in the work of a generation of players who followed him, most notably ‘Hound Dog’ Taylor and JB Hutto. Arrayed in bright suits and hats and using a 50-foot guitar lead, JB’s wild and exuberant…

OTIS SPANN

Otis Spann is renowned as Muddy Waters‘ pianist throughout his Classic period of electric Chicago Blues, and a member of the Chess house-band that backed a roster of their big selling artists. He did rather more than that, as he showed off his great Blues voice on a series of fine albums in a solo…

JOHNNY SHINES

Johnny Shines was not a big Blues star, but he carried the flame lit by his friend Robert Johnson and passed it on to new generations. Johnny’s songs were inspired by Johnson, Lightnin’ Hopkins and others but he had an energetic guitar style of his very own and a rich, explosive voice that could easily…

WILLIE MABON

In the early 50s, Willie Mabon was at the forefront of the Chicago blues scene, with massive hit records on the Chess label. After a quiet spell, his career was revitalised in the 70s, when he discovered a new audience across the pond. Although he is not well remembered today, there was a time when…

CHRIS BARBER

Nobody did more to introduce the Blues into Europe than Chris Barber, bringing over American stars in the 50s to play with his band and going on to inspire the young men who started the British Blues Boom. Chris saw no meaningful barrier between Jazz and Blues players as he rated the qualities of musicianship…

JOHNNY LITTLEJOHN

Johnny Littlejohn was a Delta-born slide-guitar player whose style had much in common with Elmore James, but despite a long career on the Chicago club scene, and travelling the world as a side-man, he remained almost undiscovered outside his adopted hometown. Johnny Funchess was born in Lake MS in 1931 and Henry Martin, a friend…

LIL GREEN

Lil Green had a beautiful, soulful voice trained in Mississippi Churches, honed in Chicago clubs and heard all over the country, especially at the Apollo in Harlem, where she regularly thrilled audiences. She was not a prolific recording artist, and she did not have a string of hits, but Lil did have her moment in…

DADDY STOVEPIPE

Daddy Stovepipe is best known for being one of the first men to record a Blues song. His first record, where he sang and accompanied himself on guitar and harp, was not a hit when it was released in 1924, but it was a significant milestone in the history of the Blues. Born in 1867…

JOHN BRIM

Although he was never a big star in his own right, John Brim made a significant contribution to the Blues catalogue by writing some great songs that heve been covered many times, and mentoring some great young talent in his band The Gary Kings. John’s long career took in the early years of electric Chicago…

MANCE LIPSCOMB

Mance Lipscomb was more than just a Blues singer. He could be more accurately be classed as a songster in the Leadbelly tradition, with a wide range of folk songs, spirituals, ragtime tunes and children’s songs. He played them in a variety of styles and keys, often using slide-guitar but equally at home with a…