Blues Music Artists

CHRIS DUARTE

Texas has produced some great Blues-rock guitarists, and Chris keeps that strong tradition going. Born in San Antonio, Chris moved to Austin as a youth, and played his jazz influenced Stratocaster around the local club scene. He saw Stevie Ray Vaughan at one of the last hometown gigs before he got his big break, and…

BIG JOHN WRENCHER

On any Sunday lunchtime in the 60s, Chicago‘s Maxwell Street market would echo to the sound of Big John Wrencher singing and playing his harp. Trade was always brisk, and ‘One Arm John’ loved to play for his neighbours, dancing, clowning and showboating all over the street. He continued his ‘residency’ for the rest of…

TV SLIM

Oscar Wills was a skinny TV repair-man from Houston TX, who recorded his own song, ‘Flatfoot Sam’ in a local studio, and wound up with a national hit. He had already sold a song, ‘My Dolly Bee’, to Don Robey at Duke Records and that had been recorded by Junior Parker, so he figured he…

LLOYD PRICE

Lloyd Price burst onto the New Orleans R&B scene in April 1952 when his song ‘Lawdy, Miss Clawdy’ hit the top of the national R&B charts. With Fats Domino banging out his piano triples and producer Dave Bartholemew’s ‘big beat’, it was one of the best selling records of the year. Lloyd went on to…

NOAH LEWIS

Noah Lewis was a Memphis harp maestro whose stylish playing, showmanship and sheer volume set the standard for harp players during the Memphis Jug Band craze of the late 20s. Noah came to Memphis from Henning TN as a teenager accompanied by another boy, singer/guitarist Ashley Thompson. They met banjo player Gus Cannon and the…

GARY MOORE

Gary Moore had the technical skills and compositional flair to put him in the top rank of Blues-rock guitarists. He could capture the emotional essence of a tune and express it with an artistry that often left audiences open-mouthed in wonder. Like many of the finest Blues players, Gary was called before his time, but…

WILL SHADE

Harp player Will Shade was the central character in The Memphis Jug Band, which was one of the best selling recording acts of the late 20s. Will was the leader and manager of the band, and his multi-instrumental talents meant he could invite a wide range of guests into his group. Charlie Burse, Furry Lewis,…

CECIL GANT

Cecil Gant had a massive hit in 1944 with ‘I Wonder’, which went to No.1 in the Billboard R&B charts and made No.20 in the Hot 100. A hard rocking boogie-woogie pianist with a voice that worked well with a Blues ballad, Cecil had his big hit while he was in the Army and his…

JOHNNY ‘Guitar’ WATSON

Johnny ‘Guitar’ Watson was a flamboyant Blues guitarist with a distinctive style, who was a major influence on West Coast Blues and beyond. Always a showman, Johnny moved seamlessly from early jump-blues to 60s Blues-rock, soul, funk and even rap, and his work is often sampled in hip-hop tunes. What was constant in this ever-changing…

STAN WEBB

Stan Webb was at the heart of the British Blues Boom as he led his band Chicken Shack around the Blues club circuit in the late 60s. Londoner Stan played guitar in skiffle groups before forming his own band in 1965, playing a series of residencies in Hamburg, Germany over the next couple of years.…