Singer | All About Blues Music

RAY CHARLES

Ray Charles was an important figure in 50s R&B as he fused Blues and Gospel into an early version of Soul Music. His piano style owed a lot to Jazz forms, and his Blues playing was full of emotion, but Ray’s wide-ranging taste included Country music. His skill as a composer and arranger, as well…

BO CARTER

Bo Carter was Delta Bluesman of rare distinction and originality. His skill as a guitarist saw him playing his intricate riffs in a variety of keys and tunings and his bawdy songs, dripping with sexual innuendo, made him one of the best selling country Blues artists of the 30s. With his family band, the Mississippi…

NAPPY BROWN

Nappy Brown was a Gospel singer with a distinctive vocal delivery, stretching and rolling his lines and wailing “li-li-li-li” like a man possessed, but when he crossed over into R&B he had some big hit records, and his live performances were sensational. Nappy’s style influenced a lot of early Soul singers, and Elvis made sure…

TEXAS ALEXANDER

Most Blues singers play guitar, harp, piano or some other instrument, but Texas Alexander’s powerful tenor voice was the only thing he needed to knock you sideways with his primitive Blues. Singing in the street or standing on the back of a wagon at a party or fish-fry, maybe backed by a guitarist, he would…

FRANK STOKES

Some Pioneers of the Blues are honoured and remembered, and some slip into obscurity, and it’s a shame that Frank Stokes has become one of the latter. He grew up playing the Blues before WWI, when it was just an obscure local folk music from the north of the Mississippi Delta, and his tremendous voice…

ROY BROWN

There is an on-going debate about the origins of Rock’n’Roll, but there is little doubt that it sounded very much like the R&B that Roy Brown was producing in New Orleans around 1950. His powerful, emotional Gospel style vocals, with melismatic swoops, shrieks and bellowing choruses, influenced the singing of generations of Rockers and Bluesmen…

EDITH WILSON

Edith Wilson was one of the early ‘Divas’ who recorded Blues songs for the newly discovered ‘race market‘ in the early 20s. She had quite a few hit records and went on to find fame in the entertainment industry as a singer on stage and in nightclubs. She toured widely with her comedy revues, sang…

VAN MORRISON

‘Van the Man’ is a unique performer who crosses a lot of boundaries with his brand of ‘Celtic Soul’. Elements of Gospel, Folk and Blues are fused behind a vocal style that also draws heavily on wildly emotional Jazz phrasing. He revealed that he learned a lasting lesson from studying many early Louis Armstrong records,…

CLARA WARD

Clara Ward was controversial figure in Gospel circles, as she took the music out of the Church and onto the nightclub stage, where her fabulous voice influenced a generation of Soul and Blues singers. Sparkling costumes and towering wigs would eventually see Clara and her Ward Singers playing Vegas, and that was anathema to the…

EARL GAINES

Earl Gaines was a fine Soul-Blues singer who enjoyed early success with an R&B Chart-topping single. His solo career with Excello produced a string of high-quality tracks and, after a long lay-off from the music industry, Earl came out of retirement to lay down more of his emotive vocals for the Black Top label. Earl…