Vocals | All About Blues Music

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…

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…

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…

PINETOP PERKINS

Eighteen-year-old Joe Willie Perkins started out as a guitar-picker in piano player Willie Love‘s band, which made many appearances on Rice ‘Sonny Boy II’ Miller’s King Biscuit Radio Show. This early career was cut short for Joe Willie when an angry knife-wielding chorus girl severed the tendons in his left arm. Unable to manage his…

FURRY LEWIS

Of all the old Blues singers who were rediscovered in the 60s, Furry Lewis was by far the most engaging character. With his peg-leg, his inexhaustable stock of stories, his considerable skill with a guitar and his witty songs, he became a Blues Celebrity on TV, in movies and even in Playboy Magazine. Walter Lewis…

JOE LIGGINS

Joe Liggins took his record ‘The Honeydripper’ to the top of the R&B charts for a record 18 weeks in 1945, and when he named his band The Honeydrippers he kept them among the best sellers for ten years. Their infectious jump-Blues was fuelled by the optimistic post-WWII atmosphere of the day, where everybody seemed…

BLIND BOY FULLER

Piedmont Blues seems dominated by blind men who managed to survive by playing for change on streetcorners. That was true of Blind Blake, Blind Willie McTell and Gary Davis, and none of them sold enough records to make a good living while they were in their prime. That was not true of Blind Boy Fuller, who…

LOUIS JORDAN

If one man could be credited with inventing jump-blues, it would be Louis Jordan. His Tympani Five had 54 Top Ten R&B chart hits between 1942 and 1951, and eighteen of those made the top spot. Louis infectious sax-led jump-blues crossed over into the white market for both record sales and live shows, especially in…