Vocals | All About Blues Music

MEMPHIS SLIM

Barrel-house and Boogie-woogie pianists don’t come much bigger than Memphis Slim. Standing six-six with a distinctive streak of white hair, this handsome and urbane figure knew how to cut a dash. His command of the 88s and his clear articulate vocals gave him an unmistakable musical style too, which he used to great effect in…

JIMMY REED

The secret of Jimmy Reed’s music was that this simple, bare-bones, laid-back style of Blues was just so easy to listen to. Jimmy’s laconic but rock-steady shuffle sound out-sold every other Blues artist from 1955 to 1961, scoring a dozen entries into the Billboard Hot 100 pop charts and selling many millions of records. His…

KENNY WAYNE SHEPHERD

When a seven-year-old kid gets to meet someone like Stevie Ray Vaughan, there’s a good chance he’ll pick up a guitar and try to play some Blues-Rock. Kenny Wayne Shepherd took up the challenge with both hands and made a big name for himself as a young Master of the Stratocaster. Displaying plenty of guitar…

HUGH LAURIE

Highest paid actor in a TV series for his work in ‘House’, film-star, best-selling novelist and hilarious partner to Steven Fry in UK comedies, Hugh is an unlikely Blues icon. His first album, ‘Let Them Talk’ featured 10 classic Blues songs, and included guest appearances from Dr. John, Tom Jones and Irma Thomas. It made…

JOSH WHITE

Josh White had a long career as a Bluesy folk singer on the New York scene during the 50s and 60s, but his roots were in the South-East where the local music was Piedmont Blues. Josh mastered this style of elaborate finger-picking at an early age and his instrumental talent stood him in good stead…

MISSISSIPPI JOHN HURT

When the Folk/Blues revival of the early 60’s brought old Blues players out of obscurity and put them on the world stage, nobody’s obscurity was deeper than Mississippi John Hurt’s. He had a superb fingerpicking style and a vast repertiore of songs, but John turned down the chance to join a travelling show when he…

BUDDY GUY

Buddy Guy has probably played the Blues live for more people than anyone else. His expressive, footloose, unpredictable guitar lines, his tortured vocals and his mastery of dynamics make him an impressive artist on record, well worthy of his six Grammys, but his half-century of live performances have given him a special place in the…

ROBERT CRAY

Nobody has explored the borderlines between Blues and Soul as successfully as Robert Cray. A Blues guitarist with a distinctively economical sustainless style and a set of Soul pipes to die for, Robert was among the leaders of the 80’s Blues revival, along with Stevie Ray Vaughan and Albert Collins. Robert has more than fulfilled…

SKIP JAMES

Skip James was one of the most influential early Bluesmen, but his importance as a stylist remained undiscovered until he was brought out of a long retirement by the Folk/Blues revival of the early 60’s. His performance was characterised by eerie falsetto vocals and delicate guitar picking in the minor keys. These features, along with…

BIG MAMA THORNTON

Everything about Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton was Big. She was a big woman with a big voice, a big harmonica sound, a big stage presence and a big hit record. Her version of Leiber and Stoller’s ‘Hound Dog’ sat on top of the R&B chart for seven weeks in 1953, but that achievement was…