Babel : Jhett Black Album Review – Blues Music Revisited Jhett Black, known for his gritty slide guitar and soulful vocals, has released his highly anticipated album ‘Babel’. Drawing from his deep roots in blues and roots music, Jhett’s unique sound captures the essence of Southern gothic and Delta blues. After winning at the International […]
Babel : Jhett Black Album Review – Blues Music Revisited Read More »
Selwyn Birchwood: Florida’s Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues Firebrand In September 2002, a seventeen-year-old kid from Orlando walked into a Buddy Guy concert and walked out a different person. Selwyn Birchwood had been playing guitar for four years by then, working through Jimi Hendrix records and tracing Hendrix’s influences back to their source. However, nothing in
Selwyn Birchwood: The Fearless New Voice of Modern Blues Read More »
Keb’ Mo’: An Authentic and Epic Life in Blues Before he became Keb’ Mo’, Kevin Moore spent twenty years as a ghost. The man played guitar behind Papa John Creach, cut a solo album that went nowhere, and wrote songs for other people. Session gigs, horn charts, sideman work — anything that paid the bills.
Keb’ Mo’: An Authentic and Epic Life in Blues Read More »
Dive into the world of Blind Lemon Jefferson, the Father of Texas Blues, and discover his profound influence on American music. Click to unravel his story!
Blind Lemon Jefferson: the Inspirational Legacy of a Blues Pioneer Read More »
Eric Bibb: The Acoustic Blues Troubadour Who Chose the World Bob Dylan looked at the eleven-year-old kid holding a guitar and offered advice that would echo across five decades of music. “Keep it simple,” Dylan told young Eric Bibb in the early 1960s. “Forget all that fancy stuff.” The Bibb family ran in circles where
Eric Bibb: A Genuine Devoted Voice in Acoustic Blues Read More »
Young Blues Guitar Stars: 10 Rising Players You Need to Hear In January 2023, a twenty-year-old guitarist from Houston named Mathias Lattin walked onto the International Blues Challenge stage in Memphis and played like he had been doing it for decades. He won. Not just the competition — he also took home Best Guitarist honors,
10 Young Blues Guitar Stars With a Stunning New Sound Read More »
Piedmont Blues: Discover the Real Magic of It The guitar rang out across the front porch in a way that sounded nothing like the Delta. Moreover, instead of the raw, driving intensity of Mississippi, this was something lighter., it was more intricate. Moreover, the fingerpicking danced across the strings. Furthermore, it created patterns that sounded
Piedmont Blues: Discover the Real Magic of It Read More »
Little Walter: The Daring Stunning Truth of Blues Harmonica On May 12, 1952, a twenty-two-year-old harmonica player walked into Universal Recording Studios in Chicago and cut an instrumental that would change American music. The song was “Juke.” It hit number one on the Billboard R&B chart and stayed there for eight consecutive weeks. However, what
Little Walter: The Daring Stunning Truth of Blues Harmonica Read More »
Rory Gallagher: Ireland’s Blues Guitar Warrior Rory Gallagher walked into the Fillmore West in 1970 with a power trio called Taste and a battered Fender Stratocaster that looked like it had been through a war. The San Francisco crowd expected polished British blues. Instead, they got a wiry Irishman who played so hard that sweat
Rory Gallagher: The Most Daring Blues Hero Ireland Ever Made Read More »
Willie Dixon: The Untold Architect of Chicago Blues In January 1954, Willie Dixon handed Muddy Waters a set of lyrics backstage at the Zanzibar Club on Chicago’s South Side. The song opened with a stop-time riff and a boast rooted in Southern hoodoo. Within weeks, “Hoochie Coochie Man” had climbed to #3 on the Billboard
How Willie Dixon Built the Most Powerful Sound in Blues Read More »
John Lee Hooker: The Hypnotic King of the Boogie Blues In September 1948, a factory worker walked into a Detroit studio and stomped his foot on a wooden board. In fact, the sound that came out — a droning, one-chord electric boogie driven by that endless stomp — had no match on wax. Subsequently, “Boogie
John Lee Hooker: The Complete Forgotten Boogie Blues Read More »
16 Modern Blues Artists You Need to Hear Right Now The blues has never stopped evolving. While skeptics periodically declare the genre dead or dying, a wave of modern blues artists is proving otherwise. From Grammy-winning guitar prodigies to soul-drenched vocalists barely old enough to rent a car, today’s blues scene is arguably the most
16 Modern Blues Artists You Need to Hear Right Now Read More »
The Teskey Brothers walked into a barn outside Melbourne with a half-mile of 2-inch tape and no interest in sounding modern. Josh Teskey sang into a ribbon mic. His brother Sam ran a tape machine once owned by Jimmy Barnes. Zero digital editing, zero pitch correction, and absolutely no safety net. The result — their
The Teskey Brothers: Fascinating Analog Soul From Down Under Read More »
Nina Simone: Biography of the High Priestess of Soul Introduction Nina Simone (1933-2003) was a classically trained pianist who became one of the most influential voices in American music. Born Eunice Kathleen Waymon in North Carolina, she combined classical technique with blues, jazz, gospel, and folk to create a distinctive sound that defied categorization. Her
Nina Simone: Biography of the High Priestess of Soul Read More »
Robert Nighthawk: Prowling Slide Master of Delta Blues On May 5, 1937, Robert Nighthawk walked into a studio in Aurora, Illinois. He cut six sides for Bluebird Records that day. However, one track stood apart. “Prowling Night-Hawk” had something fierce and restless in it. That slide tone was so bold that the young musician took
Robert Nighthawk: The Most Astonishing Slide Master in Blues Read More »
Albert King: The Left-Handed King Who Bent Blues Guitar Into Shape Eric Clapton heard Albert King’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” in 1967 and liked it so much he lifted the solo nearly note for note. He dropped it straight into Cream’s “Strange Brew” on their landmark album Disraeli Gears. Clapton never denied it. Furthermore, he wasn’t
Albert King: Powerful Southpaw With the Most Fearless Tone Read More »
Samantha Fish: The Fearless Guitar Force Redefining Modern Blues When Buddy Guy called a young guitarist up on stage during a 2013 show, he had no idea what was about to happen. Within minutes, the blues legend was grinning ear to ear, so electrified by her playing that he told his audience he would play
Samantha Fish: From Child Prodigy to Blues Rock Star Read More »
Blues Sidemen: The Amazing Forgotten Sound in American Music On January 7, 1954, Muddy Waters walked into Chess Records’ studio at 4750 South Cottage Grove Avenue in Chicago with a song Willie Dixon had written for him. The band behind him was stacked: Little Walter on harp, Jimmy Rogers on second guitar, Otis Spann on
Blues Sidemen: The Amazing Forgotten Sound of American Music Read More »
Fantastic Negrito: Oakland’s Three-Time Grammy-Winning Blues Revolutionary In 1999, Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz lay in a hospital bed in a coma, his right hand crushed beyond recognition. A near-fatal car accident had ended his music career — or so everyone assumed. Interscope Records called the hospital to inform him the label was dropping him. His guitars
Fantastic Negrito: A Stunning New Force in Oakland Blues Read More »
Peter Green: The Astonishing Genius Behind Fleetwood Mac B.B. King did not hand out compliments freely. So when he said Peter Green was the only guitarist who gave him the cold sweats, the blues world took notice. It was not empty praise. Green had a tone that could make a single note hang in the
Peter Green: The Sensational Hidden Legacy of the Blues Read More »
Origins of Blues Music: A Complete History On a sweltering night around 1903, a traveling bandleader named W.C. Handy fell asleep waiting for a train at the Tutwiler, Mississippi railway station. He woke to a lean, ragged man pressing a knife blade against guitar strings, singing the same line over and over: “Goin’ where the
Origins of Blues Music: The Complete and Remarkable Story Read More »
Pinetop Perkins: The Startling Truth of a Blues Piano Life In a Clarksdale, Mississippi juke joint sometime around 1943, a woman pulled a knife and slashed Pinetop Perkins across his left arm. The tendons severed cleanly. His guitar-playing days ended that night, and the trajectory of his musical career shifted permanently. However, what seemed like
Pinetop Perkins: The Startling Truth of a Blues Piano Life Read More »
Luther Allison: The Bluesman Who Conquered Two Continents The crowd at the 1995 Chicago Blues Festival numbered over 150,000. When Luther Allison tore into “Soul Fixin’ Man” from the main stage, the entire park locked in. His guitar screamed. His voice shook with gospel fire. He walked into the crowd with his Gibson Les Paul,
Luther Allison: The Bluesman Who Conquered Two Continents Read More »
Hubert Sumlin: The Guitar Behind Howlin’ Wolf’s Sound The boy was too young to be inside the juke joint. That didn’t stop him. Somewhere in the Arkansas Delta, a young Hubert Sumlin climbed onto wooden crates outside a roadhouse window. He pressed his face against the glass to watch the massive figure on stage. Howlin’
Hubert Sumlin: The Guitar Behind Howlin’ Wolf’s Sound Read More »
In 1995, a 250-pound guitarist from the Bronx walked into a Miami studio to meet Tom Dowd. Dowd had made records for Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, and the Allman Brothers Band. He did not suffer fools. But when Popa Chubby plugged in and hit the first chord, Dowd heard something real. The album they cut
Popa Chubby: Remarkable Bronx Bluesman With Fearless Fire Read More »
Chess Records: The Label That Electrified the Blues Chess Records did more to shape modern popular music than perhaps any other independent label. Leonard and Phil Chess founded the company in Chicago in 1950. As Polish immigrants who fell in love with the blues, they transformed raw Delta sounds into the electrified Chicago style. Essentially,
Chess Records: The Label That Electrified the Blues Read More »
Larkin Poe almost didn’t happen. In December 2009, Rebecca and Megan Lovell watched their bluegrass trio — the Lovell Sisters — fall apart when oldest sister Jessica stepped away to get married and start college. The two younger Lovells had spent their teenage years winning mandolin contests at MerleFest and performing on A Prairie Home
Larkin Poe: Remarkable Sisters Who Ignited a New Blues Fire Read More »
Mississippi John Hurt: The Remarkable Story of a Blues Genius In 1963, a young record collector named Tom Hoskins drove into Avalon, Mississippi. He brought nothing but a tape recorder, a guitar, and the words to a 35-year-old song. He pulled up to the town’s single gas station and asked about Mississippi John Hurt. The
Mississippi John Hurt: A Remarkable Story of a Blues Genius Read More »
Mali Blues Tradition: The Genuine Birthplace of the Blues In 2003, Martin Scorsese sent guitarist Corey Harris on a trip that would change how people heard the blues. Harris went from the Mississippi Delta to the banks of the Niger River in Mali. What he found there wasn’t a distant cousin of the music he’d
Mali Blues Tradition: The Genuine Birthplace of the Blues Read More »
Howlin’ Wolf: The London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions – A Blues Masterpiece Introduction This iconic album highlights the immense talent and captivating presence of blues legend Howlin’ Wolf. This article will explore the album’s rich history. We will also look at the exceptional lineup of musicians involved and analyze the raw power and emotion in each
Howlin’ Wolf: The London Howlin’ Wolf Sessions – A Blues Classic Read More »
Howlin’ Wolf’s London Sessions: A Fusion of Blues and Rock Music Legends Introduction In blues music, some moments go beyond time and have a lasting impact on the genre’s history. Howlin’ Wolf’s legendary London Sessions is a special moment. It was a groundbreaking collaboration between the iconic bluesman and rock royalty. This included Eric Clapton,
Howlin’ Wolf’s London Sessions: A Fusion of Blues and Rock Music Legends Read More »
Bessie Smith: The Empress Who Saved Columbia Records On February 15, 1923, a nervous young woman from Chattanooga walked into a makeshift Columbia Records studio in New York City. Every major label had already turned her down. However, when Bessie Smith opened her mouth and recorded “Downhearted Blues” that afternoon, the result was stunning. The
Bessie Smith: The Powerful Untold Empress of the Blues Read More »
Tell Everybody! : A Journey Through 21st Century Blues Tell Everybody! – A New Blues Compilation Let’s dive into the heart of the Blues with the new anthology, “Tell Everybody!” Due out on August 11th 2023. This anthology is not just a compilation of songs; it’s a journey through the rich tapestry of Blues music,
Tell Everybody! :A Journey Through 21st Century Blues Read More »
B.B. King: The King of Blues Who Changed Guitar Forever On a cold night in 1949, a fight over a woman nearly killed the man who would become B.B. King. Two men brawling in a dance hall in Twist, Arkansas, knocked a barrel of burning kerosene across the wooden floor. The building caught fire within
B.B. King: The Remarkable Life of the King of Blues Read More »
10 Essential Blues Records That Belong in Every Collection In 1961, a Columbia Records producer pulled together twenty-nine songs by a Mississippi guitarist who had been dead for nearly a quarter century. The album — King of the Delta Blues Singers — sold slowly at first. However, within two years it had reached Keith Richards,
10 Amazing Essential Blues Records You Need to Know Now Read More »
Women in Blues: The Forgotten Founders Who Shaped American Music In August 1920, a vaudeville singer named Mamie Smith walked into a New York recording studio and changed American music forever. Her recording of “Crazy Blues” sold 75,000 copies in its first month alone. Within a year, that number crossed one million. Consequently, record executives
Women in Blues: How They Shaped a Genre Then Got Written Out Read More »
Ally Venable: The Texas Blues Guitarist Rewriting the Rules Ally Venable was twelve years old, riding in her father’s car in Kilgore, Texas. Stevie Ray Vaughan’s “Texas Flood” came through the speakers and changed her life. Within months, she had a guitar in her hands. Within a year, she had a band. By fourteen, she
Ally Venable: A Blazing New Force in Texas Blues Guitar Read More »
Hill Country Blues: How Africa’s Oldest Rhythms Survived in the Mississippi Hills On a September afternoon in 1959, Alan Lomax pulled his recording equipment onto Lonnie Young’s front porch in Como, Mississippi. He had come to document the fife and drum music that fed directly into the Hill Country blues tradition. Specifically, he wanted to
Hill Country Blues: The Hypnotic Sound the Delta Left Behind Read More »
Buddy Guy: The Daring Fire That Ignited Chicago Blues Three days without food. No money. No contacts. No plan. Buddy Guy stood on a Chicago sidewalk in September 1957 with a Gibson guitar and the growing certainty that leaving Louisiana had been the worst decision of his life. He had mailed demo tapes to Chess
Buddy Guy: The Authentic Fire That Shaped Chicago Blues Read More »
Stevie Ray Vaughan: The Blazing Texas Blues Guitar Legend On a July evening in 1982, a skinny Texan named Stevie Ray Vaughan walked onto the stage at the Montreux Jazz Festival wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a bolero jacket. He was unknown outside Austin. However, within minutes of tearing into Larry Davis’s “Texas Flood,” the
Stevie Ray Vaughan: The Amazing Hidden Fire of Texas Blues Read More »
Texas Blues: The Evolution of an American Guitar Tradition Texas blues developed as a distinct regional style from the 1920s through the 1990s, characterized by sophisticated guitar work, jazzy sophistication, and a fusion of rural and urban influences. Unlike the raw, emotional intensity of Delta blues or the full-band electric sound of Chicago blues, Texas
Texas Blues: The Evolution of an American Guitar Tradition Read More »
What’s Nat Myer’s “Yellow Peril” All About? “Yellow Peril” is not merely a collection of musical tracks but a combination of a story, a journey, and a reflection. The album is primarily based on blues, a genre that is famous for its emotional depth and capability to convey stories. With “Yellow Peril,” Myers uses blues
Nat Myers’ ‘Yellow Peril’: A Comprehensive Review Read More »
British Blues Invasion: A Blazing New History of the Blues On the evening of October 16, 1958, Muddy Waters walked onto the stage at Leeds’ Odeon Theatre with his electric guitar and set about terrifying an audience that had come expecting acoustic folk blues. British papers ran a headline the next morning reading “Screaming Guitar
British Blues Invasion: A Blazing New History of the Blues Read More »
Tedeschi Trucks Band’s “I Am The Moon: Crescent” Album Series Review At last! We are once again indebted to Tedeschi Trucks Band! They never cease to amaze us musically! Their latest project, “I Am the Moon” is an ambitious album series that is divided into four separate releases. The first installment, “Crescent “, showcases the
Tedeschi Trucks Band’s “I Am The Moon: Crescent” Album Review Read More »
Big Bill Broonzy: Chicago’s Bridge Between the Cotton Fields and the Electric City In 1951, a fifty-something son of Arkansas sharecroppers walked onto the stage at London’s Kingsway Hall. He carried nothing but an acoustic guitar and three decades of blues in his hands. Big Bill Broonzy was about to change how the world heard
Big Bill Broonzy: The Fearless Life That Sparked New Blue Read More »
Bukka White: An Authentic Raw Pioneer of the Delta Blues In 1963, a young guitarist named John Fahey wrote an address on an envelope that would reshape blues history. It read simply: “Bukka White (Old Blues Singer), c/o General Delivery, Aberdeen, Mississippi.” Fahey had no phone number, no street address, and no certainty that the
Bukka White: An Authentic Raw Pioneer of the Delta Blues Read More »
A Deep Dive into Cash Box Kings’ “Oscar’s Motel” Introduction The Cash Box Kings, a band with a rich history and a deep dedication to the Chicago Blues sound, have once again graced the music scene with their latest album, “Oscar’s Motel”. This album is a testament to their commitment to keeping the spirit of
A Deep Dive into Cash Box Kings’ “Oscar’s Motel” Read More »
Son House: The Delta Preacher Who Defined Raw Blues In May 1930, a Paramount Records producer traveled to Lula, Mississippi, looking for Charley Patton. He found Patton — and he found Son House. What he heard that day was a voice that sounded like it had been dragged out of the earth, paired with a
Son House: Revolutionary Slide Guitar Preacher of the Delta Read More »
What Makes This Sound Hauntingly Human? There’s a sound in the blues that nothing else quite replicates. It’s not the bent string of a fretted guitar. Not the wail of a harmonica or even the human voice — though the best slide players make their instruments do exactly that. Blues slide guitar occupies its own
Blues Slide Guitar: The Rich History and Complete in Blues Read More »
