List of country blues musicians
Encyclopedia
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- Alger "Texas" Alexander - (September 12, 1900 – April 16, 1954) Born in Jewett, TexasJewett, TexasJewett is a city in Leon County, Texas, United States. The population was 861 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Jewett is located at ....
, Alexander was a country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
singer who was one of the original forebearers of Texas bluesTexas bluesTexas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
music. He never did learn to play guitar, though he was backed by such artists as Lonnie JohnsonLonnie JohnsonAlonzo "Lonnie" Johnson was an American blues and jazz singer/guitarist and songwriter who pioneered the role of jazz guitar and is recognized as the first to play single-string guitar solos...
and Lightnin' HopkinsLightnin' HopkinsSam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
. He also did singing gigs for King Oliver. Over his impressive career, he recorded for Okeh RecordsOkeh RecordsOkeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
and Freedom RecordsFreedom RecordsFreedom Records was a jazz record label linked with the producer Alan Bates, as with his Black Lion Records.Individual recordings were distributed via Polydor Records and Transatlantic Records during the early 1970s before the company was bought by Arista Records.-Discography:*1000 Albert Ayler &...
, among others. - Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong (1909-2003) - early songsterSongsterThe term "songster" is most often used to denote a wandering musician, usually but not always African American, of the type which first appeared in the late 19th century in the southern United States...
and country blues musician who played fiddle, mandolin, guitar and sang. He also performed VaudevilleVaudevilleVaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
blues music for the T.O.B.A.. - Pink AndersonPink Anderson"Pink" Anderson was a blues singer and guitarist, born in Laurens, South Carolina.-Life and career:After being raised in Greenville and Spartanburg, South Carolina, he joined Dr...
- (February 12, 1900 – October 12, 1974) Born in Spartanburg, South CarolinaSpartanburg, South CarolinathgSpartanburg is the largest city in and the county seat of Spartanburg County, South Carolina, United States. It is the second-largest city of the three primary cities in the Upstate region of South Carolina, and is located northwest of Columbia, west of Charlotte, and about northeast of...
, Anderson was an early country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer who performed Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
. Many of his recordings have been released by Prestige RecordsPrestige RecordsPrestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...
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- DeFord BaileyDeFord BaileyDeFord Bailey was an American country music star from the 1920s until 1941, and the first performer on the Grand Ole Opry...
- (1899-1982) An early country blues harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player from TennesseeTennesseeTennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
. - Etta BakerEtta BakerEtta Baker was an American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer from North Carolina, United States.-Biography:...
- (March 31, 1913 – September 23, 2006) Born in Caldwell County, North CarolinaCaldwell County, North Carolina-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 77,415 people, 30,768 households, and 22,399 families residing in the county. The population density was 164 people per square mile . There were 33,430 housing units at an average density of 71 per square mile...
, Baker a country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
player and singer who performed Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
. In the 1990s she released two solo albums, one for Rounder RecordsRounder RecordsRounder Records, originally of Cambridge, Massachusetts, but now based in Burlington, Massachusetts, is a record label founded in 1970 by Ken Irwin, Bill Nowlin and Marian Leighton-Levy, while all three were still university students...
. In 2004 Music Maker RecordsMusic Maker (label)Music Maker Relief Foundation is an American non-profit record label, based in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Music Maker Relief Foundation was founded in 1994 by Tim and Denise Duffy to "help the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day to day needs...
released some recording she did with Taj MahalTaj Mahal (musician)Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who uses the stage name Taj Mahal, is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician. He incorporates elements of world music into his music...
in 1956 and 1998. - John Henry BarbeeJohn Henry BarbeeJohn Henry Barbee was an American blues singer and guitarist. He was born William George Tucker in Henning, Tennessee, United States, and changed his name with the commencement of his recording career to reflect his favorite folk song, "The Ballad of John Henry".-Biography:Barbee toured in the...
- (November 14, 1905 – November 3, 1964) Born in Henning, TennesseeHenning, TennesseeHenning is a town in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 970 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Henning is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all land....
, Barbee was an exponent of early country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
and Delta bluesDelta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
, a fine guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and blues singer. He performed early in his career with Sunnyland SlimSunnyland SlimAlbert "Sunnyland Slim" Luandrew was an American blues pianist, who was born in the Mississippi Delta, and later moved to Chicago, Illinois, to contribute to that city's post-war scene as a center for blues music...
. - Robert BelfourRobert BelfourRobert "Wolfman" Belfour is an American blues musician. His father, Grant Belfour taught him the guitar at a young age and he continued his tutelage in the blues from musicians Otha Turner, R. L. Burnside, and Junior Kimbrough. Kimbrough, in particular, had a profound influence on him...
- Born September 11, 1940 in Holly Springs, MississippiHolly Springs, MississippiHolly Springs is a city in Marshall County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,957 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Marshall County. A short drive from Memphis, Tennessee, Holly Springs is the site of a number of well-preserved antebellum homes and other structures and...
, Belfour is a country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
and Delta bluesDelta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer and fellow collaborator with Mose VinsonMose VinsonMose Vinson was an American boogie-woogie, blues and jazz pianist and singer. His best known recordings were "Blues With A Feeling" and "Sweet Root Man". Over his lengthy career, Vinson worked with various musicians including Booker T. Laury and James Cotton.-Biography:Vinson was born in Holly...
. Belfour started recording late in his career, beginning in the 1990s. His latest album, called Pushin' My Luck, was released on the Fat Possum RecordsFat Possum RecordsFat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording hitherto unknown Mississippi blues artists . Recently, Fat Possum has signed younger rock acts to its roster...
label. - Barbecue BobBarbecue BobRobert Hicks, better known as Barbecue Bob was an early American Piedmont blues musician. His nickname came from the fact that he was a cook in a barbecue restaurant. One of the two extant photographs of Bob show him playing his guitar while wearing a full length white apron and cook's hat.-Early...
- (1902-1931), born Robert Hicks, was an acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
performer of early country blues. - Scrapper BlackwellScrapper BlackwellFrancis Hillman "Scrapper" Blackwell was an American blues guitarist and singer; best known as half of the guitar-piano duo he formed with Leroy Carr in the late 1920s and early 1930s, he was an acoustic single-note picker in the Chicago blues and Piedmont blues style, with some critics noting...
- (February 21, 1903 – October 27, 1962) Born in Syracuse, North Carolina as Francis Hillman Blackwell, Scrapper Blackwell performed acoustic Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
and was an early exponent of Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
who worked closely with pianistPianistA pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
Leroy CarrLeroy CarrLeroy Carr was an American blues singer, songwriter and pianist, who developed a laid-back, crooning technique and whose popularity and style influenced such artists as Nat King Cole and Ray Charles. He first became famous for "How Long, How Long Blues" on Vocalion Records in 1928.-Life and...
. He also backed singer Black Bottom McPhail. Document RecordsDocument RecordsDocument Records is a British record label that specializes in early American blues, bluegrass, gospel, spirituals jazz, and other rural American genres , generally made between 1900 and 1945...
has issued most of his work in three volumes. - Blind BlakeBlind Blake"Blind" Blake was an American blues and ragtime singer and guitarist.-Biography:...
- (c. 1895 – 1937) Born in Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville, FloridaJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer Blind Blake played early ragtimeRagtimeRagtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
on guitar, Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
, country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
, Delta bluesDelta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
and Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
. A musician of importance, he recorded frequently for Paramount RecordsParamount RecordsParamount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
. - Lucille BoganLucille BoganLucille Bogan was an American blues singer, among the first to be recorded. She also recorded under the pseudonym Bessie Jackson...
- (April 1, 1897 – August 10, 1948) Born in Amory, MississippiAmory, MississippiAmory is a city in Monroe County, Mississippi, United States. The population is 6,956 as of the 2000 census.-History:Amory was the first planned city in Mississippi. The Kansas City, Memphis & Birmingham Railroad needed a mid-point between Memphis, Tennessee and Birmingham, Alabama for their...
, Bogan was a classic female bluesClassic female bluesClassic female blues was an early form of blues music, popular in the 1920s. An amalgam of traditional folk blues and urban theater music, the style is also known as vaudeville blues. Classic blues were performed by female vocalists accompanied by pianists or small jazz ensembles, and were the...
singer who performed early country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
. Because many of her songs were sexually suggestive, she might be considered to have been a dirty bluesDirty bluesDirty blues encompasses forms of blues music that deal with topics that are sometimes considered taboo in society, including sexual metaphors and/or references to drug use of some kind. Due to the sometimes graphic subject matter, such music was often banned from radio and only available on a jukebox...
musician, also. Document RecordsDocument RecordsDocument Records is a British record label that specializes in early American blues, bluegrass, gospel, spirituals jazz, and other rural American genres , generally made between 1900 and 1945...
has issued her complete recordings in a series of releases. - Son BondsSon BondsSon Bonds was an American country blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a working associate of both Sleepy John Estes and Hammie Nixon, and was similar in his guitar playing style...
- (March 16, 1909 – August 31, 1947) Born in Brownsville, TennesseeBrownsville, TennesseeBrownsville is a city in Haywood County, Tennessee, United States. It is the county seat of Haywood County. The city is named after Jacob Jennings Brown, an officer who served during The War of 1812.-Geography:...
, Bonds was an associate of both Sleepy John EstesSleepy John EstesJohn Adam Estes , best known as Sleepy John Estes or Sleepy John, was a American blues guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, born in Ripley, Lauderdale County, Tennessee.-Career:...
and Hammie NixonHammie NixonHammie Nixon was an American harmonica player.-Life and career:Born Hammie Nickerson in Brownsville, Tennessee, he began his music career with jug bands in the 1920s and is best known as a country blues harmonica player, but also played the kazoo, guitar and jug...
and was similar in his guitar playing style. The music to one of his songs, "Back and Side Blues", became a blues standard used in "Good Morning, School GirlGood Morning, School Girl"Good Morning, School Girl" or "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" is a blues standard that has been "covered countless times across the decades"...
". - Ishman BraceyIshman BraceyIshman Bracey was an American blues singer and guitarist from Mississippi, considered one of the most important early delta blues performers. With Tommy Johnson, he was the center of a small Jackson, Mississippi group of blues musicians in the 1920s...
- (January 9, 1901 - February 12, 1970) Born in Byram, MississippiByram, MississippiByram is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,386 at the 2000 census, at which time it was a census-designated place . It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was incorporated for a second time in its history on June 16, 2009.-History:Byram...
, Bracey was an early country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
and Delta bluesDelta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and vocalist who recorded many sessions for Paramount RecordsParamount RecordsParamount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
. - Big Bill BroonzyBig Bill BroonzyBig Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
- "Big Bill" was born William Lee Conley Broonzy in Scott County, MississippiScott County, Mississippi-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 28,423 people, 10,183 households, and 7,535 families residing in the county. The population density was 47 people per square mile . There were 11,116 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile...
on June 26, 1893 or 1898 (the exact year is unclear). Broonzy was an acoustic country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
musician who performed Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
, playing guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and mandolinMandolinA mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
accompanied by his own singing. Broonzy recorded over 350 compositions over his career. - Bob BrozmanBob BrozmanBob Brozman is an American guitarist and ethnomusicologist.He has performed in a number of styles such as Gypsy jazz, calypso, Blues, ragtime, Hawaiian and Caribbean music. Brozman has also collaborated with musicians from diverse cultural backgrounds such as India, Africa, Japan, Papua New Guinea...
- Born March 8, 1954 in New York, New York, Brozman is a slide guitarist who performs in various blues music mediums, including electric bluesElectric bluesElectric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
, country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
and even some traditional folk musicFolk musicFolk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
. He has recorded at least fifteen albums to date for labels like Kicking Mule, and has worked with a variety of musicians performing not just in the blues medium. - Bumble Bee SlimBumble Bee SlimAmos Easton , better known by the stage name Bumble Bee Slim, was an American Piedmont blues musician.-Biography:Easton was born in Brunswick, Georgia, United States...
- R.L. Burnside, Mississippi hill country blues singer and guitarist.
- Butterbeans and SusieButterbeans and SusieButterbeans and Susie were a comedy duo made up of Jodie Edwards and Susie Edwards, née Susie Hawthorne . Edwards began his career in 1910 as a singer and dancer. Meanwhile, Hawthorne performed in African American theater. The two met in 1916 when Hawthorne was in the chorus of the Smart Set show...
C
- Cannon's Jug Stompers
- Bo CarterBo CarterArmenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon was an American early blues musician. He was a member of the Mississippi Sheiks in concerts, and on a few of their recordings...
- (March 21, 1893 – September 21, 1964) Born in Bolton, MississippiBolton, MississippiBolton is a town in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 629 as of the 2000 census. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Bolton is located at ....
, Carter was one of the first dirty bluesDirty bluesDirty blues encompasses forms of blues music that deal with topics that are sometimes considered taboo in society, including sexual metaphors and/or references to drug use of some kind. Due to the sometimes graphic subject matter, such music was often banned from radio and only available on a jukebox...
musicians with songs like "Banana in Your Fruit Basket", among several others. A country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
multi-instrumentalistMulti-instrumentalistA multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
who performed mostly early Delta bluesDelta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
, Carter played guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, banjoBanjoIn the 1830s Sweeney became the first white man to play the banjo on stage. His version of the instrument replaced the gourd with a drum-like sound box and included four full-length strings alongside a short fifth-string. There is no proof, however, that Sweeney invented either innovation. This new...
, string bass, clarinetClarinetThe clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
and sang. Document RecordsDocument RecordsDocument Records is a British record label that specializes in early American blues, bluegrass, gospel, spirituals jazz, and other rural American genres , generally made between 1900 and 1945...
has an impressive series of issues devoted to his complete recordings. - John Cephas - Born September 4, 1930 in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
but raised in Bowling Green, VirginiaBowling Green, VirginiaBowling Green is an incorporated town in Caroline County, Virginia, United States. The population was 936 at the 2000 census.The county seat of Caroline County since 1803, Bowling Green is best known as the "cradle of American horse racing", the home of the second oldest Masonic Lodge, and the...
, contemporary blues musician Cephas plays country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and sings, performing in the Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
vein. He has recorded a number of albums to date, notably for the Alligator RecordsAlligator RecordsAlligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record...
label. - Jaybird ColemanJaybird ColemanBurl C. "Jaybird" Coleman was an American country blues harmonica player, guitarist and singer.Born in Gainesville, Alabama, United States, the son of sharecroppers and one of four children. He was born, raised and worked on a farm, and picked up and learned the harmonica at 12 years of age...
- (May 20, 1896 – January 28, 1950) Born in Gainesville, AlabamaGainesville, AlabamaGainesville is a town in Sumter County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 220.-Geography:Gainesville is located at .According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
, Coleman was a country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player, guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer who performed early Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
and harmonica blues active most in the 1930s. His career fizzled out and he was left to perform as a street act in Alabama. Document RecordsDocument RecordsDocument Records is a British record label that specializes in early American blues, bluegrass, gospel, spirituals jazz, and other rural American genres , generally made between 1900 and 1945...
has issued a compilation of all of his recordings. - Ida CoxIda CoxIda Cox was an African American singer and vaudeville performer, best known for her blues performances and recordings...
- James CrutchfieldJames CrutchfieldJames Crutchfield was an American St. Louis, Missouri based, barrelhouse blues singer, pianist, and songwriter, whose career spanned seven decades...
(1912 - 2001) St. Louis barrelhouse piano
H
- Hattie HartHattie HartHattie Hart was an American Memphis blues singer and songwriter. She was active as a recording artist in the late 1920s to the mid 1930s, and her best known tracks were "I Let My Daddy Do That" and "Coldest Stuff in Town". Hart worked both as a solo artist, and previously as a singer with the...
- Jessie Mae HemphillJessie Mae HemphillJessie Mae Hemphill was an American award-winning electric guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist specializing in the primal, northern Mississippi country blues traditions of her family and regional heritage....
- Lightnin' HopkinsLightnin' HopkinsSam John Hopkins better known as Lightnin’ Hopkins, was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist, from Houston, Texas...
- (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) Born Sam Hopkins in Centerville, TexasCenterville, TexasCenterville is a city in Leon County, Texas, United States. The population was 903 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Leon County.Centerville was so named as it is near the geographic center of Leon County...
, Hopkins was an acoustic and electric guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and a major exponent of Texas bluesTexas bluesTexas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
and country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
. During his late career he performed mostly on electric guitar, though in the same manner that he would perform on an acoustic one. Like John Lee Hooker, Hopkins is one the better known blues musicians of history. - Son HouseSon HouseEddie James "Son" House, Jr. was an American blues singer and guitarist. House pioneered an innovative style featuring strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of slide guitar, and his singing often incorporated elements of southern gospel and spiritual music...
- Peg Leg HowellPeg Leg HowellJoshua Barnes Howell, known as Peg Leg Howell , was an African American blues singer and guitarist, who connected early country blues and the later 12-bar style...
- (March 5, 1888 – August 11, 1966) Born in Eatonton, GeorgiaEatonton, GeorgiaEatonton is a city in Putnam County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 6,480. The city is the county seat of Putnam County. It was named after William Eaton, an officer and diplomat involved in the First Barbary War...
as Joshua Barnes Howell, Howell was an amputee missing one leg who taught himself to play guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and sing. He performed acoustic country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
in the Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
style, spending most of his career in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. From 1926 or so until 1929 he recorded for Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, then fell off into obscurity shortly after (eventually losing his other leg to diabetes). - Mississippi John HurtMississippi John HurtJohn Smith Hurt, better known as Mississippi John Hurt was an American country blues singer and guitarist.Raised in Avalon, Mississippi, Hurt taught himself how to play the guitar around age nine...
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- Melvin "Lil' Son" Jackson - (August 16, 1915 – May 30, 1976) Born in Tyler, TexasTyler, TexasTyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
, Jackson was a regular of the Texas bluesTexas bluesTexas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
scene, an acoustic and electric country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer who seemed most comfortable performing acoustic. He cut a few records for Arhoolie RecordsArhoolie RecordsArhoolie Records is a small record label run by Chris Strachwitz. The label was founded by Strachwitz in 1960 as a way for him to record and publish previously obscure "down home blues" artists such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Snooks Eaglin and Bill Gaither...
over the years. - Papa Charlie JacksonPapa Charlie JacksonPapa Charlie Jackson was an early American bluesman and songster. He played a hybrid banjo guitar and ukulele, his recording career beginning in 1924...
- Skip JamesSkip JamesNehemiah Curtis "Skip" James was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter, born in Bentonia, Mississippi, died in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
- Blind Lemon JeffersonBlind Lemon Jefferson"Blind" Lemon Jefferson was an American blues singer and guitarist from Texas. He was one of the most popular blues singers of the 1920s, and has been titled "Father of the Texas Blues"....
- Lonnie JohnsonLonnie JohnsonAlonzo "Lonnie" Johnson was an American blues and jazz singer/guitarist and songwriter who pioneered the role of jazz guitar and is recognized as the first to play single-string guitar solos...
- Robert Johnson (musician)
- Blind Willie JohnsonBlind Willie Johnson"Blind" Willie Johnson was an American singer and guitarist, whose music straddled the border between blues and spirituals....
- (c. 1897 – 1945) Born in Marlin, TexasMarlin, TexasMarlin is a city in Falls County, Texas, United States. The population was 6,628 at the 2000 census, but decreased to 5,967 by 2010. It is also the county seat of Falls County, and has been so since 1851...
was first and foremost a gospel bluesGospel bluesGospel blues is a form of blues-based gospel music that has been around since the inception of blues music, a combination of blues guitar and evangelistic lyrics...
guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer, an early innovator of the slide guitarSlide guitarSlide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
(using a pocketknife). His birthdate and place of birth are somewhat mysterious. Johnson mixed his evangelical lyrics with country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
and early Texas bluesTexas bluesTexas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
, and is most remembered for some studio recording he did for Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in 1927. - Richard JohnstonRichard Johnston (musician)Richard Johnston is a country blues musician who won the 2001 International Blues Talent competition award, and the 2001 Albert King Award for most promising blues guitarist. His work as a street musician on Beale Street in Memphis, TN was documented in the Alabama PBS film Richard Johnston: Hill...
- Luke JordanLuke JordanLuke Jordan was an American blues guitarist and vocalist of some renown in his local area of Lynchburg, Virginia....
- (January 28, 1892 – June 25, 1952) Born in Bluefield, West VirginiaBluefield, West VirginiaBluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 10,447 at the 2010 census. It is also the core city of the Bluefield WV-VA micropolitan area which has a population of 107,342.-Geography & Climate:...
, Jordan was a country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
of the Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
and East Coast bluesEast Coast bluesEast Coast blues casts a wide net covering all of Piedmont blues - a style that relied on fast, virtuosic fingerpicking and added influences such as ragtime - as well as the urbanized R&B of New York blues and countless smaller regional styles....
variety who spent most of his career in Lynchburg, VirginiaLynchburg, VirginiaLynchburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 75,568 as of 2010. Located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains along the banks of the James River, Lynchburg is known as the "City of Seven Hills" or "The Hill City." Lynchburg was the only major city in...
. Though not many recordings survive of his, Jordan was undeniably a major early influence on musicians in the Piedmont style.
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- Junior KimbroughJunior KimbroughDavid "Junior" Kimbrough was an American blues musician. His best known work included "Keep Your Hands Off Her" and "All Night Long". Music journalist Tony Russell stated "his raw, repetitive style suggests an archaic forebear of John Lee Hooker, a character his music shares with that of fellow...
- (July 28, 1930 – January 17, 1998) Born in Hudsonville, MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
with the first name of David, Kimbrough was a guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer of country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
, Delta bluesDelta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
and juke joint bluesJuke joint bluesThe term juke joint blues refers to a form of dance music that combines rhythm and blues and blues music, often played in the 1950s and 1960s, though not restricted to that period. The music tends to be rather heavy on the rhythm, and can encompass both quick and rather slow tunes.-External links:*...
. He performed both acoustic and electric guitar, and recorded several albums for the Fat Possum RecordsFat Possum RecordsFat Possum Records is an American independent record label based in Oxford, Mississippi. At first Fat Possum focused almost entirely on recording hitherto unknown Mississippi blues artists . Recently, Fat Possum has signed younger rock acts to its roster...
label. - Lottie KimbroughLottie KimbroughLottie Kimbrough was an American country blues singer, who was also billed as Lottie Kimborough, Lottie Beaman, and Lena Kimbrough . Kimbrough was a large woman, and was nicknamed "the Kansas City Butterball"...
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- Lead Belly
- Furry LewisFurry LewisFurry Lewis was an American country blues guitarist and songwriter from Memphis, Tennessee. Lewis was one of the first of the old-time blues musicians of the 1920s to be brought out of retirement, and given a new lease of recording life, by the folk blues revival of the 1960s.-Life and...
- Noah LewisNoah LewisNoah Lewis was an American jug band and country blues musician, generally known for playing the harmonica.-Life and career:...
- Charley LincolnCharley LincolnCharley Lincoln , was an early American country blues musician. He often recorded with his brother Robert Hicks ....
- (March 11, 1900 – September 28, 1963) Born in Lithonia, GeorgiaLithonia, GeorgiaLithonia is a suburban town in eastern DeKalb County, Georgia, incorporated as a city. Lithonia's population was 1,924 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
, Lincoln was an acoustic country and Piedmont bluesPiedmont bluesPiedmont blues refers primarily to a guitar style, the Piedmont fingerstyle, which is characterized by a fingerpicking approach in which a regular, alternating thumb bass string rhythmic pattern supports a syncopated melody using the treble strings generally picked with the fore-finger,...
guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and vocalist. He was the brother of Barbecue BobBarbecue BobRobert Hicks, better known as Barbecue Bob was an early American Piedmont blues musician. His nickname came from the fact that he was a cook in a barbecue restaurant. One of the two extant photographs of Bob show him playing his guitar while wearing a full length white apron and cook's hat.-Early...
, with whom he performed from the 1920s until his brother's death in 1931. He made several recording, some for Columbia RecordsColumbia RecordsColumbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. - Robert Lockwood, Jr.
- John Long (musician)
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- Eddie MappEddie MappEddie Mapp was an American country blues harmonicist. He is best known for his accompaniment on record of both Barbecue Bob and Curley Weaver.-Biography:...
- Carl MartinCarl Martin (musician)Carl Martin was an American Piedmont blues musician and vocalist, who was capable with a variety of instruments and musical styles.Martin was born in Big Stone Gap, Virginia, United States...
- Memphis Jug BandMemphis Jug BandThe Memphis Jug Band was an American musical group in the late 1920s and early to mid 1930s. The band featured harmonicas, violins, mandolins, banjos, and guitars, backed by washboards, kazoo, and jugs blown to supply the bass; they played in a variety of musical styles...
- Mississippi SheiksMississippi SheiksThe Mississippi Sheiks were a popular and influential guitar and fiddle group of the 1930s. They were notable mostly for playing country blues, but were adept at many styles of United States popular music of the time, and their records were bought by both black and white audiences.In 2004, they...
- Charlie McCoyCharlie McCoyCharles "Charlie" Ray McCoy is an American musician noted for his harmonica playing. In his career, McCoy has backed several notable musicians including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Astor, Elvis Presley and Ween. He has also recorded thirty-seven studio albums, including fourteen for Monument Records...
- Mississippi Fred McDowellMississippi Fred McDowellFred McDowell known by his stage name; Mississippi Fred McDowell, was an American Hill country blues singer and guitar player.-Career:...
- Brownie McGheeBrownie McGheeWalter Brown McGhee was a Piedmont blues singer and guitarist, best known for his collaborations with the harmonica player Sonny Terry.-Life and career:...
- Blind Willie McTellBlind Willie McTellBlind Willie McTell , was an influential Piedmont and ragtime blues singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues, although, unlike his contemporaries, he used exclusively a twelve-string guitar...
- Al Miller (musician)
- Memphis MinnieMemphis MinnieMemphis Minnie was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist considered a match to male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist.-Career:...
- Thomas Morris (musician)Thomas Morris (musician)Thomas Morris was an American jazz cornetist. Born in New York in 1898, jazz critic Scott Yanow noted that Morris's primitive style was "an excellent example of how New York brass players sounded before the rise of Louis Armstrong." Morris' many recordings include dates with Clarence Williams,...
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- Yank RachellYank RachellJames "Yank" Rachell was an American country blues musician, dubbed an "elder statesman of the blues."-Career:...
- Tampa RedTampa RedTampa Red , born Hudson Woodbridge but known from childhood as Hudson Whittaker, was an American Chicago blues musician....
- Walter RolandWalter RolandWalter Roland was an American blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist, guitarist and singer, noted for his association with Lucille Bogan, Josh White and Sonny Scott. Music journalist, Gérard Herzhaft, stated that Roland was "a great piano player.....
- Doctor RossDoctor RossDoctor Ross , aka Doctor Ross, the harmonica boss, was an American blues singer, guitarist, harmonica player and drummer — a one-man band— who was born Charles Isaiah Ross, in Tunica, Mississippi....
- (October 21, 1925 – May 28, 1993) Born in Tunica, MississippiTunica, MississippiTunica is a town in Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, located near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s the town was one of the most impoverished places in the United States, semi-famous for the particularly deprived neighbourhood known as "Sugar Ditch Alley", named for the open...
as Charles Isaiah Ross, Ross was a harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player, guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer of country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
, Delta bluesDelta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
and juke joint bluesJuke joint bluesThe term juke joint blues refers to a form of dance music that combines rhythm and blues and blues music, often played in the 1950s and 1960s, though not restricted to that period. The music tends to be rather heavy on the rhythm, and can encompass both quick and rather slow tunes.-External links:*...
. He recorded several albums from the 1960s to 1990s for a variety of labels, including Fortune RecordsFortune RecordsFortune Records was a family operated, independent record label located in Detroit, Michigan from 1946 to 1995. The label owners were Jack and Devora Brown, their son Sheldon Brown recorded for the label...
and JSP RecordsJSP RecordsJSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman , releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. The label is based in London, England.JSP now predominantly releases remastered CDs...
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- Dan SaneDan SaneDan Sane was an American Memphis and country blues guitarist and songwriter. He was a working associate of Frank Stokes and, according to Allmusic journalist, Jason Ankeny, "they had emerged among the most complementary duos in all of the blues, with Sane's flatpicking ideally embellished by...
- Irene ScruggsIrene ScruggsIrene Scruggs was an American Piedmont blues and country blues singer, who was also billed as Chocolate Brown and Dixie Nolan...
- Alec SewardAlec SewardAlec Seward was an American Piedmont and country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. Some of his records were released under pseudonyms, such as Guitar Slim, Blues Servant Boy, King Blues and Georgia Slim...
- J.D. ShortJ.D. ShortJ.D. Short was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist and harmonicist. He was a multi-instrumentalist, and possessed a distinctive vibrato laden, singing voice. Early in his career, Short recorded under a number of pseudonyms, including Jelly Jaw Short...
- Frankie Lee SimsFrankie Lee SimsFrankie Lee Sims was an American singer-songwriter and electric blues guitarist. He released nine singles during his career, one of which, "Lucy Mae Blues" was a regional hit...
- (April 30, 1917 – May 10, 1970) - Laura SmithLaura Smith (blues singer)Laura Smith was an American classic female blues and country blues singer. She is best known for her recordings of "Gonna Put You Right In Jail" and her version of "Don't You Leave Me Here". She led Laura Smith and her Wild Cats, and worked with Clarence Williams and Perry Bradford...
- Victoria SpiveyVictoria SpiveyVictoria Spivey was an American blues singer and songwriter. She is best known for her recordings of "Dope Head Blues" and "Organ Grinder Blues", and Spivey variously worked with her sister, Addie "Sweet Pease" Spivey, and with Bob Dylan, Lonnie Johnson, Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Clarence...
- Frank Stokes
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- Baby TateBaby TateBaby Tate was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, who in a sporadic career spanning five decades, worked variously with guitarists Blind Boy Fuller, Pink Anderson, and Peg Leg Sam...
(1916–1972) - Sonny TerrySonny TerrySaunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry was a blind American Piedmont blues musician. He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.-Career:Terry was born in Greensboro, Georgia...
- Ramblin' ThomasRamblin' ThomasRamblin' Thomas was an American country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. He was the brother of another blues musician, Jesse Thomas. Thomas is best remembered for his slide guitar playing, and recording several pieces in the late 1920s and early 1930s...
(1904–1945) - Bessie TuckerBessie TuckerBessie Tucker was an American classic female, country, and Texas blues, singer and songwriter. Her best-known songs are "Penitentiary" and "Fryin' Pan Skillet Blues". Little is known of her life outside the music industry. Her known recording history comprised just twenty-four tracks, seven of...
- T.V. Slim - (February 10, 1916 – October 21, 1969) Born in Houston, TexasHouston, TexasHouston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, Oscar "TV Slim" Wills began his career playing guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
and singing country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
, later venturing into the use of an electric guitarElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
. All of his albums are still available on vinyl record only, and he is most known for his "Flat Foot Sam" which was released on a variety of records, the most popular one being for Argo RecordsArgo RecordsArgo Records was started in December of 1955 to accommodate some of the rapidly growing recording activity at Chess Records. Originally the label was called Marterry, but bandleader Ralph Marterie objected, and within a couple of months the imprint was renamed Argo.Initially, Argo offered a...
.
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- Sippie WallaceSippie WallaceSippie Wallace was an American singer-songwriter. Her early career in local tent shows gained her the billing "The Texas Nightingale". Between 1923 and 1927, she recorded over 40 songs for Okeh Records, many written by herself or her brothers, George and Hersal Thomas...
- Curley WeaverCurley WeaverCurley James Weaver was an American blues musician, also known as Slim Gordon.-Early years:He was born in Covington, Georgia, United States, and raised on a farm near Porterdale...
- Boogie Bill WebbBoogie Bill WebbBoogie Bill Webb was an American Louisiana blues and R&B guitarist, singer and songwriter. Webb's own style of music combined Mississippi country blues with New Orleans R&B. His best known recordings were "Bad Dog" and "Drinkin' and Stinkin'"...
- Peetie WheatstrawPeetie WheatstrawPeetie Wheatstraw was the name adopted by the singer William Bunch, an influential figure among 1930s blues singers...
- Bukka WhiteBukka WhiteBooker T. Washington White , better known as Bukka White, was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer. "Bukka" was not a nickname, but a phonetic misspelling of White's given name Booker, by his second record label .-Biography:Born between Aberdeen and Houston, Mississippi, White was the...
- Big Joe WilliamsBig Joe WilliamsJoseph Lee Williams , billed throughout his career as Big Joe Williams, was an American Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar...
- Sonny Boy Williamson ISonny Boy Williamson ISonny Boy Williamson was an American blues harmonica player and singer, and the first to use the name Sonny Boy Williamson.-Biography and career:...
- Ralph WillisRalph Willis (blues musician)Ralph Willis was an American Piedmont and country blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. Some of his Savoy records were released under pseudonyms, such as Alabama Slim, Washboard Pete and Sleepy Joe.-Biography:...
- Wesley WilsonWesley WilsonWesley Wilson was an American blues and jazz singer and songwriter. His own stage craft, plus the double act with his wife and musical partner, Coot Grant, was popular with African American audiences in the 1910s, 1920s and early 1930s.His stage names included Kid Wilson, Jenkins, Socks, and...