List of electric blues musicians

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, the bass guitar , and/or the harmonica and other instruments. Electric blues is performed in several regional subgenres, such as Chicago blues, Texas blues, Delta blues and Memphis blues. The following is a list of electric blues musicians.

Contents

Top · 0–9 · A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

[edit] A

• C.C. Adcock - Born in Lafayette, Louisiana, Adcock combines zydeco and electric blues music to create his own unique sound. He has performed with artists like Bo Diddley.

• Luther Allison - (August 17, 1939 – August 12, 1997) Born in Widener, Arkansas and then moving to Chicago as a teen, Allison was a major force on the Chicago blues scene. Predominantly an electric guitarist and also a singer, Allison released many albums for the Alligator Records label based in Chicago.

[edit] B

• Slick Ballinger - Born in 1984 in North Carolina as Daniel Ballinger, Ballinger is a modern exponent of both acoustic and electric Delta blues and Juke Joint blues based in Mississippi. A guitarist and singer, he has released at least one album for the Oh Boy Records label.

• Carey Bell - (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) Born in Macon, Mississippi as Carey Bell Harrington, Carey is an acoustic and electric harmonica blues and Chicago blues multi-instrumentalist, performing on bass guitar, guitar, drums and harmonica and vocals. He has released several albums for labels like Alligator Records and Delmark Records.

• Lurrie Bell - Born December 13, 1958 in Chicago, Illinois, guitarist and vocalist Bell is the son of blues harp player Carey Bell. Like his father, he is a Chicago blues musician who performs on electric guitar. He has recorded numerous albums, most of which have been for Delmark Records.

• Tab Benoit - Born November 16, 1967 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Benoit plays swamp blues on electric guitar. He is also a singer and songwriter. He has released at least fourteen albums to date.

• Bobby "Blue" Bland - Born January 7, 1930 in Rosemark, Tennessee as Robert Calvin Bland, Bland was strictly a blues music singer that performed in a gambit of genres, everything from soul-blues and Texas blues to rhythm and blues. He is more remembered for his sides with Clarence Hollimon and later with Pat Hare early on. During his later career he has moved into the electric blues arena and over his career has released countless albums.

• Matthew "Matty" Boat - Born October 3, 1956 in New York, New York Matty Boat plays a 12 string dobro in the band Megabloodykilldeath.

• Juke Boy Bonner - (March 22, 1932 – June 29, 1978) Born in Bellville, Texas as Weldon Bonner, Bonner was a Texas blues and West Coast blues guitarist and blues harp player as well as a vocalist. Though based primarily in Texas for most of his career, he did work in the 1950s in Oakland, California and recorded there for Irma Records. Like so many of the early blues musicians, Bonner was forced to work in a meat processing plant in his later career just to make ends meet. He performed in both acoustic and electric blues environments.

• Pat Boyack - Born June 26, 1967 in Helper, Utah, Boyack is a contemporary blues guitarist who performs modern electric blues and blues-rock. He has released at least four albums since 1994 for both the Doc Blues and Bullseye Blues record labels.

• Eddie Boyd - (November 25, 1914 – July 13, 1994) Born in Stovall, Mississippi, Boyd was a piano blues pianist, singer/songwriter and a fixture of the Chicago blues scene, touring Europe with Buddy Guy in 1965. Though he performed electric and acoustic Chicago blues, Boyd left the United States and lived abroad due to racial discrimination. He recorded for labels like Love Records and Decca Records.

• Doyle Bramhall - Born February 17, 1949 in Dallas, Texas, Bramhall is stricly a Texas blues musician, a talented guitarist, drummer and singer who worked with Stevie Ray Vaughan and his brother Jimmie Vaughan. His son, Doyle Bramhall II is also a blues musician. He has released several solo albums.

• Billy Branch - Born October 3, 1951 in Great Lakes, Illinois, blues harp player and vocalist Branch is a harmonica blues performer who plays electric Chicago blues. He leads his own band, "The Sons of Blues" and has released several albums for labels like Evidence Records and Alligator Records, to name a few.

• Grace Brim - Born c. 1924, Grace Brim was Chicago blues drummer for her husband John Brim (electric guitarist, singer and harmonica player) from the 1940s on through to the 1970s. She can be heard on some of his Chess Records and his early Fortune Records recordings.

• John Brim - (April 10, 1922 – October 1, 2003) Born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Brim was an acoustic and electric Chicago blues guitarist, harmonica player and singer who performed regularly with his wife Grace on drums. He recorded for Fortune Records and Chess Records among others.

• Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - (April 18, 1924 – September 10, 2005) Born in Vinton, Louisiana, Brown was one of the regulars of the Texas blues scene. A multi-instrumentalist, he performed on guitar, harmonica, mandolin, bass guitar, violin and sang. Brown was the first artist to record for Peacock Records, and his style of play was influential on burgeoning talent in Texas. Later in his career he moved more away from acoustic modes of play in favor of electric blues, often fusing in his sound elements of calypso and zydeco.

• J.T. Brown - (April 2, 1918 – November 24, 1969) Born in Mississippi, Brown was an electric and acoustic Chicago blues tenor saxophonist and singer. He performed with musicians like Washboard Sam and Eddie Boyd, and backed other artists like Elmore James.

• Bob Brozman - Born March 8, 1954 in New York, New York, Brozman is a slide guitarist who performs in various blues music mediums, including electric blues, country blues and even some traditional folk music. 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.

• George "Wild Child" Butler - Born October 1, 1936 in Hernando, Mississippi, George Butler is an electric guitarist, blues harp player and vocalist performing Chicago blues. He recorded in the 60s and 70s for various labels like Mercury Records with nominal success. In the 1980s he moved to Canada and continued recording and performing, his last album being for APO Records in 2001.

• Paul Butterfield - (December 17, 1942 – May 4, 1987) Born in Chicago, Illinois, Butterfield was an amplified harmonica blues blues harp player, guitarist, vocalist and flautist who performed blues-rock and Chicago blues. He recorded for a variety of labels during his career, including Bearsville Records and Elektra Records, among many others.

. Daniel Erses - was the greatest slide guitarist to hit the blues scene in 1956.

[edit] C

• Chris Cain

• W. C. Clark - Born November 16, 1939 in Austin, Texas, Clark was one of the originators of blues in the city of Austin. A soul music singer and electric Texas blues guitarist, he had his start performing with T.D. Bell. He also can be seen performing onstage with Stevie Ray Vaughan for a 1980s episode of Austin City Limits. Following a tragic car wreck in 1997 that resulted in the death of his fiance and drummer, Clark has slowed down on touring and recording in the years since.

• William Clarke (musician) - (March 29, 1951 – November 2, 1996) Born in Inglewood, California, harmonica blues player and singer William Clarke was an electric Chicago blues musician. He performed for a variety of labels, such as Alligator Records, Watch Dog Records and Rivera Records, to name a few.

• Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater - Born January 10, 1935 in Macon, Mississippi, Clearwater moved to Chicago at the age of fifteen. He is a modern electric rhythm and blues and Chicago blues guitarist and singer, and has recorded numerous solo albums for Rounder Records, Delmark Records, and many other labels.

• Climax Blues Band - Formed in 1968 and based in Stafford, England, this band performs blues-rock in the Chicago blues vein. In their later years, they have also ventured into the arena of soft rock, roots rock and pop rock. The band has released numerous albums for labels like Sire Records and Warner Bros. Records, among others.

• Albert Collins - (October 1, 1932 – November 24, 1993) Born in Leona, Texas, Collins was one of the true greats of the Texas blues scene. An original songwriter, as well as an accomplished guitarist and singer, Collins performed with some of the best musicians the state of Texas had to offer. He released many recordings over his career, and enjoyed renewed appreciation for his art during the blues revival of the 1960s.

• Johnny Copeland - (March 27, 1937 – June 3, 1997) Born in Haynesville, Louisiana, Copeland was both an acoustic and electric Texas blues guitarist and vocalist who only enjoyed real success late in his career during the 1990s. He recorded numerous solo albums, many for Rounder Records.

• Shemekia Copeland - Born April 10, 1979 in Harlem, New York, Copeland is a soul-blues singer who is backed by an electric blues band. She is the daughter of Johnny Copeland (the Texas blues guitarist) and has released four solo albums for Alligator Records.

• Sean Costello (April 16, 1979 - April 15, 2008), from Atlanta, Georgia, was a blues guitarist and singer, whose early records were remarkably faithful to the original Chicago blues. His music later developed a strong soul influence, though his death at the age of 28 cut his career tragically short.

• James Cotton - Born July 1, 1935 in Tunica, Mississippi, James Cotton is a harmonica blues player and singer who got his start performing the Delta blues, later moving to Chicago and performing Chicago blues. Performing both in acoustic and electric settings, Cotton has recorded dozens of albums for labels like Alligator Records and Verve. He also leads his own James Cotton Blues Band.

• Pee Wee Crayton - (December 18, 1914 – June 25, 1985) Born in Rockdale, Texas, Crayton was a frequent member of the Texas blues scene. Both an acoustic and electric blues guitarist and singer, he also performed rhythm and blues and West Coast blues when moving to Los Angeles, California in 1935. He recorded at least nine albums over his career, in addition to collaborations with other artists. Among the labels he worked for were Crown Records and Charly Records, among others.

• Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974) Born in Forest, Mississippi, Crudup was a guitarist and singer that began his career performing Delta blues. He later moved to Chicago, where he continued performing Delta blues and also Chicago blues, both in acoustic and electric environments. It was not until the blues revival of the 1960s that Crudup received widespread appreciation from audiences, performing until his death.

[edit] D

• Larry Dale - Born January 7, 1923 in Wharton, Texas, Dale was an R&B guitarist and occasional singer active in the 1950s and 1960s. He performed in New York City with a band that included Champion Jack Dupree and Mickey Baker. He was an exponent of East Coast blues, and released several recordings for Grover Records.

• Lester Davenport - Born January 16, 1932 in Tchula, Mississippi and moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1945, Davenport is an electric Chicago blues harmonica player and vocalist. He is also sometimes called "Mad Dog" Davenport. He recorded his first album in 1991 for Earwig Records, and then in 2002 released I Smell a Rat for Delmark Records.

• Larry Davis - (December 4, 1936 – April 19, 1994) Born in Kansas City, Missouri but raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, Davis was an acoustic and electric Texas blues and soul blues musician who was greatly influenced by Albert King. He recorded often with Fenton Robinson. He released albums for many labels, including Bullseye Blues, Duke Records, and many others.

• Debbie Davies - Born August 22, 1952 in Los Angeles, California, Davies is a modern electric blues guitarist and singer who has performed for a variety of bands. She has also done some solo work and worked with John Mayall, recording at least nine albums. Her current record label is Telarc.

• Jimmy Dawkins - Born October 24, 1936 in Tchula, Mississippi and moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1955, Dawkins is a guitarist and vocalist and a fixture of the modern electric Chicago blues scene. His first album was Fast Fingers, recorded in 1969 for Delmark Records, for whom he recorded several others. He has also worked for the Earwig Records label, among others.

• Bo Diddley - (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008) Born in McComb, Mississippi, Bo Diddley was a guitarist, vocalist and songwriter and was universally recognized as one of the founding fathers of rock and roll music and a pioneering figure in electric Chicago blues and rhythm and blues. He had a very long career that began in the 1950s and continued nearly until his death. He recorded well over thirty albums for labels like Checker Records, Chess Records and Atlantic Records, among others.

• Willie Dixon - (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, double-bassist, singer–songwriter, record producer and guitarist Dixon was a key figure on the acoustic and electric Chicago blues scene. He was heavily involved in helping start the careers of artists like Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters, to name only a few. He recorded for numerous labels. He also performed jump blues and would sometimes sang Jive.

[edit] E

• Ronnie Earl - March 10, 1953. Born Ronnie Horvath in Queens, New York, electric blues guitarist known as Mr. Intensity. Earl toured with Roomful of Blues before forming The Broadcasters in 1988, and has recorded and/or appeared on over 50 albums.

[edit] F

• The Fabulous Thunderbirds - Formed in 1974 in Austin, Texas by Jimmie Vaughan and others, this group played the gambit of music. They perform blues-rock, Texas blues and flat-out rock and roll. Vaughan left the group in 1990.

• Sue Foley - Born March 29, 1968 in Ottawa, Ontario, Foley is a contemporary electric blues guitarist and singer who also performs roots rock. She has been compared to the likes of Bonnie Raitt by critics, and currently lives in Austin, Texas. She has released numerous albums for Ruf Records.

• Carol Fran - Born October 23, 1933 in Lafayette, Louisiana, Fran is a pianist and singer that performs everything from soul-blues and swamp blues to modern electric blues. She has released at least four solo albums since 1992, her most recent in 2000 in collaboration with Clarence Hollimon for JSP Records.

• Denny Freeman - Born August 7, 1944 in Orlando, Florida, Freeman is a Texas blues electric guitarist and pianist better known for his collaborations with Jimmie Vaughan and his songwriting for the Vaughan Brothers.

• Lowell Fulson - (March 31, 1921 – March 6 199) Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, Fulson was an innovator who performed guitar and sang in a variety of blues-based genres, particularly soul-blues, electric Texas blues and West Coast blues, as well as Urban blues. He performed with musicians like Alger "Texas" Alexander, and also had a long recording career releasing many solo albums.

[edit] G

• Grady Gaines - Born May 14, 1934 in Waskom, Texas, Gaines is an electric Texas blues and jazz blues tenor saxophonist who recorded with Little Richard in the 1950s. He also backed other musicians like Clarence Hollimon, Joe Medwick (musician) and James Brown. He released a few records for Black Top Records.

• Curtis Griffin - Born March 17, 1930 in Poole, Louisiana, Griffin is an electric blues juke joint guitarist and singer who recorded for Jewel Records.

• Buddy Guy - Born July 30, 1936 in Lettsworth, Louisiana, Buddy Guy is one of the most recognizable artists from the Chicago blues scene. Both an acoustic and electric guitarist, Guy is also an accomplished singer. He has recorded countless albums for labels like Chess Records, Vanguard Records and Silvertone Records.

[edit] H

• Slim Harpo - (January 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970) Born in Lobdell, Louisiana, Harpo is one of the best known blues neck-rack harmonica players from his era despite having begun his career as a guitarist. He played everything from Louisiana blues, swamp blues, electric blues and harmonica blues, and was also a singer.

• Z. Z. Hill

• Andrew "Smokey" Hogg - (January 27, 1914 – May 1, 1960) Born in Westconnie, Texas, Hogg began his career as a rhythm and blues musician. An acoustic and electric guitarist, singer and pianist, Hogg performed with musicians in Texas like Black Ace.

• John Lee Hooker - (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Hooker was an acoustic and electric guitarist and singer whom was perhaps the most well known exponent of the Delta blues sound, though he also performed Detroit blues. He also recorded countless albums under the names of Texas Slim, Delta John and, of course, John Lee Hooker.

• Lightnin' Hopkins - (March 15, 1912 – January 30, 1982) Born Sam Hopkins in Centerville, Texas, Hopkins was an acoustic and electric guitarist and a major exponent of Texas blues. 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.

• Joe "Guitar" Hughes - (c. 1938 – May 19, 2003) Born in Houston, Texas. One of the unsung heroes of the Texas blues scene, Hughes was an acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist. He performed with Bobby "Blue" Bland in the 1960s and released a series of solo albums in the late 1980s and 1990s for labels like Black Top Records and Double Trouble Records.

[edit] J

• Elmore James - (January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) Born in Richland, Mississippi, James was a slide guitarist on acoustic and electric guitars and also a singer. He performed both Delta blues and Chicago blues, though he is most well known for the latter. His technique influenced a generation of guitarists that followed.

• Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson - Born April 11, 1939 is a Chicago blues electric guitarist who is better known for his long stints working with Muddy Waters in the 1970s. In 1980 he began doing solo work, though his debut album was released in 1976 for Evidence Records. He has also recorded for Telarc and Bullseye Blues.

[edit] K

• Freddie King - (September 3, 1934 – December 28, 1976) Born in Gilmer, Texas, King was an electric rhythm and blues and Texas blues guitarist who performed with a long list of blues greats throughout his career. He recorded extensively in the 1960s for King Records.

• Eddie Kirkland - Born August 16, 1928 in Jamaica, Kirkland is a soul-blues electric guitarist that has performed with artists like John Lee Hooker and many others. He has had an extensive recording career, with over ten solo albums to date, among them one for Telarc and another for JSP Records.

• Alexis Korner - (April 19, 1928 – January 1, 1984) Born in Paris, France Korner spent most of his career in England, and was a major exponent of British blues and blues-rock. A guitarist and vocalist, he released dozens of recordings over his long career.

• Smokin' Joe Kubek - Born November 30, 1956) in Grove City, Pennsylvania but raised mostly in Texas, Kubek is an electric blues guitarist and vocalist in the Texas blues tradition. His band, "The Smokin' Joe Kubek Band", released their debut album in 1991 for Bullseye Blues titled Steppin' Out Texas Style. He first had his start backing musicians like Freddie King. Since their debut, Kubek has released other albums with his band and also has done some solo work.

[edit] L

• Papa Lightfoot - (March 2, 1924 – November 28, 1971) Born in Natchez, Mississippi, Lightfoot was a blues harp player and singer who did recordings for Sultan Records, Aladdin Records and Excello Records. He was not well known until the blues revival of the 1960s.

[edit] M

• Lonnie Mack - Born July 18, 1941, in Harrison, Indiana, Mack performs as an electric guitarist and singer. He is widely considered to be the founder of the blues-rock guitar genre (1963 hits: "Memphis" and "Wham!"), but also received critical acclaim as one of the best of the early "blue-eyed soul" singers.

• Taj Mahal (musician) - Born May 17, 1942 in New York City, Taj Mahal performs on guitar, harmonica and banjo and also sings. Mahal explores a variety of genres which he fuses into his music, including zydeco. He performs in both acoustic and electric settings, depending on the material.

• Ron Martinez - Born July 23, 1969 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Ron is a contemporary electric and acoustic blues guitarist and singer who also performs roots rock. He has performed numerous shows in New York City and Jersey City area. Most of his performs solo or with his trio are only available in podcasts and Youtube.

• Little Milton - (September 7, 1934 – August 4, 2005) Born in Iverness, Mississippi, Little Milton (born Milton Campbell) performed everything from soul-blues to outright boogie-woogie and rhythm and blues. A guitarist and singer, he released countless albums over a long career.

• McKinley Mitchell - (December 25, 1934 – January 18, 1986) Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Mitchell was a Chicago-based soul-blues and rhythm and blues singer who started out performing Gospel music. He recorded singles for Boxer Records, Chess Records (with Willie Dixon), and a variety of other labels. Most of his releases are still only available on records. In his later career he returned to Mississippi and recorded "I Won't Be Back for More" in 1984.

• Mike Morgan (blues musician) - Born November 30, 1959, Morgan is bandleader of "Mike Morgan & the Crawl", a Texas blues band. He is a guitarist and blues harp player, and has released a series of albums for Black Top Records.

[edit] N

• Ollie Nightingale - (c. 1936 – October 26, 1997) Born in Batesville, Tennessee, Nightingale was a soul-blues singer often backed by bands performing on electric instruments. He recorded several albums for Ecko Records.

[edit] O

• Omar & the Howlers - Formed in the early in 1980s in Austin, Texas and led by guitarist Omar Kent Dykes, the group performs electric Texas blues, rock and roll and blues-rock. The band is especially popular in Europe. The group has released at least sixteen albums for labels like Columbia Records, Watermelon Records and Black Top Records, to name just a few. Dykes has also had a successful career as a solo artist.

[edit] P

• Chris Pati - A studio musician with two albums under his own name to date for the Modern Voices label, Pati is an electric blues guitarist who has backed artists like Michael Damian, Chris Jasper and Souled Out, among many others. He leads his own Chris Pati Band and also works with his group Blufire, with whom he released the blues album "Black Chair".

[edit] R

• Johnny Ray -Born November 7, 1949 in Chicago is a bass player, singer and mandolin player who has recorded albums for Earwig Records, Alligator Records, Ray has appeared in blues documentaries and with the likes of LC Walker and Inetta Visor. Now lives in Little Rock, Arkansas.

• Louisiana Red -Born March 23, 1932 in Bessma Alabama is a guitarist,singer and harmonica player who has recorded albums for labels like JSP Records,L+R,Earwig Records,Tomato and Hightone Records

• Robert Bradley's Blackwater Surprise - Robert Bradley, frontman - born February 2, 1950 in Evergreen, Alabama. Inspired by The Blind Boys of Alabama, Bradley's sound is somewhere between blues, soul, and alternative rock. Bradley has also appeared in an HBO movie and appeared in performances with musician friend Kid Rock.

• Sherman Robertson - Born October 27, 1948 in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, United States is a guitarist, songwriter and singer who recorded two albums in the 1990s for Atlantic/Code Blue Records.

• Duke Robillard - Born October 4, 1948 in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Robillard is a founding member of Roomful of Blues. An electric guitarist, he has performed jazz blues and swing music in addition to his contemporary blues sound. He has released dozens of albums for labels like Stony Plain Records, Rounder Records and Virgin Records.

• Fenton Robinson - (September 23, 1935 – November 25, 1997) Born in Minter City, Mississippi, Robinson performed everything from soul blues and Texas blues to what he is most remembered for, the Chicago blues. He was discovered by Bobby Bland, who soon got him recording for Duke Records. A guitarist and singer, Robinson played both acoustic and electric guitar. He appeared on "Texas Flood" by Larry Davis in 1958. In the 60s he moved to Chicago, where he later recorded extensively for the famous Alligator Records label.

• Tad Robinson - Born June 24, 1956 in New York City, Robinson is a soul-blues singer and blues harp player, singing much in the vein of Robert Cray or Joe Cocker. He has released at least four solo albums, two for Delmark Records and two for Severn Records.

• David Reo -(August 9), Born in Providence, RI, Reo plays Electric blues guitar, vocalist and writer who performed blues-rock and Chicago blues. He released two solo albums and also co-wrote The Preachers Blues Band, Yeah Baby, album. Also wrote television sitcoms including Happy Days & Blossom.

[edit] S

• Barkin' Bill Smith - Born in Mississippi, Smith has lived in Detroit and St. Louis before he moved to his current home in Chicago. Smith is a Chicago blues singer who does solo work and also has sang for electric blues bands like Dave Specter & the Bluebirds. He received his name from Homesick James Williamson in the 1950s, but did not record his own album until 1991 for Delmark Records with Dave Specter, and then a follow-up release in 1994 titled Gotcha!.

• George Harmonica Smith - (April 22, 1924 – October 2, 1983) Born in Helena, Arkansas, Smith was a Harmonica blues blues harp player and singer and exponent of West Coast blues, spending most of his career in Los Angeles, California. Playing harmonica on an amplified microphone as well as in acoustic settings, he released at least four albums under his own name.

• Maynard Silva - Electric blues guitarist with two records to date, 1996s Wall of Tin for Eagle Records and 1997s Howl at the Moon for Wolf Records.

[edit] T

• Tarheel Slim - (September 24, 1924 – August 21, 1977) Born in Wilson, North Carolina as Alden Bunn, Tarheel Slim was a guitarist and singer. Early in his career he was an exponent of Piedmont blues, rhythm and blues and East Coast blues. Later in his career he began performing in these styles on electric guitar.

• Susan Tedeschi - Born November 9, 1970 in Boston, Massachusetts, Tedeschi is a contemporary blues guitarist and singer who began singing at age four. She has released at least six albums to date, her latest two for the Verve Records label.

• TV Slim - (February 10, 1916 – October 21, 1969) Born in Houston, Texas, Oscar "TV Slim" Wills began his career playing guitar and singing country blues, later venturing into the use of an electric guitar. 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 Records.

[edit] V

• Stevie Ray Vaughan - (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) Born in Dallas, Texas, Vaughan was a major force on the Texas blues scene and a talented blues-rock guitarist and singer. He was leader of the band Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble, formerly known as Triple Threat. He recorded many albums for Epic Records, and was one of the more popular blues musicians of the modern era.

[edit] W

• T-Bone Walker - (May 28, 1910 – March 16, 1975) Born in Linden, Texas as Aaron Thibeaux Walker, T-Bone Walker is easily one of the most well known artists of Texas blues. An acoustic and electric guitarist, Walker recorded a slew of albums for record labels like Capital Records, Imperial Records, Brunswick Records, and many others.

• Baby Boy Warren - (August 13, 1919 – July 1, 1977) Born in Lake Providence, Louisiana as Robert Warren, but raised in Memphis, guitarist and singer Warren was a stalwart of the Detroit blues scene. He released some solo albums and worked also as a backup artist for people like Sonny Boy Williamson.

• Muddy Waters - (April 4, 1915 – April 30, 1983) Born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi as McKinley Morganfield, slide guitarist Waters began his career playing the Delta blues. However, he is most known as a Chicago blues musician. He is easily one of the more recognizable names in blues music.

• Johnny "Guitar" Watson - (February 3, 1935 – May 17, 1996) Born in Houston, Texas, Watson had his beginnings performing Texas blues, a tradition he embraced until his death in 1996 while touring in Japan. He also performed rhythm and blues and funk music, and released well over twenty albums for various record labels.

• Smokey Wilson - (born July 11, 1936, Glen Allan, Mississippi^[1]), he has spent most of his career performing West Coast blues and Juke Joint blues in Los Angeles, California. He has recorded at least eleven albums for record labels such as P-Vine Records, Bullseye Blues and Texmuse Records. His career got off to a late start, with international recognition eluding him until the 1990s.

• U.P. Wilson - (September 4, 1934 – September 22, 2004) Born in Catto Parish, Shreveport, Louisiana, Wilson was an electric blues guitarist and singer who performed Texas blues. He recorded three albums for JSP Records, the first being Boogie Boy: Return of the Texas Tornado.

[edit] Y

• Zora Young - Born January 21, 1948 in West Point, Mississippi, Zora Young is a forebearer of the Chicago blues scene, being an accomplished soul-blues and Gospel blues singer who has performed with everyone from B.B. King to Buddy Guy and Albert King. She has toured Europe several times and has released many albums for labels like Delmark Records, Deluge Records and Black Lightning Records.

[edit] Z

• John "Guitar Johnny Hi-Five" Zachary - born February 3, 1941, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, plays electric blues guitar and bass guitar, and is a songwriter who performed blues-rock, Texas blues, and Chicago blues. Zachary had his beginnings performing Texas blues in Houston, Texas. He is a forebearer of the Chicago blues scene, being an accomplished soul-blues and rhythm and blues songwriter who has performed with Sly Johnson, McKinley Mitchell, Aretha Franklin and others.

[edit] References

• Allmusic