Genre: Blues
Referred to as the "Rob Zombie of the blues", Iron Mike Norton broke onto the blues scene in 2000 (as Michael Shaun Norton) with his debut CD Spooky & The Blue Voodoo Tribe. The release shook up blues critics across the United States with its dark themes, over the top guitar work and Mike's powerful roadhouse vocal style. A self described gear... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 00s
The two-man duo comprising the Black Keys, singer/guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, were in their early twenties when their debut, The Big Come Up, was issued in 2002. From Akron, OH, they play close-to-the-bone, raw blues-rock, the only instrumentation being Auerbach's guitar, Carney's drums, and the occasional organ. Auerbach... [+] Read More
Genre: Blues
Decades Active: 70s, 80s, 90s
Brewer Phillips is one of the more unique sidemen in Chicago blues history. His guitar playing combines the rhythmic sense of an Eddie Taylor (an early childhood friend and fishing buddy) with the stinging lead work of a Pat Hare. Born on a plantation in Coila, MS, he came under the early tutelage of Memphis Minnie and grew up with the legends... [+] Read More
Genre: Alternative/Indie
BLUES TRASH !!! What is blues trash you ask? Well it's pounding riffs played with a distored wall of sound topped with wailing harp. The Aces equal Blues Trash ! Finalist in the 2009 International Blues Challenge held in Memphis TN
Genre: Blues
Decades Active: 50s, 60s
No two ways about it, the most influential slide guitarist of the postwar period was Elmore James, hands down. Although his early demise from heart failure kept him from enjoying the fruits of the '60s blues revival as his contemporaries Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf did, James left a wide influential trail behind him. And that influence... [+] Read More
Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 90s, 00s
G. Love & Special Sauce are a trio from Philadelphia, PA. Their laid-back, sloppy blues sound is quite unique, as it encompasses the sound/production of classic R&B and recent rap artists (the Beastie Boys, in particular). The group -- G. Love (born Garrett Dutton) on guitar/vocals/harmonica, Jeff Clemens on drums, and Jim Prescott on upright... [+] Read More
Genre: Blues
Decades Active: 60s, 70s
Alligator Records, Chicago's leading contemporary blues label, might never have been launched at all if not for the crashing, slashing slide guitar antics of Hound Dog Taylor. Bruce Iglauer, then an employee of Delmark Records, couldn't convince his boss, Bob Koester, of Taylor's potential, so Iglauer took matters into his own hands. In 1971,... [+] Read More
Genre: Blues
Decades Active: 50s, 60s
Newcomers to his considerable legacy could be forgiven for questioning J.B. Lenoir's gender upon first hearing his rocking waxings. Lenoir's exceptionally high-pitched vocal range is a fooler, but it only adds to the singular appeal of his music. His politically charged "Eisenhower Blues" allegedly caused all sorts of nasty repercussions upon... [+] Read More
Genre: Blues
Decades Active: 50s, 60s, 70s
There's simply no sound in the blues as easily digestible, accessible, instantly recognizable, and as easy to play and sing as the music of Jimmy Reed. His best-known songs -- "Baby, What You Want Me to Do," "Bright Lights, Big City," "Honest I Do," "You Don't Have to Go," "Going to New York," "Ain't That Lovin' You Baby," and "Big Boss Man" --... [+] Read More
Genre: Blues
Decades Active: 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s
He was beloved worldwide as the king of the endless boogie, a genuine blues superstar whose droning, hypnotic one-chord grooves were at once both ultra-primitive and timeless. But John Lee Hooker recorded in a great many more styles than that over a career that stretched across more than half a century.
"The Hook" was a Mississippi...
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Genre: Rock/Pop
Decades Active: 90s, 00s
After a long and semi-successful tenure as leader of scuzz-rock heroes Pussy Galore, Jon Spencer took his anti-rock vision and hooked up with guitarist Judah Bauer and drummer Russell Simins to create the scuzz-blues trio the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. Postmodern to the core, this is an ironic name; little of what this band plays resembles... [+] Read More
Genre: Blues
Decades Active: 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s
Cited as a prime early influence by rockabilly pioneer Charlie Feathers, Mississippi Delta bluesman Junior Kimbrough's modal, hypnotic blues vision remained a regional sensation for most of his career. He finally transcended the confines of his region in the early '90s, when he appeared in the 1991 movie Deep Blues and on its Anxious/Atlantic... [+] Read More
Genre: Blues
Decades Active: 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s
Sonny Boy Williamson was, in many ways, the ultimate blues legend. By the time of his death in 1965, he had been around long enough to have played with Robert Johnson at the start of his career and Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Robbie Robertson at the end of it. In between, he drank a lot of whiskey, hoboed around the country, had a successful... [+] Read More