Albert Collins, "The Master of the Telecaster," "The Iceman," and "The Razor Blade" was robbed of his best years as a blues performer by a bout with liver cancer that ended with his premature death on November 24, 1993. He was just 61 years old. The highly influential, totally original Collins, like the late John Campbell, was on the cusp of a... [+] Read More

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Unilaterally respected around his Crescent City homebase as both a performer and a songwriter, guitarist Earl King was a prime New Orleans R&B force for more than four decades. Born Earl Johnson, the youngster considered the platters of Texas guitarists T-Bone Walker and Gatemouth Brown almost as fascinating as the live performances of local... [+] Read More

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A talented early New Orleans trumpeter, Collins started out his career playing as a teenager in various brass bands, including the Young Eagles, the Columbia Band, and the Young Tuxedo Band. In 1924, Collins went to Chicago, where he was Louis Armstrong's replacement with King Oliver; he also recorded with Jelly Roll Morton. He returned to New... [+] Read More

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New Orleans R&B legend James "Sugar Boy" Crawford was born in the Crescent City on October 12, 1934. He grew up singing in his Baptist church choir, additionally learning piano and playing trombone in the Booker T. Washington High School marching band. In 1950 Crawford and eight classmates formed the Sha-Weez; according to Marv Goldberg's... [+] Read More

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