Blues Hall of Fame
Jimmy Johnson helped define the Chicago Blues of the 1960s and 70s with a series of live performances and recordings. Some of his best known songs were captured at Bob Koester's Delmark Records. Jimmy wrote several songs recorded by other artists and toured the world performing with the likes of...
Bob Koester was the founder of the Delmark label who began recording blues and jazz in 1953 in St. Louis. He later moved to Chicago where he helped define the music scene by recording artists such as Bud Powell, Donald Byrd, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Luther Allison, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Sonny Stitt...
Taj Mahal helped expand the scope of the blues by incorporating elements of world music and a style of guitar playing that was rooted firmly in the African traditions that helped form the musical genre. His goal was to play music that he felt inside him. If others appreciated it, then he saw that...
Dr. John became the unofficial ambassador of New Orleans music by showcasing the mystic and voodoo rich traditions of southern Louisiana, which has become the backdrop to many Mardi Gras celebrations over the years. As a soloist and bandleader, he recorded million selling albums that have produced...
Jimmy Johnson was a co-founder of the Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama along with fellow studio musicians Roger Hawkins, Barry Beckett and David Hood. The four musicians, known as the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, started playing together in and around Jimmy’s hometown of Sheffield, Alabama,...
John Mayall has been an enduring voice on the modern blues scene since the early 1960s. Mayall is a self-taught musician well versed on guitar, harmonica, and piano. Following art school and military service, Mayall entered the British blues scene in 1962 at Alexis Korner’s burgeoning blues club....
Allen Toussaint represented one of the quintessential New Orleans sounds. Toussaint’s compositions and songs seamlessly blend blues, jazz, ragtime, R&B, and funk to create an amalgam that is unique and readily identifiable to New Orleans. Starting on piano in the 1940s and initially influenced...
Elvin Bishop was inspired to play the guitar because as an early teen he noticed that the girls at the dance seemed to always hang out with the guitarist! When he discovered the blues, he was hooked, as he had found the style of music he felt could best express his feelings. Over his long and...
Robert Cray walked into his local music store as a kid and dreamed of owning his own Fender Stratocaster. After years of playing the blues, his career took off to the point that Fender approached him to create a Robert Cray model Stratocaster, which thrilled him to no end. He was also honored to...
Eddy Clearwater was a teenager when he left Mississippi to live with his uncle in Chicago. There he discovered his love for the blues. As a guitarist, Eddy became a sought after session player in the area. As a songwriter, Eddy added to the modern blues movement in the 1950’s with a string of...