List of Chicago blues musicians

Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois, in the 1950s, in which the basic instrumentation of Delta blues—acoustic guitar and harmonica—is augmented with electric guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums, piano, harmonica played with a microphone and an amplifier, and sometimes saxophone. The best-known Chicago blues musicians include singer-songwriters and bandleaders Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Willie Dixon; guitar players such as Elmore James, Luther Allison, and Buddy Guy; and harp (blues slang for harmonica) players such as Little Walter, Paul Butterfield, and Charlie Musselwhite. Since the 1960s, the Chicago blues style and sound has spread around the US, the UK and beyond.

Guitarist Buddy Guy performing at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in 2006


A
  • Alberta Adams (July 26, 1917 – December 25, 2014)
  • Linsey Alexander (born July 23, 1942, Holly Springs, Mississippi). Moved to Chicago in 1959, where he was active in the South Side music scene and became one of the hardest-working bluesmen in Chicago. He is known for his strong voice and guitar with his own style of electric blues. His album Been There Done That, recorded by Delmark Records in 2012, has been critically acclaimed as pure blues of the finest quality.
  • Luther Allison (August 17, 1939, Widener, Arkansas – August 12, 1997). Moved to Chicago as a teenager and became a major force in the blues scene there, primarily as an electric guitarist and also as a singer. He released many albums for Alligator Records, based in Chicago.
  • Kokomo Arnold (February 15, 1901, Lovejoy's Station, Georgia – November 8, 1968). Slide guitarist and vocalist who began his career in New York City and moved to Chicago in the latter half of the 1920s. He stopped recording for good in 1938, because he was not making a livable wage performing. His first recording was for Decca Records. Several compilation albums of his work have been released, such as those issued by Document Records.

B

C

D
  • Lester Davenport (January 16, 1932, Tchula, Mississippi – March 17, 2009). Moved to Chicago in 1945. Electric Chicago blues harmonica player and vocalist, sometimes called Mad Dog Davenport. He recorded his first album in 1991 for Earwig Music. He recorded I Smell a Rat for Delmark Records in 2002.
  • Blind John Davis (December 7, 1913, Hattiesburg, Mississippi – October 12, 1985). Accomplished blues, jazz, and boogie-woogie pianist who recorded with Sonny Boy Williamson, Tampa Red, Big Bill Broonzy, Merline Johnson and others.
  • Jimmy Dawkins (October 24, 1936, Tchula, Mississippi – April 10, 2013). Moved to Chicago in 1955. Guitarist and vocalist and a fixture of the modern electric Chicago blues scene. His first album, Fast Fingers, was recorded in 1969 for Delmark Records, for which he recorded several others. He also recorded for the Earwig Music and other labels.
  • Bo Diddley (December 30, 1928, McComb, Mississippi – June 2, 2008). Guitarist and vocalist who performed electric Chicago blues, rock and roll and rhythm and blues. He had a long career, beginning in the 1950s. He recorded well over twenty albums for Checker Records, Chess Records, Atlantic Records and other labels.
  • Willie Dixon (July 1, 1915, Vicksburg, Mississippi – January 29, 1992). Double bassist, singer, songwriter, record producer and guitarist, a key figure in the acoustic and electric Chicago blues scene. He was involved in helping start the careers of Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters, to name only two. He recorded for numerous labels. He also performed jump blues and would sometimes sing jive.
  • Lefty Dizz (April 29, 1937, Osceola, Arkansas – September 7, 1993) Born Walter Williams in Osceola, Arkansas, and before his four-year tour of duty in the U.S. Air Force ended in 1956, Lefty began to play the guitar. When he returned to Chicago later that year, he came under the tutelage of Lacy Gibson and Earl Hooker. In 1958, Lefty joined Sonny Thompson's road band, playing rhythm 'n' blues throughout the country. During a gig in Seattle, a left-handed teenage guitarist named Jimi Hendrix, hung out with, and was influenced by, Lefty Dizz. In 1960, Lefty moved to Detroit, where he remained for four years, working with Junior Cannady and John Lee Hooker. From 1964 to 1971, Lefty worked with Junior Wells, during which time they toured the U.S., Canada, Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Fiji Islands and Indonesia. Lefty then joined Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers, performing extensively until Hound Dog's passing in late 1975. He then formed his own band, Lefty Dizz and Shock Treatment. His most well-known compositions include "Bad Avenue", "I Found Out", If I Could Just Get My Hands on What I Got My Eyes On", Funny Acting Woman", "Somebody Stole My Christmas" and "Ain't It Nice to be Loved". Lefty Dizz succumbed to esophageal cancer on September 7, 1993, at age 56, in Chicago.
  • Johnny Drummer (born March 1, 1938). Singer, muli-instrumentalist, and songwriter.
  • Little Arthur Duncan (February 5, 1934, Indianola, Mississippi – August 20, 2008). Moved to Chicago in 1950 and accompanied Earl Hooker in the 1950s. He released three solo albums.
  • Champion Jack Dupree (born 1908, 1909, or 1910 [disputed], died January 21, 1992). Pianist.

E

F
  • Paul Filipowicz (born March 24, 1950). Singer, guitarist, harmonica player and songwriter.[2] A 2015 inductee to the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame.[3]
  • Billy Flynn (born August 11, 1956). Electric guitarist, singer and songwriter.
  • "Baby Face" Leroy Foster (February 1, 1923 – May 26, 1958). Singer, guitarist, and drummer.
  • Little Willy Foster (April 5 or April 20, 1922 – November 25, 1987). Harmonica player, singer, and songwriter.
  • Steve Freund (born July 20, 1952). Guitarist, singer, bandleader and record producer.

G

H
  • Harmonica Hinds (born January 4, 1945, Trinidad). Considered one of the most talented Chicago blues musicians, having played with many blues artists for more than five decades. He is still active on the Chicago blues scene.
  • Shakey Jake Harris (April 12, 1921, Earle, Arkansas – March 2, 1990). Singer, harmonica player and songwriter, long associated with his nephew, Magic Sam.
  • Homesick James (April 30, 1910 [uncertain] – December 13, 2006). Slide guitarist. Elmore James was his cousin.
  • Earl Hooker (January 15, 1930, Clarksdale, Mississippi – April 21, 1970). Moved to Chicago with his family in the early 1940s. Slide guitarist who left an indelible mark on the Chicago blues. Having learning the rudiments of slide guitar from Robert Nighthawk, he joined Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm in 1949 and toured the South. He returned to Chicago in the mid-1950s and became much in demand as a session player, recording with artists like Pinetop Perkins, Muddy Waters and his cousin, John Lee Hooker.
  • Big Walter Horton (April 6, 1921, Horn Lake, Mississippi – December 8, 1981). Also known as Shakey Walter Horton, he was one of the better-known harmonica players of his day. He played the gamut, including Memphis blues, Chicago blues, juke joint blues and harmonica blues. He played both acoustic and amplified harmonica and was also a singer.
  • Howlin' Wolf[6] (June 10, 1910 – January 10, 1976). Singer, guitarist and harmonica player.
  • J. B. Hutto (April 26, 1926 – June 12, 1983). Guitarist and singer.

I
  • Daniel Ivankovich (Chicago Slim) (born November 23, 1963). Founding member of the Chicago Blues All-Stars. He has performed and recorded with many Chicago blues legends, including Otis Rush, Magic Slim and Junior Wells. He is also an orthopedic surgeon and a co-founder and medical director of OnePatient-Global Health Initiative, an organization that provides medical care to the poor in Chicago and abroad.

J
  • Elmore James (January 27, 1918, Richland, Mississippi – May 24, 1963). Slide guitarist, playing acoustic and electric guitars, and singer. He performed Delta blues and Chicago blues and is best known for the latter. His technique influenced a generation of guitarists who followed.
  • Jimmy Johnson (born November 25, 1928). Guitarist and singer.
  • Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson (born April 11, 1939). Electric guitarist best known for his long stints with Muddy Waters in the 1970s. In 1980 he began doing solo work. His debut album was released by Evidence Records in 1976. He has also recorded for Telarc and Bullseye Blues.
  • Luther "Snake Boy" Johnson (born Lucius Brinson Johnson, August 30, 1941, Davisboro, Georgia – March 18, 1976). Electric guitarist, singer and songwriter, also known as Snake or Georgia Boy and sometimes billed as Luther King or Little Luther (he recorded under the latter name for Chess Records in the 1960s).
  • L.V. Johnson (December 25, 1946 – November 22, 1994). Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
  • Syl Johnson (born July 1, 1936). Blues and soul singer and record producer.
  • Floyd Jones (July 21, 1917 – December 19, 1989). Singer, guitarist and songwriter.
  • Johnny "Yard Dog" Jones (June 21, 1941 – September 16, 2015). Chicago blues and soul blues singer, guitarist, harmonica player, and songwriter.
  • Little Johnny Jones (November 1, 1924 – November 19, 1964). Pianist and singer.
  • Moody Jones (April 8, 1908, Earle, Arkansas – March 23, 1988). Guitarist, bass player, and singer. Performed on Maxwell Street in the 1940s. A significant figure in the development of postwar Chicago blues, backing his cousin Floyd Jones, Snooky Pryor and others on singles released in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
  • Tail Dragger Jones – (born September 30, 1940) is an American Chicago blues singer. He has performed since the 1960s and released four albums to date. Jones gained a certain notoriety in 1993, after being convicted of second-degree murder for the killing of fellow blues musician, Boston Blackie.

K

L
  • Pierre Lacocque (October 13, 1952). Harmonica player, songwriter, and Mississippi Heat band leader.
  • Sammy Lawhorn (July 12, 1935 – April 29, 1990). Guitarist.
  • Johnny Laws (born January 12, 1943). Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
  • Sam Lay (born March 20, 1935). Drummer and singer.
  • Bonnie Lee (June 11, 1931 – September 7, 2006). Singer.
  • J. B. Lenoir (March 5, 1929 – April 29, 1967). Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
  • Hip Linkchain (November 10, 1936 – February 13, 1989). Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
  • John Littlejohn (April 16, 1931 – February 1, 1994). Electric blues slide guitarist.
  • Little Walter (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968). Harmonica player and singer.
  • Robert Lockwood, Jr. (March 27, 1915 – November 21, 2006). Guitarist.
  • Louisiana Red (March 23, 1932 – February 25, 2012). Guitarist, harmonica player and singer.
  • Professor Eddie Lusk (September 21, 1948 – August 26, 1992). Session and touring musician.
  • Willie James Lyons (December 5, 1938 – December 26, 1980). Guitarist, singer and songwriter.[9] He worked primarily in the West Side of Chicago from the late 1950s up to his death. Lyons was an accompanist to many musicians who included Luther Allison, Jimmy Dawkins and Bobby Rush. A noted performer in his own right, Lyons work was influenced by B.B. King and Freddie King, T-Bone Walker and Lowell Fulson.[10] His only solo album was Chicago Woman, recorded in France in 1979.[10]

M
  • Willie Mabon (October 24, 1925 – April 19, 1985). Pianist, singer and songwriter.
  • Magic Sam (February 14, 1937 – December 1, 1969). Guitarist and singer.
  • Liz Mandeville. Singer, songwriter, guitarist, rubboard player, music producer, owner of the record label Blue Kitty Music.
  • Earring George Mayweather (September 27, 1928 – February 12, 1995) was born in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. Although he only recorded a single solo album, Mayweather's harmonica work appeared on recordings by J. B. Hutto and Eddie Taylor.[11]
  • Holle Thee Maxwell (born October 17, 1945, Chicago). Singer and songwriter with a six-decade career. She is known for her command of a wide range of genres. She replaced Tina Turner as vocalist with Ike Turner's band. Bobby Bland used one of the songs she wrote for his critically acclaimed album Come Fly with Me.
  • L. C. McKinley (October 22, 1918 – January 19, 1970). Guitarist.
  • Andrew "Blueblood" McMahon (April 12, 1926 – February 17, 1984). Bass guitarist, singer and songwriter.[12] McMahon played bass guitar in Howlin' Wolf's backing ensemble for over a decade. He also backed a number of other Chicago-based blues musicians on record.[12]
  • Big Maceo Merriweather (March 31, 1905 – February 23, 1953). Pianist and singer.
  • Little Brother Montgomery (April 18, 1906 – September 6, 1985). Pianist and singer.
  • Johnny B. Moore (born January 24, 1950). Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
  • Nick Moss (born December 15, 1969). Guitarist, bassist, harmonica player and singer.
  • Matt "Guitar" Murphy (December 29, 1929 – June 15, 2018). Guitarist. He was associated with the bands The Blues Brothers and Howlin' Wolf.
  • Charlie Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944). Electric blues harmonica player and bandleader.

N
  • Robert Nighthawk (November 30, 1909 – November 5, 1967). Guitarist, harmonica player and singer.

O

P

R

S

T
  • Tampa Red (January 8, 1904 [uncertain] – March 19, 1981). Guitarist and songwriter.
  • Eddie Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985). Electric blues guitarist and singer.
  • Eddie Taylor Jr. ((March 27, 1972 – March 8, 2019) Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Son of the above.
  • Hound Dog Taylor (April 12, 1915 – December 17, 1975). Guitarist and singer.
  • Koko Taylor (September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009). Singer.
  • Melvin Taylor (born March 13, 1959). Guitarist.
  • Johnny Temple (October 18, 1906 – November 22, 1968). Guitarist and singer.

W

Y

See also

Further reading
  • Allmusic
  • Keil, Charles (1991) [1966]. Urban Blues. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 0-226-42960-1.

References
  1. Edward Komara; Peter Lee (July 2004). The Blues Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 301. ISBN 978-1-135-95832-9.
  2. "Bluesletter : Washington Blues Society" (PDF). Wablues.org. October 2018. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  3. "Big City Blues". Bigcitybluesmag.com. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  4. Ryan Olsen (2006). "Jimmie Gordon". In Komara, Edward (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Blues. New York: Routledge. p. 640. ISBN 978-0-415-92699-7. OL 7496252M.
  5. "Jimmie Gordon | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
  6. Gilliland, John (1969). "The Tribal Drum: The Rise of Rhythm and Blues" (audio). Pop Chronicles. University of North Texas Libraries.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link) Show 4.
  7. Eagle, Bob L.; LeBlanc, Eric S. (May 1, 2013). "Blues: A Regional Experience". Books.google.co.uk. ABC-CLIO. p. 165.
  8. "The Dead Rock Stars Club – The 1980s". Thedeadrockstarsclub.com. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  9. Colin Larkin, ed. (2006). Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Fourth ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 1541. ISBN 9780195313734.
  10. "Willie James Lyons | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
  11. Edward Komara; Peter Lee. The Blues Encyclopedia. Books.google.co.uk. p. 664. Retrieved October 9, 2016.
  12. Komara, Edward M. (December 9, 2006). "Encyclopedia of the Blues". Books.google.co.uk. Psychology Press. p. 672.
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