List of Chicago blues musicians

Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois in the 1950s by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums, piano, and sometimes saxophone, and making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier. The best-known Chicago blues musicians include singer/songwriters and bandleaders such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Willie Dixon; guitar players such as Freddie King and Buddy Guy; and "harp" (blues slang for harmonica) players such as Little Walter and Charlie Musselwhite. In the 1960s and subsequent decades, the Chicago blues style and sound spread around the US and the UK (e.g. the Climax Blues Band) and beyond.

Notable Chicago blues musicians include:

A

*Alberta Adams

*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.

*Kokomo Arnold - (February 15, 1901 – November 8, 1968) Slide guitarist and vocalist Arnold was born in Lovejoy's Station, Georgia and began his career performing in New York. During the latter half of the 1920s he moved to Chicago and began performing Chicago blues, though he stopped recording for good in 1938 because he was not making a livable wage performing. His first recording was for Decca Records. Many compilation albums have been released in the years since, such as those from Document Records.

B

*Big Three Trio - This group formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1946 with members Willie Dixon, Bernardo Dennis and Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston. After only a year together Dennis left the band and was replaced by Ollie Crawford. The band performed acoustic and electric Chicago blues as well as jump blues. They disbanded in 1952. They worked for labels like Okeh Records and Columbia Records.

*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.

*Scrapper Blackwell - (February 21, 1903 – October 27, 1962) Born in Syracuse, North Carolina as Francis Hillman Blackwell, Scrapper Blackwell performed acoustic Piedmont blues and was an early exponent of Chicago blues who worked closely with pianist Leroy Carr. He also backed singer Black Bottom McPhail. Document Records has issued most of his work in three volumes.

*Blind Blake - (c. 1895–1937) Born in Jacksonville, Florida, guitarist and singer Blind Blake played almost every form of music imaginable. He performed early ragtime on guitar, Piedmont blues, country blues, Delta blues and Chicago blues. A musician of great importance, he recorded frequently for Paramount Records.

*Mike Bloomfield

*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.

*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.

*Big Bill Broonzy - "Big Bill" was born William Lee Conley Broonzy in Scott County, Mississippi on June 26, 1893 or 1898 (the exact year is unclear). Broonzy was an acoustic country blues musician who performed Chicago blues, playing guitar and mandolin accompanied by his own singing. Broonzy recorded over 350 compositions over his career.

*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.

*George "Wild Child" Butler - Born October 1, 1936 in Hernando, Mississippi, he is an electric guitarist, blues harp player and vocalist performing Chicago blues. He recorded in the 60s and 70s for Mercury Records. 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.

C

*Eddie C. Campbell - Born May 6, 1939 in Duncan, Mississippi and moving to Chicago at age ten, electric blues guitarist and singer Campbell plays Chicago blues. The lists of blues musicians he has performed with includes Howlin' Wolf and Luther Allison. His debut album was for the old Mr. Blues Records label, and in years since he has record for others like Blind Pig Records and JSP Records, to name a few.

*Joe Carter - Born November 6, 1927 in Midland, Georgia and moving to Chicago in his thirties, Carter was a slide guitarist who performed blues-rock, harmonica blues and electric Chicago blues. His first band was popular on the local scene and featured blues harp player Lester Davenport and fellow guitarist Smokey Smothers. He only recorded in the 1970s and 1980s, when he developed throat cancer and was forced to quit. His records were done for the Barrelhouse Records and JSP Records label.

*Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston - Born in Sumrall, Mississippi, Caston was a rhythm and blues pianist and a member of the Chicago blues band Big Three Trio, along with Willie Dixon and Ollie Crawford. He recorded for labels like Okeh Records and Columbia Records with the group. After the Big Three Trio broke up, he began to perform soul music and urban contemporary gospel as an organist.

*William Clarke - (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.

*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.

*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.

D

*Lester Davenport - Born January 16, 1932 in Tchula, Mississippi and moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1945, Davenport is an eclectric 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.

*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 and vocalist who performed electric Chicago blues, rock and roll and rhythm and blues. He had a very long career that began in the 1950s. He recorded well over twenty 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 acoutsic 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.

*Champion Jack Dupree -

F

*Steve Freund
*The Four Aces

G

*Lacy Gibson
*Jazz Gillum

*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.

*Phil Guy

H

*The Harlem Hamfats - Formed in 1936 by musicians that were not even from Harlem, New York led by trumpeter Herb Morand, the group performed mostly Chicago blues and East Coast blues while backing jazz musicians. The members were Kansas Joe McCoy, Charlie McCoy, Odell Rand, John Lindsay, Horace Malcolm, Pearlis Williams and Freddie Flynn. The group's inclusion in the dirty blues genre is due to such songs as "Gimme Some of that Yum Yum" and "Lets Get Drunk and Truck".

*Big Walter Horton - (April 6, 1917 – December 8, 1981) Born in Horn Lake, Mississippi and also known as Shakey Walter Horton, Horton was one of the better-known harmonica players of his day. He played the gambit, including Memphis blues, Chicago blues, juke joint blues and harmonica blues. He performed both acoustic as well as amplified harmonica, and was also a singer.
*Howlin' Wolf
*J.B. Hutto

J

*James Cotton Blues Band

*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.

*Jimmy Johnson (blues guitarist) (b. 1928)

*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.

*L.V. Johnson
*Syl Johnson
*Little Johnny Jones (pianist)

K

*Big Daddy Kinsey
*Donald Kinsey
*Cub Koda

L

*Johnny Laws
*Little Charlie & the Nightcats
*John Littlejohn
*Robert Lockwood, Jr.
*J. B. Lenoir

M

*Willie Mabon
*Big Maceo Merriweather
*Magic Sam
*Ron Martinez
*Mellow Fellows
*Rice Miller
*Lee Montgomery
*Little Brother Montgomery
*Aaron Moore
*Nick Moss
*Matt "Guitar" Murphy
*Charlie Musselwhite

N

*Robert Nighthawk

P

*Dion Payton
*Morris Pejoe
*Pinetop Perkins

*Brewer Phillips - Born November 16, 1924 in Coila, Mississippi, Phillips was a Chicago blues and juke joint blues guitarist and singer active from the 1970s to the 1990s. He performed on both acoustic and electric guitar, and recorded for Delmark Records and JSP Records.

*Snooky Pryor

R

*Alex "Easy Baby" Randle
*A.C. Reed
*Jimmy Reed
*Tampa Red

*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 "Blue" 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 (blues musician) in 1958. In the 60s he moved to Chicago, where he later recorded extensively for the famous Alligator Records label.

*Rockin' Johnny Burgin

*Jimmy Rogers
*Otis Rush

*Ken Saydak
*Son Seals
*Eddie Shaw
*Johnny Shines
*Sunnyland Slim

*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 followup release in 1994 titled "Gotcha!".

*Byther Smith
*Otis Smokey Smothers
*Otis Spann
*Dave Specter
*Arbee Stidham
*Studebaker John
*Sugar Blue
*Hubert Sumlin

T

*Eddie Taylor
*Hound Dog Taylor
*Koko Taylor

W

*Little Walter
*Washboard Sam

*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.
*Junior Wells
*Golden "Big" Wheeler
*Homesick James Williamson
*Sonny Boy Williamson

Y

*Jimmy Yancy
*Johnny Young (Chicago blues)
*Mighty Joe Young

*Zora Young - Born January 21, 1948 in West Point, Mississippi, Zora Young is a forebearer of the Chicago blues scene, a soul-blues and Gospel blues singer who has toured Europe several times and has released many albums for labels like Delmark Records, Deluge Records and Black Lightning Records.

Further reading

*Allmusic