Blues

The Unlikely Story of the 1960s Revival of Delta Blues Giant Son House

After shifts in African American musical styles, the Great Depression and the Great Migration consigned him to obscurity, Son House recorded live music in the 1960s. 

Protege of Gospel Blues Great Reverend Gary Davis Seeks to Preserve Legacy

Stefan Grossman started studying Davis's fingerpicked style after the older man had settled in the Bronx in the 1960s. 

Is a 23 Year-Old Named Kingfish Bridging the Past and Future of the Blues?

by Carlo Rotella

Although he came on the scene as a guitar hotshot, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram's artistic ambitions go beyond the bombastic soloing of the blues-rock genre and incorporate more of the traditional breadth of the blues as African American music. 

Chicago Landmarks Commission Authorizes $250,000 for Rehab of Muddy Waters's House

The grant advances the renovation of the house on Chicago's south side for use as a museum and educational space. 

"Juke": Bluesman Bobby Rush on the Roots of Rock and Roll

by Bobby Rush with Herb Powell

Blues musician Bobby Rush's new autobiography chronicles his life and career, and the way that the appropriation of Black music into American popular culture often left Black entertainers behind. Read here how he remembers the roots of rock and roll. 

The Baddest Man in Town

by Eric McHenry

Writer Eric McHenry recounts picking up the documentary trail (started in the 1970s by John Russell David) of the notorious "Stagger Lee" Shelton, whose reign of terror in early 20th century St. Louis became immortalized in song and legend.

The Devil Had Nothing to Do With It

by Greil Marcus

The music writer looks at three recent books on the Mississippi blues singer and guitarist Robert Johnson, looking to pull his story out of the realm of myth. 

A Song That Changed Music Forever

by David Hajdu

With “Crazy Blues,” Mamie Smith opened the door to a surge of powerfully voiced female singers who defied the conventions of singerly gentility to make the blues a popular phenomenon in the 1920s.

We Insist: A Century Of Black Music Against State Violence

Like music itself, this spirit of resistance takes many shapes, but has never been silenced.

"I Imagine Everything Happened on Beale Street": Remembering Memphis in "Brother Robert"

by Annye C. Anderson and Preston Lauterbach

In an excerpt from the new book Brother Robert, Annye Anderson, sister of blues legend Robert Johnson, describes time spent with Johnson in Memphis, and the trends in music, movies, and black politics that shaped Johnson's personality as well as his innovative music.

Exclusive First Look at New Photograph of Blues Legend Robert Johnson

Even if he didn’t sell his soul at the Crossroads, the massively influential Mississippi guitarist remains shrouded in mystery. An upcoming memoir from his 94-year-old stepsister brings new depth to Johnson’s mythos—and the third verified picture of him in existence.