A Month of Blues History
January
This is the history of the blues – one month at a time.
January 1
1877/1888 – Memphis blues songster Frank Stokes is commonly listed as being born January 1, although reliable sources disagree on whether the year was 1877 or 1888. His guitar partnership with Dan Sane and the Beale Street Sheiks helped establish the early Memphis blues guitar tradition.
1918 – Blues singer, guitarist and mandolinist Johnny “Man” Young was born January 1, 1918, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. After moving north, he became one of the few mandolin players to make the instrument work inside postwar electric Chicago blues.
1934 – Houston blues guitarist and bandleader Clarence Green was born January 1, 1934, in Mont Belvieu, Texas. A longtime fixture of Houston’s Fifth Ward scene, he led the Rhythmaires and also worked sessions for Duke Records.
1947 – Texas blues singer, guitarist and producer Gary B.B. Coleman was born January 1, 1947, in Paris, Texas. He worked with Freddie King and Lightnin’ Hopkins, then became an important performer, promoter and producer for Ichiban Records.
January 2
1901/1902 – Delta blues guitarist Rubin “Rube” Lacy was born January 2 in Pelahatchie, Mississippi, but sources disagree on whether the year was 1901 or 1902. His bottleneck style was admired in Mississippi blues circles before he left secular music for the ministry.
1903 – Classic female blues singer and pianist Edith North Johnson was born January 2, 1903, in St. Louis. Her small but valuable recorded catalog includes “Honey Dripper Blues,” a title associated with the nickname later used by pianist Roosevelt Sykes.
1939 – Chicago blues guitarist Albert “Little Smokey” Smothers was born January 2, 1939, in Tchula, Mississippi. After moving to Chicago he worked with Howlin’ Wolf, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, James Cotton and other major figures in the city’s electric blues scene.
January 3
1904 – Texas blues guitarist Joel Hopkins was born January 3, 1904, in Centerville, Texas. The older brother of Lightnin’ Hopkins traveled with Blind Lemon Jefferson and later appeared on recordings with his famous younger brother.
1952 – Brownie McGhee recorded “Heart in Sorrow” in New York City on January 3, 1952. The session also produced “Operator Long Distance,” preserving McGhee in a stripped-down voice-and-guitar setting.
1956 – Howlin’ Wolf recorded “Smokestack Lightning” in Chicago on January 3, 1956, for Chess Records. Built around a hypnotic one-chord figure and Wolf’s unmistakable vocal attack, it became one of the defining records of Chicago blues.
January 4
1905 – Delta blues singer and guitarist Tommy McClennan was born January 4, 1905, according to his death certificate, although Big Bill Broonzy later gave a different birth year and place. McClennan’s fierce Bluebird recordings included “Bottle It Up and Go,” “Cross Cut Saw” and “New Highway No. 51.”.
1926 – Mississippi blues guitarist Eddie Cusic was born January 4, 1926, in Wilmot, Mississippi. He later taught and played with Little Milton and became an important keeper of the Leland-area Delta blues tradition.
1961 – John Lee Hooker recorded “Want Ad Blues” during a Chicago session on January 4, 1961, for Vee-Jay Records. The same session produced “I’m Going Upstairs,” “I’m Mad Again” and several other titles.
January 5
1923 – Record producer Sam Phillips was born January 5, 1923, near Florence, Alabama. At Memphis Recording Service and Sun Records, Phillips recorded crucial early work by Howlin’ Wolf, B. B; King, Junior Parker, James Cotton and other blues and R&B artists.
1932 – New Orleans singer Johnny Adams was born January 5, 1932. Nicknamed the “Tan Canary” for his extraordinary range, Adams moved easily among blues, gospel, R&B and soul while remaining a distinctive Louisiana voice.
1954 – Blues guitarist, singer and historian Libby Rae Watson was born January 5, 1954, in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Her work with Delta elders including Sam Chatmon, Big Joe Williams and Eugene Powell helped preserve and transmit Mississippi blues traditions.
January 6
1933 – Country blues singer and guitarist Spark Plug Smith recorded “Broad Blues,” “Billy Goat Blues” and “Richmond Virginia Blues” in New York City on January 6, 1933. The session is a rare dated glimpse into the recorded career of an otherwise obscure prewar bluesman.
1935 – Chicago blues singer Ricky Allen was born January 6, 1935, in Nashville, Tennessee. He became a strong club and recording presence in Chicago and is best remembered for the blues hit “You Better Be Sure.”.
1951 – Blues singer and harmonica player Kim Wilson was born January 6, 1951, in Detroit. As frontman of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and a solo artist, he became one of the leading modern interpreters of postwar electric blues and blues harmonica.
January 7
1916 – Detroit blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Bobo Jenkins was born January 7, 1916, in Forkland, Alabama. After moving north he became an important independent blues figure, operating his own Detroit studio and Big Star label.
1923 – Blues guitarist Joe Willie Wilkins was born January 7, 1923, in Davenport, Mississippi. His sharp electric guitar appeared behind Sonny Boy Williamson II and other artists associated with the Memphis and Delta-to-Chicago blues corridor.
1954 – Muddy Waters recorded Willie Dixon’s “Hoochie Coochie Man” in Chicago on January 7, 1954. With Little Walter, Otis Spann, Jimmy Rogers and Willie Dixon in the studio, the session captured one of the classic ensembles in Chicago blues history.
January 8
1900 – Fiddler and blues musician Joe “Fiddlin’ Joe” Martin was born January 8, 1900, in Edwards, Mississippi. He worked around the Delta with musicians including Son House and Willie Brown and became part of the region’s blues and string-band tradition.
1903/1904 – Tampa Red was born January 8 in Smithville, Georgia, but sources disagree on whether the year was 1903 or 1904. His clean slide guitar, prolific songwriting and long Chicago recording career made him one of the most influential blues artists of the prewar and early postwar eras.
1928 – Detroit blues guitarist and singer Eddie Burns was born January 8, 1928, in Belzoni, Mississippi. After moving to Detroit, he worked with John Lee Hooker and became a durable link between Delta roots and Motor City electric blues.
January 9
1935 – Chicago blues guitarist Kenneth “Buddy” Scott was born January 9, 1935, in Goodman, Mississippi. He became a respected Chicago bandleader and club musician whose work carried a strong Mississippi foundation into the city’s electric blues scene.
1941 – Soul-blues singer Barbara Carr was born January 9, 1941, in St. Louis. After early work with Oliver Sain and Chess Records, she built a long independent career combining blues, Southern soul and sharp-edged storytelling.
1953 – Pianist Gus Jenkins recorded “Eight Ball” on January 9, 1953, for Chess Records, with Big Walter Horton on harmonica and Willie Nix on drums. The record is an excellent example of the blues and R&B traffic between Los Angeles musicians and Chicago labels.
January 10
1897/1899 – Mississippi blues guitarist and singer Sam Chatmon was born January 10, although sources differ on whether the year was 1897 or 1899. A member of the Mississippi Sheiks family circle, he later became a beloved elder of the Delta blues revival.
1935 – Chicago blues guitarist Eddy Clearwater was born January 10, 1935, in Macon, Mississippi. His left-handed guitar style mixed West Side blues, Chuck Berry-inspired drive and gospel-rooted showmanship.
1934 – Texas blues guitarist and singer Bob Kirkpatrick was born January 10, 1934. His career connected Texas blues traditions with later electric and soul-blues performance.
January 11
1880 – Texas gospel-blues singer and eccentric instrumentalist Washington Phillips was born January 11, 1880, in Freestone County, Texas. His mysterious zither-like accompaniment and sacred recordings remain among the most distinctive sounds in early recorded blues-related music.
1924 – Swamp-blues singer and harmonica player Slim Harpo was born January 11, 1924, near Lobdell, Louisiana. His Excello recordings, including “I’m a King Bee” and “Scratch My Back,” gave Louisiana blues a spare, infectious groove that traveled worldwide.
1936 – Louisiana pianist and singer Katie Webster was born January 11, 1936, in Houston, Texas. Known as the “Swamp Boogie Queen,” she became a major Gulf Coast blues and R&B performer and a formidable pianist.
January 12
1904 – Mississippi Fred McDowell was born January 12, 1904, in Rossville, Tennessee. After settling near Como, Mississippi, his hypnotic slide guitar and hill-country repertoire became internationally influential during the folk-blues revival.
1928 – Singer Ruth Brown was born January 12, 1928, in Portsmouth, Virginia. Her string of Atlantic hits helped define rhythm and blues, and her later advocacy was central to the creation of the Rhythm & Blues Foundation.
1943 – Chicago blues guitarist Johnny Laws was born January 12, 1943, in Chicago. He became a longtime club performer and bandleader rooted in the city’s South and West Side electric blues traditions.
January 13
1959 – Blues guitarist Kid Ramos was born January 13, 1959, in Fullerton, California. His work with the James Harman Band, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and his own groups made him a leading modern practitioner of West Coast and traditional electric blues.
1964 – Harmonica master Big Walter Horton took part in a Chicago recording session on January 13, 1964. Horton’s enormous amplified tone and phrasing made him one of the most influential harmonica players in postwar blues.
January 14
1936 – Singer and guitarist Clarence Carter was born January 14, 1936, in Montgomery, Alabama. His records blended blues, Southern soul and country influences, with his guitar work and baritone voice giving Muscle Shoals productions a distinctive edge.
1938 – New Orleans pianist, songwriter and producer Allen Toussaint was born January 14, 1938. His compositions and arrangements helped shape Crescent City R&B, funk and soul while remaining deeply grounded in the city’s blues piano tradition.
1944 – Louisiana guitarist Paul “Lil’ Buck” Sinegal was born January 14, 1944, in Lafayette. A master of blues, zydeco and swamp-pop guitar, he worked extensively with Clifton Chenier and Buckwheat Zydeco.
January 15
1930 – Chicago blues guitarist Earl Hooker was born January 15, 1930, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. His extraordinary slide technique and versatility made him a musicians’ musician who recorded with Muddy Waters, Junior Wells and many others.
1935 – Kokomo Arnold recorded “Old Black Cat Blues,” also known as “Jinx Blues,” on January 15, 1935. Arnold’s rapid slide guitar and forceful singing made him one of the most prolific Chicago-based country blues recording artists of the 1930s.
1943 – Blues and roots musician Sparky Rucker was born January 15, 1943, in Knoxville, Tennessee. His repertoire connects blues, spirituals, work songs and civil-rights history through performance and storytelling.
January 16
1896 – Gospel-blues guitarist Reverend Robert Wilkins was born January 16, 1896, in Hernando, Mississippi. His prewar blues and later sacred recordings include the song transformed into “The Prodigal Son,” which carried his Memphis guitar style to later audiences.
1928 – Blues guitarist and pianist Guitar Pete Franklin was born January 16, 1928, in Indianapolis. Influenced by Scrapper Blackwell and Leroy Carr, he recorded and accompanied Chicago blues artists including Sunnyland Slim, Tampa Red and John Brim.
1942 – Texas guitarist and singer Barbara Lynn was born January 16, 1942, in Beaumont. A rare left-handed female electric guitarist in early-1960s R&B, she blended blues, Gulf Coast rhythm and soul on hits such as “You’ll Lose a Good Thing.”.
January 17
1902 – St. Louis blues pianist Stump Johnson was born January 17, 1902. His barrelhouse playing and recordings form part of the important St. Louis blues tradition that linked ragtime, boogie and urban blues.
1946 – Soul-blues singer Frank Bey was born January 17, 1946, in Millen, Georgia. After years away from the spotlight, his late-career recordings brought renewed attention to a powerful voice rooted in gospel and blues.
1966 – Blues singer and guitarist E.G. Kight was born January 17, 1966, in Dublin, Georgia. Her songwriting and Southern vocal style have made her a durable contemporary blues performer.
January 18
1933 – Soul-blues singer Vernon Garrett was born January 18, 1933, in Omaha, Nebraska. His career moved through gospel, R&B and blues and included recordings for labels such as Kent and ICA.
1950 – Texas blues guitarist Chris Holzhaus was born January 18, 1950. He became a respected Austin-area player associated with the city’s blues and roots scene.
1973 – Guitarist and producer Luther Dickinson was born January 18, 1973, in Memphis. Through the North Mississippi Allstars and work with Delta and hill-country musicians, he helped carry North Mississippi blues traditions into a new generation.
January 19
1925 – Blues pianist Henry Gray was born January 19, 1925, in Kenner, Louisiana. He spent years in Howlin’ Wolf’s Chicago band before returning south, where his rolling piano became a cornerstone of Louisiana blues.
1936 – Drummer and harmonica player Willie “Big Eyes” Smith was born January 19, 1936, in Helena, Arkansas. A longtime member of Muddy Waters’ band, he helped define the rhythmic feel of classic postwar Chicago blues.
1999 – Mississippi guitarist and singer Christone “Kingfish” Ingram was born January 19, 1999, in Clarksdale. His rapid rise brought a young Delta-born voice and guitar style to the international contemporary blues scene.
January 20
1922 – Blues singer Piney Brown was born January 20, 1922, in Birmingham, Alabama. His career stretched across Kansas City, Chicago and other blues centers, and his name became associated with a long-running blues and R&B tradition.
1936 – Guitarist Luther Tucker was born January 20, 1936, in Memphis. He became one of the great supporting guitarists in Chicago and West Coast blues, working with Little Walter, Muddy Waters, James Cotton and many others.
1936 – Chicago blues and boogie-woogie pianist Erwin Helfer was born January 20, 1936. A student and friend of older Chicago pianists, he helped preserve the city’s piano-blues tradition through performance, recording and teaching.
January 21
1936/1937 – New Orleans guitarist and singer Snooks Eaglin was born January 21, although sources disagree on whether the year was 1936 or 1937. His huge repertoire and dazzling fingerstyle guitar made him one of the city’s most distinctive blues-rooted musicians.
1935 – Lead Belly recorded for John and Alan Lomax in Wilton, Connecticut, on January 21, 1935. The session belongs to the remarkable period when the Louisiana-born songster’s vast repertoire was being documented for new audiences.
1948 – Chicago blues singer Zora Young was born January 21, 1948, in West Point, Mississippi. After moving to Chicago, she became a powerful club and festival vocalist closely connected to the city’s traditional blues community.
January 22
1895 – Classic blues singer Eva Taylor was born January 22, 1895, in St. Louis. Her recordings with Clarence Williams and other early jazz-blues musicians place her squarely in the formative years of recorded blues.
1908 – Harmonica player Hammie Nixon was born January 22, 1908, in Brownsville, Tennessee. His long partnership with Sleepy John Estes helped preserve the distinctive country-blues sound of West Tennessee.
1928 – Chicago blues bassist and bandleader Big Mojo Elem was born January 22, 1928, in Itta Bena, Mississippi. He worked with Arthur “Big Boy” Spires and other musicians in the city’s postwar blues scene.
January 23
1888 – Lead Belly is widely listed as being born January 23, 1888, near Mooringsport, Louisiana, although some historical records create uncertainty around details of his birth. His enormous repertoire of blues, work songs, ballads and folk material became foundational to American roots music.
1951 – Muddy Waters recorded “Long Distance Call” in Chicago on January 23, 1951. The performance became one of his enduring Chess sides and helped establish the spare, amplified sound that defined early Chicago blues.
1967 – Chicago blues guitarist Ronnie Baker Brooks was born January 23, 1967, in Chicago. The son of Lonnie Brooks, he grew up inside the city’s blues culture and developed a modern style rooted in his father’s electric tradition.
January 24
1923 – Carolina blues singer and guitarist Guitar Shorty, also known as David William Kearney Fortescue, is commonly listed as being born January 24, 1923. His biography is unusually tangled, but his surviving recordings preserve a colorful rural blues voice.
1950 – Chicago blues guitarist Johnny B. Moore was born January 24, 1950, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. After moving north he worked with Koko Taylor and became a respected traditional Chicago guitarist and singer.
1954 – Chicago soul-blues guitarist and singer Vance Kelly was born January 24, 1954, in Chicago. His decades on the South Side club circuit and leadership of the Backstreet Blues Band made him a durable representative of modern Chicago bar blues.
January 25
1897 – Gospel-blues singer and slide guitarist Blind Willie Johnson was born January 25, 1897, near Brenham, Texas, according to the commonly cited date. His gravelly voice and haunting slide guitar made recordings such as “Dark Was the Night” landmarks of American sacred music.
1899 – Tennessee country blues singer and guitarist Sleepy John Estes was born January 25, 1899, in Ripley, Tennessee. His conversational vocals and partnership with Hammie Nixon helped define the Brownsville blues tradition.
1938 – Singer Etta James was born January 25, 1938, in Los Angeles. Her career moved through blues, R&B, soul and rock, but her commanding phrasing and later blues albums secured her place among the genre’s great vocalists.
January 26
1934 – New Orleans pianist and bandleader Huey “Piano” Smith was born January 26, 1934. His rolling piano, comic songwriting and Clowns recordings helped define the exuberant R&B sound that grew directly from New Orleans blues.
1950 – Singer, songwriter and guitarist Paul Pena was born January 26, 1950, in Hyannis, Massachusetts. A gifted blues-rooted musician, he wrote “Jet Airliner” and later became widely known for his remarkable exploration of Tuvan throat singing.
1961 – Mississippi blues singer and harmonica player Terry “Harmonica” Bean was born January 26, 1961, in Pontotoc, Mississippi. His music preserves a raw North Mississippi country-blues approach built around guitar, harmonica and solo performance.
January 27
1914 – Texas blues singer and guitarist Smokey Hogg was born January 27, 1914, near Westconnie, Texas. His prolific postwar recordings helped carry rural Texas blues into the emerging electric and R&B market.
1914 – Mississippi Matilda, born Matilda Witherspoon, was born January 27, 1914, in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Her rare recordings with Eugene Powell and Willie Harris preserve an important female voice from the prewar Mississippi blues world.
1918 – Slide-guitar giant Elmore James was born January 27, 1918, in Richland, Mississippi. His electrified version of the “Dust My Broom” riff became one of the most recognizable sounds in blues guitar history.
January 28
1906 – Blind street singer and guitarist Arvella Gray was born January 28, 1906, in Somerville, Texas. He later became a familiar figure around Chicago’s Maxwell Street, performing an older country-blues repertoire in the heart of the electric blues city.
1933 – South Carolina blues singer and guitarist Drink Small was born January 28, 1933, in Bishopville, South Carolina. Known as the “Blues Doctor,” he became one of the strongest modern representatives of Piedmont and Carolina blues traditions.
1935 – Blues musician and educator D.C. Minner was born January 28, 1935, in Rentiesville, Oklahoma. His work with Selby Minner, the Down Home Blues Club and the Dusk ’til Dawn Blues Festival made Rentiesville an important stop on the modern blues map.
January 29
1902 – Mississippi blues guitarist Hayes McMullan was born January 29, 1902, near New Hope in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. A contemporary of Charley Patton, he was recorded late in life and left valuable evidence of early Delta guitar traditions.
1923 – Chicago blues guitarist Eddie Taylor was born January 29, 1923, in Benoit, Mississippi. His rhythmic guitar was central to Jimmy Reed’s classic Vee-Jay sound, and Taylor also recorded a strong body of work under his own name.
1941 – Blues and soul singer Bobby King was born January 29, 1941, in Lake Charles, Louisiana. His career included work with artists across blues, R&B and roots music, reflecting the strong Louisiana-to-West Coast musical connection.
January 30
1957 – Blues singer Janiva Magness was born January 30, 1957, in Detroit. Her powerful contemporary blues and soul recordings eventually earned major Blues Music Awards, including B. B; King Entertainer of the Year.
1958 – Chicago blues singer Karen Carroll was born January 30, 1958, in Chicago. The daughter of guitarist Mack Carroll, she grew up inside the city’s blues culture and became known for a strong gospel- and soul-inflected vocal style.
January 31
1906 – Blues pianist Roosevelt Sykes was born January 31, 1906, in Elmar, Arkansas. Nicknamed “The Honeydripper,” his rolling boogie and barrelhouse piano became a major influence in St. Louis, Chicago and postwar blues.
1915 – Folklorist Alan Lomax was born January 31, 1915, in Austin, Texas. His field recordings with his father and later independent work documented Lead Belly, Muddy Waters, Mississippi Fred McDowell and countless other tradition bearers.
1944 – Blues harmonica player and singer Charlie Musselwhite was born January 31, 1944, in Kosciusko, Mississippi. After learning in Memphis and Chicago, he became one of the most enduring harmonica voices to emerge from the 1960s blues revival.