Blues History – October

This is the history of the blues – one month at a time.

October 1

1932 – Albert “The Iceman” Collins was born October 1, 1932, in Leona, Texas. Inspired by T-Bone Walker and Lightnin’ Hopkins, Collins developed a sound nobody could mistake: a Fender Telecaster, unusual minor tuning, a capo high on the neck, finger-and-thumb picking and a treble-heavy tone sharp enough to shave ice.

1932 – Albert Collins, born October 1, 1932, in Leona, Texas, forged one of blues guitar’s most unmistakable sounds with his Telecaster, capo and icy attack. Famous for roaming out of clubs while still playing, he influenced Stevie Ray Vaughan and Robert Cray and won a Grammy with Showdown. before his death in 1993.

1936 – George “Wild Child” Butler was born October 1, 1936, in Autaugaville, Alabama, the youngest of nine children. The nickname came early: family stories say little George crawled around parties tugging at women’s skirts until his mother dubbed him “Wild Child. ” By 12 he was teaching himself harmonica, reportedly even fashioning one from a discarded Prince Albert tobacco can.

October 2

1951 – Blues guitarist, singer and former drummer Henry “Coco” Montoya was born October 2, 1951, in Santa Monica, California. Raised on big-band jazz, salsa, doo-wop and rock ’n’ roll, he started on drums at 11 and guitar two years later. A 1969 Albert King performance at Los Angeles’ Shrine Auditorium hit him so hard he later said it brought tears to his eyes.

1951 – Coco Montoya, born October 2, 1951, in Santa Monica, went from Albert Collins’ drummer and guitar protégé to a decade with John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers. His 1995 solo debut earned a W.C. Handy Award, and his upside-down stringing remains part of a fiercely individual blues style.

1936 – Clifton James was born October 2, 1936, in Chicago, one of 14 children, and became an engine-room force in Chicago blues. He learned percussion on chair bottoms, tin cans and anything he could hit, joking that this occasionally included “a few heads. ” By his teens he was backing Memphis Slim and Elmore James.

1936 – Chicago drummer Clifton James, born October 2, 1936, helped power Bo Diddley’s classic Chess recordings and claimed a major hand in creating the famous Bo Diddley beat. He also worked with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy and Willie Dixon. Rolling Stone later ranked him among its 100 Greatest Drummers.

October 3

2014 – B.B. King’s October 3, 2014 House of Blues show in Chicago became his final live performance. After falling ill from dehydration and exhaustion, he canceled eight remaining tour dates. The 15-time Grammy winner died in Las Vegas on May 14, 2015, at the age of 89.

1954 – Stevie Ray Vaughan was born October 3, 1954, in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas, and grew into the guitar hero who helped drag the blues back into the mainstream with tone and Texas-sized nerve. Inspired first by older brother Jimmie Vaughan, Stevie taught himself guitar, haunted Deep Ellum clubs while still in high school and moved to Austin in 1972.

1954 – Stevie Ray Vaughan, born October 3, 1954, in Dallas, helped drive blues back into the mainstream with explosive guitar work and Double Trouble. From Texas Flood and sobriety to Grammy success and a 2015 Rock Hall induction, his influence towers over modern blues. He died in a helicopter crash on August 27, 1990, at the age of 35.

1951 – Chicago blues harmonica master Billy Branch was born October 3, 1951, in Great Lakes, Illinois. Raised in Los Angeles, he was 10 when he bought a harmonica at Woolworth’s and started picking out melodies. After returning to Chicago, Branch encountered the blues up close at the 1969 American Folk Blues Festival in Grant Park, produced by Willie Dixon.

October 4

1948 – Blues guitar master Duke Robillard was born Michael John Robillard on October 4, 1948, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. Early rockers caught his ear, but the British blues boom sent him digging backward to Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Robert Johnson.

1948 – Duke Robillard, born October 4, 1948, in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, co-founded Roomful of Blues and later played with the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Bob Dylan. A two-time Grammy nominee and multiple Blues Music Award winner, the master of blues, swing and jazz is still recording and touring, releasing Blast Off. in 2026.

1936 – Blues singer Big Pete Pearson was born October 4, 1936, in Kingston, Jamaica, and raised in Austin, Texas. Music grabbed him ridiculously early. By nine he was slipping into bars to sing, eventually working rough Austin joints including the Victory Grill and Ernie’s Chicken Shack; Pearson later remembered those days plainly: “Playing was dangerous, real dangerous.”.

1936 – Big Pete Pearson, born October 4, 1936, in Kingston, Jamaica, began singing in Texas bars as a child before becoming the “King of Arizona Blues. ” A powerful singer, mentor and international performer, Pearson carried his blues from Phoenix to Europe and continued performing into his late eighties. He died December 24, 2025, at the age of 89.

October 5

1949 – Singer, songwriter and harmonica master Rick Estrin was born October 5, 1949, in San Francisco, California. At 12, his sister handed him Ray Charles’ The Genius Sings the Blues, opening the door to Jimmy Reed, Champion Jack Dupree, Nina Simone and a lifetime of blues. He bought his first harmonica at 15.

1949 – Rick Estrin, born October 5, 1949, in San Francisco, turned lessons from Little Walter and Sonny Boy Williamson into his own sharp blend of harmonica, humor and songwriting. From Little Charlie & The Nightcats to his award-winning current band, Estrin remains one of the blues’ great showmen and is still touring at the age of 76.

1899 – Texas bluesman George “Little Hat” Jones was born October 5, 1899, in Bowie County, Texas, near Hudson. His father became ill when George was young, and after drought ruined the family crops, Jones left school at 13 to help keep things afloat. The blues would eventually offer another line of work.

1899 – George “Little Hat” Jones, born October 5, 1899, in Bowie County, Texas, went from farm work and construction to San Antonio street blues. His entire recording career fit into three Okeh sessions in 1929 and 1930, including work with Texas Alexander. Jones never recorded commercially again and died March 7, 1981, at the age of 81.

October 6

1908 – Blues and jazz pianist Sammy Price was born October 6, 1908, in Honey Grove, Texas. His first music came from church, but after his family moved to Waco, seven-year-old Sammy took cornet lessons from a Professor Cobb, who announced that the boy had no musical ability and should quit. Price responded by forming a band; Score one for ignoring professional advice.

1908 – Sammy Price, born October 6, 1908, in Honey Grove, Texas, ignored a teacher who said he had no musical talent and became a master of barrelhouse blues and jazz piano. He worked with Trixie Smith and Sister Rosetta Tharpe, led the Texas Blusicians and toured internationally. Price died April 14, 1992, at the age of 83.

1932 – Electric blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter Little Sonny was born Aaron Willis on October 6, 1932, in Greensboro, Alabama. His mother called him “Sonny Boy” from childhood, so despite the obvious connection, his nickname did not come from Sonny Boy Williamson II. His desire to play harmonica certainly did.

October 7

1962 – Francis “Scrapper” Blackwell on October 7 in 1962. Blackwell was born February 21, 1903, in Syracuse, South Carolina, not North Carolina as some older references claim. He moved to Indianapolis as a child and became one of the most elegant guitarists of the prewar era, with a clean single-note attack that anticipated electric blues.

1962 – It never came. Blackwell was found shot in an Indianapolis alley, only two weeks before another scheduled recording session. The killing was never solved; More than six decades later, the Blues Foundation inducted him into its Blues Hall of Fame in 2024; Francis “Scrapper” Blackwell died in Indianapolis on October 7, 1962, at the age of 59.

1939 – Blues guitarist Melvin Ray Brown was born October 7, 1939, in Jackson, Mississippi, and grew up in nearby Pearl City, later incorporated into Flowood. His father, John Henry “Bubba” Brown, was a respected local guitarist, but Mel got serious at 14 while recovering from meningitis, spending his sickbed hours absorbing B. B; King and T-Bone Walker.

1939 – Mel Brown, born October 7, 1939, in Jackson, Mississippi, carried blues guitar through Etta James, Bobby Bland, Antone’s and a celebrated solo career. After settling in Kitchener, Ontario, he became a Canadian blues institution, winning a W.C. Handy Award and two Juno nominations. He died March 20, 2009, at the age of 69.

October 8

1955 – Delta bluesman and instrument maker Lonnie Pitchford was born October 8, 1955, near Lexington, Mississippi. Raised about five miles outside town, he started early: at five he built a diddley bow from baling or broom wire and a snuff can. It became his calling card, but he was hardly a one-trick picker; He also played acoustic and electric guitar, bass, piano and harmonica.

1955 – Lonnie Pitchford, born October 8, 1955, near Lexington, Mississippi, carried old Delta blues traditions into a new generation. A master of guitar and diddley bow, he learned from Robert Lockwood Jr., toured internationally and released All Round Man. Pitchford died November 8, 1998, at the age of 43.

1969 – B.B. King transformed his career in 1969 when he recorded “The Thrill Is Gone” at the Hit Factory in New York City with producer Bill Szymczyk. King had carried the song around for years, waiting for the right treatment. When it finally arrived, the blues suddenly had a first-class ticket to the pop charts.

1919 – Hal “Cornbread” Singer, born October 8, 1919, in Tulsa’s Greenwood district, survived the 1921 Race Massacre, became a No. 1 R&B saxophonist with “Corn Bread,” and built a six-decade career spanning swing, blues and jazz. He later settled in France, where he was honored by the government, and died August 18, 2020, at the age of 100.

October 9

1935 – Johnnie Bassett, born October 9, 1935, in Marianna, Florida, became a cornerstone of Detroit blues. He backed stars, played on early Miracles and Nolan Strong records, and later led the Blues Insurgents. Known for elegant jump blues and a gentle touch, Bassett died of liver cancer on August 4, 2012, at the age of 76.

1939 – Southern soul singer Overton Vertis “O.V.” Wright was born October 9, 1939, in Lenow, Tennessee, now part of Memphis. He grew up singing gospel and joined the Sunset Travelers while still a teenager, later working with the Harmony Echoes. Then songwriter Roosevelt Jamison heard a voice too powerful to leave exclusively in church.

1900 – Banjoist, guitarist and bandleader Elmer Snowden was born October 9, 1900, in Baltimore, Maryland, although a few references give 1901. A master of six-string banjo and guitar, Snowden became an important bridge between ragtime, blues and early jazz, and helped launch one of America’s most famous orchestras.

1900 – Elmer Snowden, born October 9, 1900, in Baltimore, was a pioneering banjoist, guitarist and bandleader whose Washingtonians became the foundation of Duke Ellington’s orchestra. After decades in jazz and blues, he enjoyed a 1960s comeback and recorded with Lonnie Johnson. Snowden died May 14, 1973, at the age of 72.

October 10

1914 – Blues pianist, singer and songwriter Ivory Joe Hunter was born October 10, 1914, in Kirbyville, Texas. With his glasses, easy smile and velvet voice, Hunter hardly looked like a rock-and-roll troublemaker. At the piano, however, he erased boundaries between blues, R&B, pop and country.

1914 – Ivory Joe Hunter, born October 10, 1914, in Kirbyville, Texas, blended blues, R&B, pop and country with effortless style. His hits included “I Almost Lost My Mind” and “Since I Met You Baby,” while his songs were covered by Elvis Presley and many others. Hunter died of lung cancer on November 8, 1974, at the age of 60.

1899 – Delta blues singer and guitarist “Mississippi” Joe Callicott was born October 10, 1899, in Nesbit, Mississippi. His birth date is disputed, with some references giving October 11, 1900, but the Mississippi Blues Trail uses 1899.

1969 – Blues singer, harmonica player, guitarist and songwriter Grady Champion was born October 10, 1969, in Canton, Mississippi, the youngest of his father’s 28 children. Raised on a farm, he joined the church choir at eight. His road to the blues took an unexpected detour through hip-hop.

October 11

1895 – If the blues was famously “discovered” by W. C. Handy at a Tutwiler train station, Dockery Farms is where a mighty piece of it grew up, got loud and learned to travel; Founded by Will Dockery in 1895 between Cleveland and Ruleville, Mississippi, the plantation became one of the great crossroads of Delta blues history.

1908 – Blues singer, guitarist and harmonica acrobat Frank Floyd, better known as Harmonica Frank, was born October 11, 1908, in Toccopola, Mississippi. Raised by sharecropping grandparents after his itinerant parents separated, he later said he had essentially named himself. The 1910 census, however, lists the youngster as “Shankles Floyd,” adding one more wrinkle to an already colorful life.

1908 – Harmonica Frank Floyd, born October 11, 1908, in Toccopola, Mississippi, carried medicine-show blues into the Sun Records era. A guitar-playing harmonica acrobat, he recorded for Sam Phillips and Chess before Sun issued “Rockin’ Chair Daddy” in 1954. Rediscovered in 1972, Floyd performed until his death on August 7, 1984.

1937 – Texas-born pianist Curtis Jones recorded “Drinking And Thinking Blues” on October 11, 1937, at the Leland Hotel in Aurora, Illinois. Jones sang and played piano, with Willie Bee James on guitar. The performance became matrix 014338-1 and was issued on Bluebird B7452, backed with “Schoolmate Blues.”.

October 12

1929 – R&B and Blues singer Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp – better known as Nappy Brown – was born Oct 12, 1929. The entry documents a date-specific milestone in the subject’s blues career and biography.

1925 – Guitar Gabriel was born on October 12, 1925. His unique style of guitar playing, which he referred to as “Toot Blues”, combined Piedmont, Chicago, and Texas blues, as well as gospel. Gabriel wore a trademark white sheepskin hat, which he acquired while traveling and performing with Medicine Shows during his late 20s.

1934 – Blues and R&B singer James “Sugar Boy” Crawford, Jr. was born October 12, 1934. He was the author of “Jock-A-Mo”, 1954, which was later rerecorded as “Iko Iko” by the Dixie Cups, and became a huge hit. The song was recorded by many other artists, including Dr. John, Belle Stars, the Grateful Dead, and Cyndi Lauper.

October 13

1946 – Born October 13, 1946, Dorothy Moore rose from Jackson church choirs and talent shows to Southern soul stardom. Her one-take recording of “Misty Blue” sat unreleased for two years before becoming a massive hit that helped save Malaco Records. The self-described “R&B singer with a blues heart” remains a Mississippi music treasure.

1909 – Born October 13, 1909, Art Tatum turned the piano into a high-speed orchestra. Nearly blind, he revolutionized jazz with dazzling technique, deep blues roots and daring harmony. He recorded with Big Joe Turner, inspired generations of musicians and left even Fats Waller joking that “God is in the house.”.

1938 – Shirley Caesar was born in Durham, North Carolina, on October 13, 1938, and became one of the most celebrated voices in gospel music while maintaining deep musical roots in blues, soul, and traditional African American church music. Known worldwide as the “First Lady of Gospel” and the “Queen of Gospel,” she built a career spanning more than seven decades.

1963 – On October 13, 1963, Muddy Waters recorded “My Home Is in the Delta,” one of the defining performances from the landmark album Folk Singer. Recorded at Chicago’s Ter-Mar Recording Studios, the session reunited Waters with an extraordinary cast that included Buddy Guy on acoustic guitar, Willie Dixon on bass, Clifton James on drums, and producers Willie Dixon and Ralph Bass.

October 14

1957 – Blues guitar player Kenny Neal was born October 14, 1957 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The entry documents a date-specific milestone in the subject’s blues career and biography.

1891 – Blues singer and musician Edna Hicks was born October 14, 1891. Her recorded songs include “Hard Luck Blues” and “Poor Me Blues”. She also recorded “Down Hearted Blues”, and “Gulf Coast Blues” on the Brunswick label in 1923.

1918 – Blues singer and musician Jimmy Liggins was born October 14, 1918. He was born in Newby, OK, home state of Big Train and the Loco Motives, and moved with his family to San Diego, California in 1932. He fought under the name of Kid Zulu as a professional boxer until age 18, when he began as a driver for his brother Joe’s band, the Honeydrippers.

October 15

1906 – Blues singer/songwriter Victoria Spivey, was born in Houston, Texas on October 15, 1906. The entry documents a date-specific milestone in the subject’s blues career and biography.

1938 – Robert Ward, Sr. was an American blues and soul guitarist. He was known for founding the Ohio Untouchables, the band that later would become the Ohio Players. He played the guitar with a unique tone soaked in vibrato coming from a Magnatone amplifier; Born in Luthersville, Georgia, he moved to Dayton, Ohio in 1960 and formed the Ohio Untouchables; The artist died December 25, 2008.

1916 – Boze, Calvin B. .Calvin Boze, rhythm-and-blues musician, was born in Trinity County, Texas, on October 15, 1916, the son of Calvin Boze, Sr., a day laborer, and Sarah, Taylor Boze. The younger Calvin Boze is best known as a formative member of the rhythm-and-blues scene in Los Angeles during the early 1950s.

1969 – Famed blues singer Howlin’ Wolf suffers his first non-fatal heart attack. The entry documents a date-specific milestone in the subject’s blues career and biography.

October 16

1903 – Delta blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Joseph Lee “Big Joe” Williams was born October 16, 1903. He’s most known for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar.

1948 – Andrew “Jr. Boy” Jones, né Andrew Bennie Jones, Jr. Born October 16, 1948 is an American Texas blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, whose recorded work has been released on five albums. In 1995, he was also part of the ensemble that garnered a Blues Music Award as the ‘Band of the Year’.

1924 – October 16 – “See See Rider”, also known as “C.C. Rider”, “See See Rider Blues” or “Easy Rider”, is a popular American 12-bar blues folk blues song that became a blues and jazz standard. Gertrude “Ma” Rainey was the first to record it on October 16, 1924, at Paramount Records in New York.

1953 – On October 16 in 1953, Guitar Slim records “The Things That I Used to Do”. Which became one of the biggest blues hits of the 1950s and entered the repertoires of hundreds of blues singers.

October 17

1939 – Bernie Pearl was born in Los Angeles on October 17, 1939, and few West Coast bluesmen have had a better classroom. His brother Ed ran the legendary Ash Grove, where Bernie watched Lightnin’ Hopkins, Mance Lipscomb, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Howlin’ Wolf, Big Mama Thornton and other masters up close. He deliberately sat on the right side of the stage so he could study their hands.

1939 – Born October 17, 1939, Bernie Pearl learned the blues firsthand from legends at his brother’s Ash Grove club. He played with Big Mama Thornton, became a blues radio host, helped launch the Long Beach Blues Festival and partnered with Harmonica Fats. As a guitarist, teacher, promoter and historian, Pearl has spent decades keeping traditional blues alive.

1928 – On October 17, 1928, Lonnie Johnson joined blues singer Victoria Spivey in a New York recording studio to record “Toothache Blues,” a two-part performance that showcased two of the era’s most accomplished blues artists. The session featured Spivey’s expressive vocals alongside Johnson’s elegant guitar work and Clarence Williams’ piano, creating a polished blend of classic female blues and sophisticated jazz-influenced accompaniment.

1928 – On October 17, 1928, blues singer and guitarist Hound Head Henry entered a recording studio to record “Low Down Hound Blues,” one of only a handful of performances preserved from this elusive early blues artist. Accompanied by Cow Cow Davenport on piano, the session captured the raw, expressive style that flourished during the late 1920s, when record companies were actively documenting African American blues musicians for the growing “race records” market.

October 18

1923 – North Mississippi hill country blues guitarist and singer Jessie Mae Hemphill was born October 18, 1923. The entry documents a date-specific milestone in the subject’s blues career and biography.

1925 – Detroit blues, boogie-woogie and jazz pianist Boogie Woogie Red was born October 18, 1925. Also a singer and songwriter, at different times he worked with Sonny Boy Williamson I, Washboard Willie, Baby Boy Warren, Lonnie Johnson, Tampa Red, John Lee Hooker and Memphis Slim.

1926 – Rock n roll legend Chuck Berry was born October 18, 1926. Nicknamed the “Father of Rock and Roll”, he refined and developed rhythm and blues into the major elements that made rock and roll.

October 19

1911 – Barrelhouse blues piano player Piano Red was born October 19, 1911. He was known later in life as Dr. Feelgood and was one of the first blues musicians to hit the pop music charts. His simple, hard-pounding left hand and his percussive right hand, coupled with his cheerful shout, brought him considerable success over three decades.

1931 – Chicago blues drummer and vocalist Robert Plunkett was born on October 19, 1931, in Benton, Mississippi. Although never a household name, he became one of the city’s most dependable rhythm makers, spending decades backing some of Chicago blues’ greatest performers while earning deep respect from fellow musicians. His powerful yet understated drumming helped drive the music without overpowering it, making him a sought-after sideman on stage and in the studio.

1933 – Blues singer, guitarist, drummer, and songwriter Jimmy “Louisiana” Dotson was born on October 19, 1933, in Ethel, Louisiana. Over a career that spanned more than six decades, he became a respected figure in Louisiana, Memphis, Arkansas, and Houston blues circles, admired as a versatile musician who could anchor a band from behind the drums or step forward as a soulful vocalist and guitarist.

October 20

1943 – blues guitar player Buddy Henderson better known as “Bugs” Henderson, born on October 20, 1943. He was popular in Europe and from the 1970s, was based in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas. Where he was known as a local blues guitar legend.

1906 – Moore, John Dudley [Johnny]. John Dudley “Johnny” Moore, rhythm-and-blues guitarist and bandleader, was born in Austin on October 20, 1906. Moore’s father was a violinist, and Moore began playing guitar for his father’s string band in 1934.

1973 – Iron Mike Norton, born October 20, 1973 is an American blues musician who plays slide guitar. Known as “the King of Swamp Stomp”, Norton developed a style of blues that combines elements of traditional hill country slide guitar, with modern elements of hip-hop and other modern urban styles of music.

October 21

1941 – Sometimes known as “The Colonel” he was the guitarist of the Stax Records house band. The entry documents a date-specific milestone in the subject’s blues career and biography.

1925 – “Doctor Ross the Harmonica Boss” was born October 21, 1925 in Tunica, Mississippi. His birth name was Charles Isaiah Ross.

1950 – Chicago blues guitarist and singer Dion Payton was born October 21, 1950 in Greenwood, Mississippi. The entry documents a date-specific milestone in the subject’s blues career and biography.

October 22

1918 – Blues guitarist L. C. McKinley was born October 22, 1918; This Chicago blues guitarist worked with Eddie Boyd and Ernest Cotton and his major output was as a session musician on recordings made mostly in the 1950s.

1938 – Bo Carter held the longest recording session of his career on October 22, 1938, cutting eighteen titles in one day. Document Records notes that all but one were issued, and the session captured some of the Mississippi guitarist’s most structurally and harmonically advanced work.

1953 – Piedmont blues guitarist and singer Carolina Slim, born Edward P. Harris, died in Newark on October 22, 1953. Recording under several names, including Country Paul and Lazy Slim Jim, he left 27 songs and a brief but distinctive legacy built around an East Coast country-blues style.

October 23

1998 – In January, 1993, he released his first recording in two decades, Step It Up and Go. He began touring regionally again, and frequented clubs in Long Island. His 1994 follow-up album, A Brighter Day, was named one of the top three blues recordings of 1994; Washington continued to perform in blues clubs around Long Island prior to dying of complications from diabetes on October 23, 1998.

1892 – Rufus George Perryman, better known as Speckled Red, was born on October 23, 1892. This blues and boogie-woogie piano player and singer is best noted for his recordings of “The Dirty Dozens”, exchanges of insults and vulgar remarks. His nickname came from the fact that he was an albino, a condition that caused his skin to have a reddish, speckled appearance.

1933 – Carol Fran didn’t just sing the blues – she lived them and kept them rolling across seven decades. She was born Carol Augustus Anthony in Lafayette, Louisiana on October 23, 1933.

1947 – Blues guitarist, singer and songwriter Preston Shannon was born October 23, 1947 in Olive Branch, Mississippi. The entry documents a date-specific milestone in the subject’s blues career and biography.

October 24

1937 – October 24, 1937. – HOLLIMON, MILTON HOWARD CLARENCE .Blues, jazz, and rhythm-and-blues guitarist Milton Howard Clarence Hollimon was born in Houston on, October 24, 1937. Clarence, as he was known, was widely acknowledged as one of the greatest guitarists in his musical genres.

1911 – The man often cited as the greatest and certainly most famous of the acoustic blues harmonica players was born October 24, 1911. Of course I’m talking about Sonny Terry.

1936 – Chicago blues guitarist and singer James Henry “Jimmy” Dawkins was born October 24, 1936. He was a practitioner of the “West Side sound” of Chicago blues.

1925 – Blues musician Willie Mabon was born October 24, 1925. This R&B singer, songwriter and pianist was born and brought up in the Hollywood district of Memphis, Tennessee. He moved to Chicago in 1942, by which time he had become known as a singer and pianist; He formed a group, the Blues Rockers, and in 1949 began recording for Aristocrat Records and then Chess Records.

October 25

1949 – Walter Hyatt was born on October 25, 1949, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and became one of America’s most admired yet underrated singer-songwriters. Blending blues, jazz, folk, country, gospel, and pop, Hyatt developed a sophisticated musical style anchored by his warm baritone voice and inventive songwriting.

1949 – Walter Hyatt blended blues, jazz, folk, and country into a distinctive style that made him a favorite among fellow musicians. Born October 25, 1949, he found lasting acclaim with Uncle Walt’s Band and as a solo artist. Hyatt died in the ValuJet Flight 592 crash on May 11, 1996, but his music continues to inspire generations.

1921 – Little Hatch, born Provine Hatch Jr. On October 25, 1921, in Sledge, Mississippi, became one of Kansas City’s most beloved blues musicians despite spending much of his career outside the national spotlight. He learned harmonica from his father and developed an early love for blues and gospel.

1902 – Eddie Lang, born Salvatore Massaro; October 25, 1902 – March 26, 1933 was an American musician who is credited as the father of jazz guitar. During the 1920s, he gave the guitar a prominence it previously lacked as a solo instrument, as part of a band or orchestra, and as accompaniment for vocalists.

October 26

1931 – Emery “Detroit Junior” Williams Jr. Was born October 26, 1931, in Haynes, Arkansas, and grew into one of Chicago’s most entertaining blues pianists, singers and songwriters. His family moved through Memphis and southern Illinois before he landed in Michigan, where he learned keyboards and started working clubs while still young.

1931 – Born October 26, 1931, Emery “Detroit Junior” Williams Jr. became a Chicago blues piano favorite, songwriter and Howlin’ Wolf sideman. Famous for “Money Tree,” “Call My Job” and stage antics that sometimes put him under the piano, he kept performing despite serious health problems until his death in 2005.

1916 – Solomon Charles Waterford, known as Crown Prince Waterford, was an American jazz and blues singer who recorded in the 1940s and 1950s with Jay McShann, Pete Johnson and others. The artist died February 1, 2007.

October 27

1949 – Clifford Jamal Antone was born October 27, 1949, in Port Arthur, Texas, amid Gulf Coast blues, R&B, Cajun and zydeco. He moved to Austin in 1968 to attend the University of Texas, but music proved tougher competition than textbooks. Before the nightclub came a sandwich shop, where records spun constantly and guitars and amps gathered in back; Apparently the blues wanted more room.

1949 – Clifford Antone, born October 27, 1949, turned his love of Gulf Coast and Chicago blues into one of America’s most important blues clubs. Antone’s helped connect legends with young Texas players such as Stevie Ray Vaughan. He also launched a record label and shop, taught blues history, supported charities and entered the Blues Hall of Fame in 2009.

1948 – Sherman Robertson was born October 27, 1948, in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, but Houston shaped his musical DNA. His family moved there when he was two, placing him near Don Robey’s Duke/Peacock Records orbit. Robertson later said Hank Williams on television first made him want to play music.

1948 – Sherman Robertson blended Houston blues, Louisiana zydeco and Gulf Coast R&B into a powerful guitar style. Born October 27, 1948, in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, he played with Clifton Chenier, Terrance Simien and Bobby “Blue” Bland and contributed to Paul Simon’s Graceland. A 2012 stroke ended his touring career; He died in 2021 at the age of 72.

October 28

1932 – L.V. Banks was born October 28, 1932, in Stringtown, Mississippi, and built his Chicago blues reputation night after night, club after club. He taught himself guitar, led a band around Greenville, Mississippi, and absorbed the sounds of B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf and Little Milton; After a move to St. Louis, military service interrupted the music, but not for long.

1932 – L.V. Banks built his reputation in Chicago’s South Side clubs and on Maxwell Street. Born October 28, 1932, in Stringtown, Mississippi, he mentored young musicians including Marty Sammon; His two Wolf Records albums preserved the sound of a bluesman who spent decades working the clubs; He died in 2011 at the age of 78.

October 29

1916 – The “Queen of the Boogie” Hadda Brooks was born on October 29, 1916. She sang at Hawaii’s statehood ceremony in 1959 and was asked for a private audience by Pope Pius XII.

1946 – Peter Allen Greenbaum was born October 29, 1946, in Bethnal Green, London. He shortened his name to Peter Green and became one of the most distinctive guitar voices of the British blues boom. He picked up guitar as a boy and developed a style built on space, touch, vibrato and tone rather than speed; In 1966, at just 19, he replaced Eric Clapton in John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers; Green did more than survive.

1946 – Peter Green became one of British blues-rock’s most admired guitarists. Born October 29, 1946, in London, he replaced Eric Clapton in the Bluesbreakers and then founded Fleetwood Mac. His songs included “Black Magic Woman” and “Albatross.” Known for extraordinary tone and restraint, he entered the Rock Hall in 1998 and died in 2020 at the age of 73.

October 30

1906 – Here’s another “Ghost of Mississippi” story. Jimmie Gordon, probably born in 1906, was one of the most versatile Chicago blues pianists, singers, and songwriters of the prewar era. Although much of his early life remains a mystery, researchers now agree that earlier claims placing his birth in St. Louis resulted from a misleading record label promotion rather than documented fact.

1923 – Clarence Samuels became a prolific but overlooked postwar blues and R&B singer. Born October 30, 1923, in Baton Rouge, he recorded for Aristocrat, Freedom, DeLuxe and Excello. Ornette Coleman and Johnny Copeland crossed his musical path before finding fame; Collectors later rediscovered his recordings; He died in 2002 at the age of 78.

1925 – New Orleans rhythm and blues singer, pianist, songwriter, and bandleader Tommy Ridgley was born on October 30, 1925, in the Shrewsbury community near New Orleans. Although he never achieved a national hit, he became one of the Crescent City’s most respected performers, recording for nearly five decades while helping define the unmistakable sound of New Orleans R&B.

1928 – “Peg Leg” Howell recorded “Turkey Buzzard Blues.”. The entry documents a date-specific milestone in the subject’s blues career and biography.

October 31

1935 – When Big Joe Williams recorded “Baby, Please Don’t Go” on October 31, 1935, at RCA Victor’s Studio C in Chicago, he could not have imagined it still rattling amplifiers nearly a century later. Issued by Bluebird as Joe Williams’ Washboard Blues Singers, matrix BS-96244-1, the performance featured Williams on vocal and guitar, with one-string fiddle and washboard behind him. The flip side was “Wild Cow Blues.”.

1902 – Blues singer Julia Lee was born on October 31, 1902. She’s sometimes categorized as a “dirty blues singer” because of some of the song content and lyrics.

1930 – Booker Telleferro Ervin II was an American tenor saxophone player. His tenor playing was characterized by a strong, tough sound and blues/gospel phrasing. He is remembered for his association with bassist Charles Mingus; Biography; The artist died August 31, 1970.