When Hubert Sumlin plays guitar he takes you to his World of Blues Feeling -- from despair to ecstasy, from delicate grace to raw power, from lost to found. Though hes influenced and inspired many of the most famous guitar players, Hubert owns the magic. His style is original and personal and instantly recognizable. What kind of man can make or break your heart with his guitar?  read more »

By Reverend Keith A. Gordon, About.com

Even if blues artist Buddy Guy never played another note, sang another word, or climbed on one more stage, his place in blues music history is assured. Cutting his musical teeth in his Louisiana backyard, Guy moved to Chicago in 1957 and quickly fell in with talented West Side head-cutters like Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Magic Sam. Guy's musical collaborations with his friend, harpist Junior Wells, are among the best blues ever caught on tape.

Buddy Guy's Skin Deep, his first studio effort in 3 years, brings the legendary blues musician back to his legendary electric-blues sound after a number of critically-acclaimed musical experiments and a couple of modest non-starters. With a little help from friends like Eric Clapton and Derek Trucks, Guy has created one of the best albums of his lengthy career.  read more »

Eric Clapton earned a reputation as a blues guitarist early in his career, and while he frequently returned to the blues usually recording at least one blues tune per album he never recorded a full-fledged blues album until 1994's From the Cradle. It became one of the most popular records of his career. Not long afterward, MCA assembled a collection of Jimi Hendrix's blues recordings, and that compilation also proved quite successful.  read more »

Legendary Mississippi Sheiks to get their due On a recent holiday, Steve Dawsonguitar maestro and founder of local label Black Hen Musichad the bright idea of putting together a tribute album to one of his favourite bands, the Mississippi Sheiks. Other than the blues classic Sitting on Top of the World, the Sheiks songs are largely unknown to todays music fans, despite having been revered by Americana-influenced musicians since the 30s. In those days, the trio was one of the hottestand sauciestacts around, and it influenced such legends as Memphis Minnie, Robert Johnson, and Big Bill Broonzy. Much of their stuff remains obscure, Dawson told the Straight. They disbanded in 1935, but were one of the first bands to generate crossover interest from both black and white communities.  read more »

A formidable contender in the ring before he shifted his focus to pounding the piano instead, Champion Jack Dupree often injected his lyrics with a rowdy sense of down-home humor. But there was nothing lighthearted about his rock-solid way with a boogie; when he shouted "Shake Baby Shake," the entire room had no choice but to acquiesce. Dupree was notoriously vague about his beginnings, claiming in some interviews that his parents died in a fire set by the Ku Klux Klan, at other times saying that the blaze was accidental.  read more »

Hubert Sumlin will enter the Blues Hall of Fame this week and gain a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail. The Greenwood Commonwealth writes (read the full story - Sumlin: Greenwood's still my town ) Hubert Sumlins first wife told him to shape up or be single again. She said it was either my guitar or her, Sumlin said of an early tiff married life tossed his way. So I picked up my guitar and walked out the door. That decision, in effect, will be honored Tuesday when a marker is placed on the Mississippi Blues Trail in the blues giants hometown of Greenwood. Sumlin, who as a 12-year-old in the 1940s was performing with harmonica great James Cotton, got his break when Howlin Wolf caught wind of the duos sound and invited them to do a 15-minute set on West Memphis KWM radio station. Wolf told us, If you do it right, I might have to get you in my band, Sumlin recalled. Something must have been done right.  read more »

Decca Originals - The Blues Scene
01 - bluesbreakers - curly
02 - eddie boyd - key to the highway
03 - john mayall & peter green - the super-natural
04 - otis spann - pretty girls everywhere
05 - eddie boyd - blue coat man
06 - champion jack dupree - third degree
07 - john mayall & eric clapton - steppin' out
08 - savoy brown - train to nowhere  read more »