Update 6:22 PM Fri 10/22: This story has been changed to add a comment from Bloodshot Records cofounder Nan Warshaw. Bloodshot Records, the Chicago record label that launched the alternative-country […]
Tag: Alligator Records
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Bob Koester leaves a colossal legacy in Chicago jazz and blues
For nearly 70 years, Bob Koester owned the Jazz Record Mart and Delmark Records—and though his businesses could be “crazy town,” they helped nurture thriving communities.
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Big Daddy Kinsey was the Muddy Waters of Gary, Indiana
Blues patriarch Big Daddy Kinsey had three sons who played together as the Kinsey Report.
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Toronzo Cannon, bluesman and bus driver
“All of us have been put on pause, where we’re forced to go sit down and think about our lives, because things can be taken away just like that.”
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Blues guitarist Lurrie Bell beat mental illness to build a thriving career
By the early 90s Lurrie Bell didn’t even own a guitar anymore, but now he’s got a shelf full of Blues Music Awards.
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Local bluesman Toronzo Cannon is one of Chicago’s finest string-bending storytellers
Toronzo Cannon’s 2016 breakout debut album for Alligator is titled The Chicago Way, but it doesn’t include a song of the same name. Since that release, the homegrown bluesman has […]
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Blues guitarist Jimmy Johnson is much more than just Syl’s big brother
Blues guitarist Jimmy Johnson, still going strong at 91, released his newest album just four months ago.
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Two Chicago institutions bridge jazz and blues
Guitarist George Freeman and harmonica player Billy Branch demonstrate the common roots of the sounds they love.
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Fiery slide guitarist Lil’ Ed Williams has been rocking the house for more than 40 years
Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials have made nine albums for Alligator Records—eight of them with the same lineup they’ve had since 1988.
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The Chicago blues pantheon needs more women—and Queen Sylvia Embry deserves a spot
Queen Sylvia Embry’s bass playing and warm, soulful singing made her a hit in local clubs and on transatlantic tours.
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The Reader’s guide to the 2016 Chicago Blues Festival
This year’s Chicago Blues Festival bustles with a diversity of traditions and talents—including Irma Thomas, Lazy Lester, Wee Willie Walker, John Primer, and tributes to Otis Rush and Otis Clay.
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The blues don’t quit when Grant Park goes dark
Chicago’s blues clubs are in high gear for the festival weekend—and some neighborhood spots are getting in on the action.
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Blues guitarist Andrew Brown died just as his fame began to catch up with his importance
Andrew Brown cut his teeth alongside Magic Sam and Freddie King, but despite his distinctive talent he spent much of his life working in a steel mill.
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Luther Allison was the Jimi Hendrix of blues guitar
Guitarist Luther Allison learned his craft in Chicago, but he spent much of his career in Europe when American interest in the blues waned.
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Not even a gorilla mask could bring blues pianist Johnny ‘Big Moose’ Walker out of the sideman shadows
Big Moose worked for years with Earl Hooker and Elmore James and backed Otis Rush, Howlin’ Wolf, Ike Turner, and many more, but his own recordings never caught fire.