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Home » Alligator Records

Tag: Alligator Records

A diptych combining photos of Bloodshot Records cofounders Rob Miller and Nan Warshaw
Posted inMusic

Bloodshot Records is bought by Exceleration Music

by Mark Guarino October 22, 2021October 22, 2021

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 […]

Posted inMusic

Bob Koester leaves a colossal legacy in Chicago jazz and blues

by Howard Mandel May 19, 2021August 18, 2021

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.

Posted inMusic

Big Daddy Kinsey was the Muddy Waters of Gary, Indiana

by Steve Krakow February 25, 2021August 18, 2021

Blues patriarch Big Daddy Kinsey had three sons who played together as the Kinsey Report.

Posted inMusic

Toronzo Cannon, bluesman and bus driver

by Jamie Ludwig July 21, 2020August 18, 2021

“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.”

Posted inMusic

Blues guitarist Lurrie Bell beat mental illness to build a thriving career

by Steve Krakow March 24, 2020August 18, 2021

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.

Posted inMusic

Local bluesman Toronzo Cannon is one of Chicago’s finest string-bending storytellers

by James Porter March 6, 2020August 18, 2021

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 […]

Posted inMusic

Blues guitarist Jimmy Johnson is much more than just Syl’s big brother

by Steve Krakow February 11, 2020August 18, 2021

Blues guitarist Jimmy Johnson, still going strong at 91, released his newest album just four months ago.

Posted inMusic

Two Chicago institutions bridge jazz and blues

by James Porter August 27, 2019August 18, 2021

Guitarist George Freeman and harmonica player Billy Branch demonstrate the common roots of the sounds they love.

Posted inMusic

Fiery slide guitarist Lil’ Ed Williams has been rocking the house for more than 40 years

by Steve Krakow January 15, 2019February 18, 2022

Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials have made nine albums for Alligator Records—eight of them with the same lineup they’ve had since 1988.

Posted inMusic

The Chicago blues pantheon needs more women—and Queen Sylvia Embry deserves a spot

by Steve Krakow February 14, 2017August 18, 2021

Queen Sylvia Embry’s bass playing and warm, soulful singing made her a hit in local clubs and on transatlantic tours.

Posted inMusic

The Reader’s guide to the 2016 Chicago Blues Festival

by David Whiteis and Bill Dahl June 8, 2016August 18, 2021

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.

Posted inMusic

The blues don’t quit when Grant Park goes dark

by David Whiteis June 8, 2016August 18, 2021

Chicago’s blues clubs are in high gear for the festival weekend—and some neighborhood spots are getting in on the action.

Posted inMusic

Blues guitarist Andrew Brown died just as his fame began to catch up with his importance

by Steve Krakow March 29, 2016August 18, 2021

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.

Posted inMusic

Luther Allison was the Jimi Hendrix of blues guitar

by Steve Krakow February 2, 2016August 18, 2021

Guitarist Luther Allison learned his craft in Chicago, but he spent much of his career in Europe when American interest in the blues waned.

Posted inMusic

Not even a gorilla mask could bring blues pianist Johnny ‘Big Moose’ Walker out of the sideman shadows

by Steve Krakow March 19, 2015August 18, 2021

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.

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