Andrew “Big Voice” Odom toured internationally—and also used to drop by Maxwell Street and overwhelm the makeshift sound systems.
Tag: Earl Hooker
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The Aces helped invent the sound of electric Chicago blues
The Aces are best known as a backing band, but they took the lead when it came to the future of the blues.
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Louis Myers cofounded one of the great backing bands in the blues
The guitar and harmonica master from the Aces played with Junior Wells, Little Walter, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and many more.
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Freddie Roulette is one of the few lap steel guitarists in the blues
In a career more than 50 years long, Roulette has lent his slide stylings to the likes of Earl Hooker, Charlie Musselwhite, and John Lee Hooker.
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Lefty Dizz was one of the greatest showmen in the blues
Guitarist Lefty Dizz toured abroad for decades, but even in his home base of Chicago he was never the star he played like.
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Blues drummer Sam Lay has made five careers’ worth of music
Sharp-dressed drummer Sam Lay has played with Dylan and Howlin’ Wolf, and in 2015 he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
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Otis ‘Big Smokey’ Smothers recorded with Howlin’ Wolf even before his own first session
Guitarist Big Smokey Smothers wrote for Muddy Waters and partnered with Freddie King, but his traditional style of Chicago electric blues didn’t help him make his own name.
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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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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.
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Artist on Artist: Charlie Musselwhite talks to Rockin’ Johnny Burgin
Blues harmonica great Charlie Musselwhite talks to local guitar hero Rockin’ Johnny Burgin