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John Lee Hooker's deep, dark and powerful Modern recordings announced the arrival of a singular artist who simply had no peers.

A few nuggets the Stones can consider when they record a follow-up to their all-blues album Blue & Lonesome.

What's the best way to honor blues legends Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf? Stage a virtual cutting contest.

Overlooked blues by J.B. Lenoir, Jimmy Rogers, Johnny Shines, Big Maybelle, Robert Nighthawk, Roosevelt Sykes, Guitar Slim, Earl Hooker, etc.

Blowin' the blues with Little Walter, Sonny Boy II, Lazy Lester, Big Walter Horton, Slim Harpo, Annie Raines, Rod Piazza, Kim Wilson, etc.

Document Records is a Scottish label known for its reverently compiled reissues of blues, gospel, bluegrass and other forms of American roots music… in other words, the last place I [...]

Let’s revisit this post by Professor Jack, our resident expert on radiatin’ the 88s. Blues started with the voice – call and response. The next step was to add a single vibrating [...]

Have you ever been to a W hotel? Basically, you start with a Westin… pump some EDM into the lobby… drape a few supermodels over the sofas… throw in a couple of glowing waterwalls… charge $20 for [...]

So I stumbled into a trendy club where this cretinous DJ of the dubstep variety assaulted my senses and inner organs with pounding, relentless bass drops and seizure-inducing strobe lights. [...]

You might notice that I tend to avoid writing exhaustive profiles of my favorite blues artists. Call me lazy, but I prefer to focus on a specific era or a particularly fruitful stint at a given [...]

Is the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum worth arguing about? Some say no – the whole idea of enshrining punks and metalheads in some shiny glass-plated pyramid that many of them would rather [...]

Let’s revisit one of our first posts, from October 2009 (Bo Diddley passed away the previous year at the age of 79). He signed his name “The Bo” and was referred to by The New [...]

When well-established musicians join forces, it’s not always for purely artistic reasons. Sometimes their managers arrange it as a promotional gimmick. Or the performers could be stuck in the [...]

Fleetwood Mac just kicked off their 2013 tour in Columbus. Also, I just spent a few days in London. Two good excuses to re-post this one (I’ll come up with something new soon… I [...]

With all the hoopla over the Rubber City’s favorite sons winning three Grammys (and a fourth for Dan for Producer of the Year), we shouldn’t overlook the fact that Lightnin’ [...]

I need these blues to seduce me. Got no use for some tattooed numbskull playing endless guitar solos through 15 stomp boxes and a Marshall stack. Hand the mic to that sultry chanteuse by the bar… [...]

I’ve been intimidated by the idea of writing a post on John Lee Hooker. It’s like trying to write a 500-word essay on modern cinema. Or thinking just one reality show is enough to document the [...]

Gather round boys and girls… Brother Jack is back to give us a little primer on blues piano, from Cow Cow Davenport to Art Tatum. Save your questions for the end. Blues started with the [...]

Henry Saint Clair Fredericks turned 70 on May 17. More important, he’s coming to our town in a week to perform as Taj Mahal, one of the world’s greatest living bluesmen. He’s also one of our [...]

I’m beginning to think that themes are overrated. People don’t even buy CDs anymore. Why would anyone be interested in how one song might relate to another? Maybe I should just write down every [...]

Now we have a new look to go along with our iPad/iPhone optimization. Special thanks to our Web Wrangler, Keena… Looks like all those trips to the World of Rubber Museum finally paid off! [...]