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Top Chicago blues musicians: All

Rank Topic Wikipedia views
Oct 21 2010
1 Allmusic 16020
2 Muddy Waters - (April 4, 1913 – April 30, 1983) Born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi as McKinley Morganfield, slide guitarist Waters began his career playing the Delta blues. However, he is most known as a Chicago blues musician. 4345
3 Howlin' Wolf 3035
4 Bo Diddley - (December 30, 1928 – June 2, 2008) Born in McComb, Mississippi, Bo Diddley was a guitarist and vocalist who performed electric Chicago blues, rock and roll and rhythm and blues. He had a very long career that began in the 1950s. He recorded well over twenty albums for labels like Checker Records, Chess Records and Atlantic Records, among others. 1977
5 Buddy Guy - Born July 30, 1936 in Lettsworth, Louisiana, Buddy Guy is one of the most recognizable artists from the Chicago blues scene. Both an acoustic and electric guitarist, Guy is also an accomplished singer. He has recorded countless albums for labels like Chess Records, Vanguard Records and Silvertone Records. 1812
6 Little Walter 1151
7 Willie Dixon - (July 1, 1915 – January 29, 1992) Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, double-bassist, singer/songwriter, record producer and guitarist Dixon was a key figure on the acoutsic and electric Chicago blues scene. He was heavily involved in helping start the careers of artists like Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters, to name only a few. He recorded for numerous labels. He also performed jump blues and would sometimes sing jive. 1069
8 Paul Butterfield - (December 17, 1942 – May 4, 1987) Born in Chicago, Illinois, Butterfield was an amplified harmonica blues blues harp player, guitarist, vocalist and flautist who performed blues-rock and Chicago blues. He recorded for a variety of labels during his career, including Bearsville Records and Elektra Records. 794
9 Mike Bloomfield 642
10 Sonny Boy Williamson II (Aleck "Rice" Miller) 548
11 Elmore James - (January 27, 1918 – May 24, 1963) Born in Richland, Mississippi, James was a slide guitarist on acoustic and electric guitars and also a singer. He performed both Delta blues and Chicago blues, though he is most well known for the latter. His technique influenced a generation of guitarists that followed. 533
12 Ron Prince [link]</ref> 497
13 Climax Blues Band - Formed in 1968 and based in Stafford, England, this band performs blues-rock in the Chicago blues vein. In their later years, they have also ventured into the arena of soft rock, roots rock and pop rock. The band has released numerous albums for labels like Sire Records and Warner Bros. Records, among others. 427
14 Big Bill Broonzy - "Big Bill" was born William Lee Conley Broonzy in Scott County, Mississippi on June 26, 1893 or 1898 (the exact year is unclear). Broonzy was an acoustic country blues musician who performed Chicago blues, playing guitar and mandolin accompanied by his own singing. Broonzy recorded over 350 compositions over his career. 415
15 Jimmy Reed 409
16 Cub Koda 360
17 Matt "Guitar" Murphy 354
18 Jimmy Rogers 292
19 Otis Rush 288
20 Koko Taylor 253
21 Syl Johnson 249
22 Junior Wells 244
23 Hound Dog Taylor 231
24 Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - (August 24, 1905 – March 28, 1974) Born in Forest, Mississippi, Crudup was a guitarist and singer that began his career performing Delta blues. He later moved to Chicago, where he continued performing Delta blues and also Chicago blues, both in acoustic and electric environments. It was not until the blues revival of the 1960s that Crudup received widespread appreciation from audiences, performing until his death. 225
25 Hubert Sumlin 219
26 Charlie Musselwhite 211
27 Luther Allison - (August 17, 1939 – August 12, 1997) Born in Widener, Arkansas and then moving to Chicago as a teen, Allison was a major force on the Chicago blues scene. Predominantly an electric guitarist and also a singer, Allison released many albums for the Alligator Records label based in Chicago. 209
28 Pinetop Perkins 208
29 Sonny Boy Williamson I (John Lee Williamson) 203
30 James Cotton - Born July 1, 1935 in Tunica, Mississippi, James Cotton is a harmonica blues player and singer who got his start performing the Delta blues, later moving to Chicago and performing Chicago blues. Performing both in acoustic and electric settings, Cotton has recorded dozens of albums for labels like Alligator Records and Verve. He also leads his own James Cotton Blues Band. 198
31 Blind Blake - (c. 1895–1937) Born in Jacksonville, Florida, guitarist and singer Blind Blake played almost every form of music imaginable. He performed early ragtime on guitar, Piedmont blues, country blues, Delta blues and Chicago blues. A musician of great importance, he recorded frequently for Paramount Records. 173
32 Tampa Red 166
33 Big Joe Williams - Although best known as a Delta blues player and itinerant musician, Williams is an important figure in the development of the Chicago blues sound by virtue of his recordings with John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. 161
34 Magic Sam 155
35 Robert Lockwood, Jr. 134
36 Earl Hooker (January 15, 1930 - April 21, 1970) Born in Clarksdale MS, Earl moved to Chicago with his family in the early 1940s. A cousin of John Lee Hooker, Earl was a slide guitarist who left an indelible mark on the Chicago blues scene. After learning the rudiments of slide guitar from elder blues statesman Robert Nighthawk, Earl joined Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm band in 1949 and toured the south. After returning to Chicago in the mid-1950s, Earl was a much in-demand slide session player, recording with artists like Pinetop Perkins, Muddy Waters and his cousin, John Lee. He died of TB in 1970. 134
37 J. B. Lenoir 128
38 Otis Spann 128
39 Champion Jack Dupree 117
40 Robert Nighthawk 104
41 Big Walter Horton - (April 6, 1917 – December 8, 1981) Born in Horn Lake, Mississippi and also known as Shakey Walter Horton, Horton was one of the better-known harmonica players of his day. He played the gambit, including Memphis blues, Chicago blues, juke joint blues and harmonica blues. He performed both acoustic as well as amplified harmonica, and was also a singer. 98
42 Snooky Pryor 96
43 Scrapper Blackwell - (February 21, 1903 – October 27, 1962) Born in Syracuse, North Carolina as Francis Hillman Blackwell, Scrapper Blackwell performed acoustic Piedmont blues and was an early exponent of Chicago blues who worked closely with pianist Leroy Carr. He also backed singer Black Bottom McPhail. Document Records has issued most of his work in three volumes. 90
44 Johnny Shines 81
45 Eddie Boyd - (November 25, 1914 – July 13, 1994) Born in Stovall, Mississippi, Boyd was a piano blues pianist, singer/songwriter and a fixture of the Chicago blues scene, touring Europe with Buddy Guy in 1965. Though he performed electric and acoustic Chicago blues, Boyd left the United States and lived abroad due to racial discrimination. He recorded for labels like Love Records and Decca Records. 71
46 Kokomo Arnold - (February 15, 1901 – November 8, 1968) Slide guitarist and vocalist Arnold was born in Lovejoy's Station, Georgia and began his career performing in New York. During the latter half of the 1920s he moved to Chicago and began performing Chicago blues, though he stopped recording for good in 1938 because he was not making a livable wage performing. His first recording was for Decca Records. Many compilation albums have been released in the years since, such as those from Document Records. 65
47 Sunnyland Slim 64
48 J. B. Hutto 62
49 Sugar Blue 61
50 Louisiana Red 60
51 John Brim - (April 10, 1922 – October 1, 2003) Born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Brim was an acoustic and electric Chicago blues guitarist, harmonica player and singer who performed regularly with his wife Grace on drums. He recorded for Fortune Records and Chess Records among others. 57
52 Carey Bell - (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) Born in Macon, Mississippi as Carey Bell Harrington, Carey is an acoustic and electric harmonica blues and Chicago blues multi-instrumentalist, performing on bass guitar, guitar, drums and harmonica and vocals. He has released several albums for labels like Alligator Records and Delmark Records. 55
53 Willie Mabon 51
54 Son Seals 51
55 Jimmy Yancey 50
56 Eddie Taylor 50
57 The Harlem Hamfats - Formed in 1936 by musicians that were not even from Harlem, New York led by trumpeter Herb Morand, the group performed mostly Chicago blues and East Coast blues while backing jazz musicians. The members were Kansas Joe McCoy, Charlie McCoy, Odell Rand, John Lindsay, Horace Malcolm, Pearlis Williams and Freddie Flynn. The group's inclusion in the dirty blues genre is due to such songs as Gimme Some of that Yum Yum and Lets Get Drunk and Truck. 48
58 Phil Guy 46
59 J. T. Brown - (April 2, 1918 – November 24, 1969) Born in Mississippi, Brown was an electric and acoustic Chicago blues tenor saxophonist and singer. He performed with musicians like Washboard Sam and Eddie Boyd, and backed other artists like Elmore James. 46
60 Fenton Robinson - (September 23, 1935 – November 25, 1997) Born in Minter City, Mississippi, Robinson performed everything from soul blues and Texas blues to what he is most remembered for, the Chicago blues. He was discovered by Bobby Bland, who soon got him recording for Duke Records. A guitarist and singer, Robinson played both acoustic and electric guitar. He appeared on "Texas Flood" by Larry Davis in 1958. In the 1960s he moved to Chicago, where he later recorded extensively for Alligator Records. 43
61 Blind John Davis - (December 7, 1913 – October 12, 1985) Born in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Davis was an accomplished blues, jazz, and boogie-woogie pianist, who recorded with Sonny Boy Williamson, Tampa Red, Big Bill Broonzy and Merline Johnson amongst others. 42
62 Billy Branch - Born October 3, 1951 in Great Lakes, Illinois, blues harp player and vocalist Branch is a harmonica blues performer who plays electric Chicago blues. He leads his own band, "The Sons of Blues" and has released several albums for labels such as Evidence Records and Alligator Records. 42
63 Mighty Joe Young 39
64 A.C. Reed 39
65 Big Maceo Merriweather 39
66 Jimmy Dawkins - Born October 24, 1936 in Tchula, Mississippi and moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1955, Dawkins is a guitarist and vocalist and a fixture of the modern electric Chicago blues scene. His first album was "Fast Fingers" recorded in 1969 for Delmark Records, for whom he recorded several others. He has also worked for the Earwig Records label, among others. 38
67 Dave Specter 36
68 Byther Smith 35
69 Floyd Jones 35
70 Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson - Born April 11, 1939 is a Chicago blues electric guitarist who is better known for his long stints working with Muddy Waters in the 1970s. In 1980 he began doing solo work, though his debut album was released in 1976 for Evidence Records. He has also recorded for Telarc and Bullseye Blues. 35
71 Donald Kinsey 32
72 Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater - Born January 10, 1935 in Macon, Mississippi, Clearwater moved to Chicago at the age of fifteen. He is a modern electric rhythm and blues and Chicago blues guitarist and singer, and has recorded numerous solo albums for Rounder Records, Delmark Records, and many other labels. 30
73 Eddie Shaw 29
74 Eddie C. Campbell - Born May 6, 1939 in Duncan, Mississippi and moving to Chicago at age ten, electric blues guitarist and singer Campbell plays Chicago blues. The lists of blues musicians he has performed with includes Howlin' Wolf and Luther Allison. His debut album was for the old Mr. Blues Records label, and in years since he has recorded for others such as Blind Pig Records and JSP Records. 29
75 Danny Kalb 29
76 Odie Payne 28
77 Little Mack Simmons 27
78 Washboard Sam 26
79 Big Daddy Kinsey 25
80 Jimmy Johnson (blues guitarist) (b. 1928) 25
81 Lurrie Bell - Born December 13, 1958 in Chicago, Illinois, guitarist and vocalist Bell is the son of blues harp player Carey Bell. Like his father, he is a Chicago blues musician who performs on electric guitar. He has recorded numerous albums, most of which have been for Delmark Records. 25
82 George "Wild Child" Butler - Born October 1, 1936 in Hernando, Mississippi, he is an electric guitarist, blues harp player and vocalist performing Chicago blues. He recorded in the 60s and 70s for Mercury Records. In the 1980s he moved to Canada and continued recording and performing, his last album being for APO Records in 2001. 24
83 Jazz Gillum 24
84 The Four Aces 24
85 Little Brother Montgomery 24
86 William Clarke - (March 29, 1951 – November 2, 1996) Born in Inglewood, California, harmonica blues player and singer William Clarke was an electric Chicago blues musician. He performed for a variety of labels, such as Alligator Records, Watch Dog Records and Rivera Records. 22
87 Nick Moss 21
88 Lil' Ed Williams 21
89 Sammy Lawhorn 20
90 Johnny "Man" Young 20
91 Little Johnny Jones (pianist) 20
92 Johnny Williams 20
93 Alberta Adams 19
94 Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston - Born in Sumrall, Mississippi, Caston was a rhythm and blues pianist and a member of the Chicago blues band Big Three Trio, along with Willie Dixon and Ollie Crawford. He recorded for labels like Okeh Records and Columbia Records with the group. After the Big Three Trio broke up, he began to perform soul music and urban contemporary gospel as an organist. 18
95 Big John Wrencher 18
96 Bonnie Lee 18
97 Moody Jones - Born April 8, 1908 in Earle, Arkansas, died March 23, 1988 in Chicago, Illinois. Played on Maxwell Street in the 1940s and was a significant figure in the development of the post-war Chicago blues sound, backing his cousin Floyd Jones, Snooky Pryor and others on singles released in the late 1940s and early 1950s. 17
98 Arbee Stidham 16
99 George "Mojo" Buford - (born November 10, 1929, Hernando, Mississippi). Played periodically in Muddy Waters' band 15
100 Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers 15
101 Dion Payton 13
102 John Littlejohn 13
103 Studebaker John 13
104 Arthur "Big Boy" Spires 13
105 Johnny B. Moore 12
106 Shakey Jake Harris (April 12, 1921 – March 2, 1990) Born in Earle, Arkansas, Harris was long associated with his nephew, Magic Sam. 12
107 Lester Davenport - Born January 16, 1932 in Tchula, Mississippi and moving to Chicago, Illinois in 1945, Davenport is an electric Chicago blues harmonica player and vocalist. He is also sometimes called "Mad Dog" Davenport. He recorded his first album in 1991 for Earwig Records, and then in 2002 released "I Smell a Rat" for Delmark Records. 11
108 L.V. Johnson 11
109 Zora Young - Born January 21, 1948 in West Point, Mississippi, Zora Young is a forebearer of the Chicago blues scene, a soul-blues and Gospel blues singer who has toured Europe several times and has released many albums for labels like Delmark Records, Deluge Records and Black Lightning Records. 10
110 Buster Benton - (July 19, 1932 – January 20, 1996) Born in Texarkana, Arkansas, Benton played guitar in Willie Dixon's Blues All-Stars, and is best known for his solo rendition of the Dixon penned song, "Spider in my Stew." 9
111 Mississippi Heat a six-piece band comprising a female vocalist Inetta Visor, two guitarists Giles Corey and a guest sixth Carl Weathersby or Lurrie Bell who both appear on his last fewalbums. The rhythm section is formed by Kenny Smith on drums and Steve Howard on bass. Pierre Lacocque is the band leader on the harmonica. 8
112 Little Smokey Smothers 8
113 Steve Freund 7
114 Joe Carter - Born November 6, 1927 in Midland, Georgia and moving to Chicago in his thirties, Carter was a slide guitarist who performed blues-rock, harmonica blues and electric Chicago blues. His first band was popular on the local scene and featured blues harp player Lester Davenport and fellow guitarist Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers. He only recorded in the 1970s and 1980s, when he developed throat cancer and was forced to quit. His records were done for the Barrelhouse Records and JSP Records label. 6
115 Brewer Phillips - Born November 16, 1924 in Coila, Mississippi, Phillips was a Chicago blues and juke joint blues guitarist and singer active from the 1970s to the 1990s. He performed on both acoustic and electric guitar, and recorded for Delmark Records and JSP Records. 6
116 Golden "Big" Wheeler 5
117 Ken Saydak 5
118 Barkin' Bill Smith - Born in Mississippi, Smith has lived in Detroit and St. Louis before he moved to his current home in Chicago. Smith is a Chicago blues singer who does solo work and has also sung for electric blues bands such as Dave Specter & the Bluebirds. He received his name from Homesick James Williamson in the 1950s, but did not record his own album until 1991 for Delmark Records with Dave Specter, and then a followup release in 1994 titled Gotcha!. 5







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