chicago blues

John Paul Hammond (born 13th November 1942), also known as "John Hammond Jr", is a blues singer and guitarist. He usually plays acoustic guitars and dobros and sings in a barrelhouse style. Since 1962, when he made his debut on Vanguard Records, Hammond has made 29 albums. In the 1990s he recorded for the Pointblank label. Hammond has earned one Grammy Award and been nominated for four others. He is the son of the legendary record producer John H. Hammond.

Magic Slim was forced to give up playing the piano when he lost his little finger in a cotton gin mishap. He moved first to nearby Grenada.He first came to Chicago in 1955 with his friend and mentor Magic Sam. The elder Magic (Sam) let the younger Magic (Slim) play bass with his band, and gave him his nickname. At first Slim was not rated very highly by his peers. He returned to Mississippi to work and got his younger brother Nick interested in playing bass. By 1965 he was back in Chicago and in 1970 Nick joined him in his group, the Teardrops.

Muddy Waters' first-born son arrived in 1954 and was given his mother's maiden name. The boy was raised by his mother and often heard the nicknames "Muddy", "Mud Jr." and "Little Mud". Also known as Larry Williams, today he says you can, "Just call me MUD!" Just like his old man Mud Morganfield was a truck driver with a passion for music and in his spare time he would sing with various soul groups.

Louisiana Red (born Iverson Minter, 1932, Bessema, Alabama, United States) is a blues guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who has recorded more than 50 albums. In a career spanning over half a century, Louisiana Red has played with just about every major bluesman you can name, some of the most memorable encounters being his jams with B.B.King and Muddy Waters. But it doesn’t matter who he plays with or where he appears - Louisiana Red brings the same intensitiy and enthusiasm to every stage he appears on...