Billy Boy Arnold, Mike Bloomfield, Matt “Guitar” Murphy, Doc Pomus and Allen Toussaint lead the 2012 class of the Blues Hall of Fame, to be inducted tonight (May 9, 2012) at the Memphis Marriott Downtown in Memphis, Tennessee, ahead of Thursday’s 33rd annual Blues Music Awards ceremonies. The 2012 classRead More

In 1972, Albert King joined forces with some of the leading figures in the legendary Stax soul sound to create one of his most celebrated releases You May Also Like: No related posts.

Nominees have been announced for the 33rd Blues Music Awards, to be held on May 10, 2012 at the Cook Convention Center in downtown Memphis, Tennessee. Click through the links for our thoughts on the new nominees! You May Also Like: Johnny Winter Refined His Hell-Raising Brand of Texas BluesRead More

The Bo-Keys, with a spring-loaded, testifying Memphis vibe associated with Otis Redding, Rufus Thomas and Al Green, have put out an album that bubbles like a dark, spicy gumbo. You May Also Like: Al Green’s Secular Comeback Was Made Complete With Lay It Down The Black Keys Hit Upon theRead More

Rufus Thomas, R&B scamp and known ass-shaker about town, was the ripe old age of 53 when this single was released. He hadn’t lost one bit of arm-flapping gusto. Yet, “Do The Funky Chicken” still came out of nowhere. Thomas’s label, Memphis-based Stax, had recently severed ties with Atlantic Records,Read More

Tribute records are a tricky things; star-studded tribute projects even more so. It takes a strong unifying voice, some central character beyond the featured composer, to save them from sounding like choppy compilations. Steve Cropper, on today’s 429 Records release Dedicated, is that voice. Co-founder of Booker T and theRead More

Steve Cropper, of Booker T. and the MGs and Stax Records fame, has trouble picking any one moment on his upcoming star-studded project Dedicated as his favorite. So, we went further back into his legendary soul-soaked career. You May Also Like: No related posts.

Steve Cropper talks about key influences, and how a last-minute delivery charge almost derailed his legendary music career.

His name is linked forever with the town, and the sound, of Memphis. But Booker T. Jones’ influence moves beyond Beale, into hip hop and today’s rhythm-and-blues — something that’s underscored on The Road from Memphis You May Also Like: No related posts.

You made out to Al Green. It’s what worked. Only later, did you realize all that had gone on in those records, starting with this — Green’s first charting hit, “Tired of Being Alone.” His is a voice that whips around, like a sparrow, from flat-footed baritone — all silky-smoothRead More