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Bessie Smith, "The Empress Of The Blues", a uniquely powerful, soulful and uncompromising blues singer, was an originator and a star. She became one of the highest-paid Black performers of her time,... more

Vinyl LP pressing. Howlin' Wolf was one of the most charismatic and exciting performers in the history of blues music. Standing six feet three inches he was a mountain of a man whose menacing vocal... more

Arthur 'Blind' Blake was a blues and ragtime guitarist, singer and songwriter who was a leading pioneer and member of what became known as the Piedmont school of bluesmen, performing in a style that... more

Muddy Waters was one of the most important figures in post-war blues, influencing some of the most significant rock musicians of his era. He was one of the most prominent, in a relatively small... more

Eugene "Buddy" Moss, one of 12 children of a family of sharecroppers, was a blues singer guitarist and harmonica player from Georgia, and was one of what became known as the Piedmont school of... more

Hudson Whittaker, better known as Tampa Red, was a hugely prolific and influential blues guitarist, singer and songwriter, an innovative slide guitarist and the first black musician to play a... more

Ray Charles was one of the most iconic and influential artists in the annals of pop as a singer, songwriter and pianist, and while he is considered one of the godfathers and great innovators of soul... more

The guitar-playing right-hand man of Leroy Carr also recorded a lot under his own name, and that's the focus here: 43 tracks that take us from Blackwell's 1928–35 original prime on Vocalion, Gennett,... more

Armed with guitar, jug, kazoo, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, washboard and percussion, the Memphis Jug Band were a tremendously entertaining unit, mixing blues with infectious humor and an... more

Himself a Chicago bootlegger during the Prohibition, this Georgia native made a name for himself as a Windy City bluesman after the Prohibition ended, making Decca recordings of his own songs that... more

After cutting his teeth with Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King and Bobby "Blue" Bland, Little Junior broke out on his own and developed his own signature style blending downhome blues and a smoother uptown... more

Guitarist, singer and songwriter Lightnin' Slim (real name Otis Hicks) was born in Louisiana in 1913 and was a pioneer and first prominent exponent of the "Swamp Blues" style, coming relatively late... more

Papa Charlie Jackson was one of the first country blues artists to emerge from the minstrel, vaudeville and medicine shows to become a successful recording artist during the 1920s. Born in New... more

Hits, classics, overlooked B-sides…30 Imperial, J-B, Specialty and Atco sides by the New Orleans bluesman whose crunchy guitar tones showed future rockers the way: "The Things That I Used to Do,"... more

Along with Bessie Smith, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey has come to be recognised as one of the towering figures of early blues, pioneering the recording of blues by female artists during the earliest years of... more

No blues-harmonica collection—really, no blues collection—is complete without these prime Rice Miller recordings. This is some value for 51 classics and rarely compiled cuts: "Eyesight to the Blind,"... more

Robert Nighthawk, also known during the early years of his career by the name of Robert Lee McCoy, as well as other pseudonyms like Ramblin' Bob and Peetie's Boy, was a blues slide guitarist, singer... more

Etta James is widely regarded as one of the finest female blues, R&B and soul singers of the modern era, second only in some eyes to Aretha Franklin - Atlantic's Jerry Wexler called her "the greatest... more

The rockin', up-tempo R&B numbers, the smooth, seductive ballads…every A- and B-side by Harvey Fuqua and his Moonglows, one of the most influential doo-wop groups of 'em all. Their biggest smash,... more

Bobby Bland, often known as Bobby "Blue" Bland, was one of the best blues, R&B and soul singers of the post-war era, recognised as one of the finest interpreters of blues-influenced songs, comparable... more

The Hook recorded foot-stomping, gritty-guitar, deep-voiced boogie-blues classics for all those labels in and around the '50s. With its price, its 101 tracks and its plethora of essential classics,... more

Those who love Chicago blues need Walter's Checker singles—and if you're a fan of blues harmonica, these should be the centerpiece of your collection. Here are all the Checker sides by blues harp's... more

Arthur 'Big Boy' Crudup was a Mississippi Delta blues guitarist, singer and noted songwriter who was often known as "The Father of Rock 'n' Roll", because even in the early '40s he was playing in a... more

Here it is: all of Elmore James' classic singles in one massive volume. 52 tracks comprise the A- and B-sides of every single he released from his debut in 1951 to a few months before his death.... more