List of harmonica blues musicians
Encyclopedia
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- Deford BaileyDeFord BaileyDeFord Bailey was an American country music star from the 1920s until 1941, and the first performer on the Grand Ole Opry...
- Tom Ball
- Carey BellCarey BellCarey Bell was an American blues musician, who played the harmonica in the Chicago blues style. Bell played harmonica and bass for other blues musicians during the late 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s before embarking on a solo career...
- (November 14, 1936 – May 6, 2007) Born in Macon, MississippiMacon, MississippiMacon is a city in Noxubee County, Mississippi, United States, along the Noxubee River. The population was 2,461 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Noxubee County.-History:...
as Carey Bell Harrington, Carey is an acoustic and electric harmonica blues and Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
multi-instrumentalist, performing on bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
, guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
and harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
and vocals. He has released several albums for labels like Alligator RecordsAlligator RecordsAlligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record...
and Delmark RecordsDelmark RecordsDelmark Records is an independent American jazz and blues record label, based in Chicago since 1958. The label originated in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1953 when owner Bob Koester released a recording of the Windy City Six, a traditional jazz group, under the "Delmar" imprint.-History:Born in 1932 in...
. - Sugar BlueSugar BlueSugar Blue is an American Grammy Award winning blues musician, who plays the harmonica. He is probably best known for playing on The Rolling Stones' single, "Miss You"....
- Billy BranchBilly BranchBilly Branch is an American blues harmonica player and singer of Chicago blues and harmonica blues.-Career:...
- Buster BrownBuster Brown (musician)Buster Brown was an American blues and R&B singer best known for his hit, "Fannie Mae".Brown was born in Cordele, Georgia, and in the 1930s and 1940s he played harmonica at local clubs and made a few non-commercial recordings...
- Harpdog Brown
- Norton BuffaloNorton BuffaloNorton Buffalo was a singer-songwriter, country and blues harmonica player, record producer, bandleader and recording artist best known as a versatile exponent of the harmonica, including chromatic and diatonic....
- George "Mojo" BufordGeorge "Mojo" BufordGeorge "Mojo" Buford was an American blues harmonica player, best known for his work in Muddy Waters' band.-Biography:...
- Eddie "Guitar" BurnsEddie "Guitar" BurnsEddie "Guitar" Burns is an American Detroit blues guitarist, harmonica player, singer and songwriter...
- Lester ButlerLester ButlerLester Butler was an American blues harmonica player and singer. He achieved fame as the singer and harmonica player for the Los Angeles, California, based blues roots band, The Red Devils-Biography:...
- Paul ButterfieldPaul ButterfieldPaul Butterfield was an American blues vocalist and harmonica player, who founded the Paul Butterfield Blues Band in the early 1960s and performed at the original Woodstock Festival...
- (December 17, 1942 – May 4, 1987) Born in Chicago, Illinois, Butterfield was an amplified harmonica blues blues harpBlues harpThe Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica or blues harp , is the most widely known type of harmonica...
player, guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, vocalist and flutist who performed Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
. He recorded for a variety of labels during his career, including Bearsville RecordsBearsville RecordsBearsville Records was founded in 1970 by Albert Grossman. Artists included Todd Rundgren, Elizabeth Barraclough, Foghat, Halfnelson/Sparks, Bobby Charles, Randy VanWarmer, Paul Butterfield's Better Days, Lazarus, Jesse Winchester, and NRBQ. The label closed in 1984, two years before Grossman's...
and Elektra RecordsElektra RecordsElektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....
, which released four great albums of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band featuring Michael BloomfieldMike BloomfieldMichael Bernard "Mike" Bloomfield was an American musician, guitarist, and composer, born in Chicago, Illinois, who became one of the first popular music superstars of the 1960s to earn his reputation almost entirely on his instrumental prowess, since he rarely sang before 1969–70...
and Elvin BishopElvin BishopElvin Bishop is an American blues and rock and roll musician and guitarist.-Career:Bishop was born in Glendale, California, and grew up on a farm near Elliott, Iowa. His family moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was ten years old...
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- Joe CarterJoe Carter (guitarist)Joe Carter was an American blues guitarist and singer, formerly active on the Chicago blues scene.-Biography:...
- Born November 6, 1927 in Midland, Georgia and moving to Chicago in his thirties, Carter was a slide guitarist who performed blues-rockBlues-rockBlues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
, harmonica blues and electric Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
. His first band was popular on the local scene and featured blues harpBlues harpThe Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica or blues harp , is the most widely known type of harmonica...
player Lester DavenportLester DavenportLester "Mad Dog" Davenport , was an American Chicago blues harmonica player and singer.Born in Tchula, Mississippi, United States, Davenport moved from Mississippi to Chicago, Illinois, when he was 14...
and fellow guitarist Otis "Big Smokey" SmothersOtis "Big Smokey" SmothersOtis "Big Smokey" Smothers was an African American, Chicago blues guitarist and singer. He was once a member of Howlin' Wolf's backing band, and worked variously with Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Bo Diddley, Ike Turner, J. T. Brown, Freddie King, Little Johnny Jones, Little Walter, and Willie Dixon...
. He only recorded in the 1970s and 1980s, when he developed throat cancerEsophageal cancerEsophageal cancer is malignancy of the esophagus. There are various subtypes, primarily squamous cell cancer and adenocarcinoma . Squamous cell cancer arises from the cells that line the upper part of the esophagus...
and was forced to quit. His records were done for the Barrelhouse RecordsBarrelhouse RecordsBarrelhouse Records was an American blues and rockabilly record label, set up in 1969 by George Paulus.Its roster included musicians as varied as Washboard Willie, Big John Wrencher, Charlie Feathers, Harmonica Frank, Sleepy John Estes, Johnny "Man" Young, Blind Joe Hill, Joe Carter, Robert...
and JSP RecordsJSP RecordsJSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman , releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson. The label is based in London, England.JSP now predominantly releases remastered CDs...
label. - Cephas & WigginsCephas & WigginsCephas & Wiggins was an American acoustic blues duo, composed of guitarist John Cephas and harmonica player Phil Wiggins . They were known for playing Piedmont blues.- History :...
- Good Rockin' CharlesGood Rockin' CharlesGood Rockin' Charles was an American Chicago blues and electric blues harmonicist, singer and songwriter. He released one album in his lifetime, and is best known for his work with Johnny "Man" Young, Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, Arthur "Big Boy" Spires and Jimmy Rogers.-Biography:He was born Henry...
- ((March 4, 1933 – May 17, 1989) Born Henry Lee Bester in Tuscaloosa, AlabamaTuscaloosa, AlabamaTuscaloosa is a city in and the seat of Tuscaloosa County in west central Alabama . Located on the Black Warrior River, it is the fifth-largest city in Alabama, with a population of 90,468 in 2010...
, Charles released one album in his lifetime, and is best known for his work with Johnny "Man" Young, Otis "Big Smokey" SmothersOtis "Big Smokey" SmothersOtis "Big Smokey" Smothers was an African American, Chicago blues guitarist and singer. He was once a member of Howlin' Wolf's backing band, and worked variously with Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Bo Diddley, Ike Turner, J. T. Brown, Freddie King, Little Johnny Jones, Little Walter, and Willie Dixon...
, Arthur "Big Boy" SpiresArthur "Big Boy" SpiresArthur "Big Boy" Spires was an American blues singer and guitarist, who recorded for a number of record labels in Chicago in the 1950s and 1960s.-Life and career:...
and Jimmy RogersJimmy RogersJimmy Rogers was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, best known for his work as a member of Muddy Waters' band of the 1950s.-Career:...
. - William ClarkeWilliam Clarke (musician)William Clarke was an American blues harmonica player. He was chiefly associated with the Chicago blues style of amplified harmonica, but also incorporated elements of soul jazz and swing into his playing.-Biography:...
- (March 29, 1951 – November 2, 1996) Born in Inglewood, CaliforniaInglewood, CaliforniaInglewood is a city in southwestern Los Angeles County, California, southwest of downtown Los Angeles. It was incorporated on February 14, 1908. Its population stood at 109,673 as of the 2010 Census...
, harmonica blues player and singer William Clarke was an electric Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
musician. He performed for a variety of labels, such as Alligator RecordsAlligator RecordsAlligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record...
, Watch Dog Records and Rivera Records. - Jaybird ColemanJaybird ColemanBurl C. "Jaybird" Coleman was an American country blues harmonica player, guitarist and singer.Born in Gainesville, Alabama, United States, the son of sharecroppers and one of four children. He was born, raised and worked on a farm, and picked up and learned the harmonica at 12 years of age...
- (May 20, 1896 – January 28, 1950) Born in Gainesville, AlabamaGainesville, AlabamaGainesville is a town in Sumter County, Alabama, United States. At the 2000 census the population was 220.-Geography:Gainesville is located at .According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , all of it land....
, Coleman was a country bluesCountry bluesCountry blues is a general term that refers to all the acoustic, mainly guitar-driven forms of the blues. It often incorporated elements of rural gospel, ragtime, hillbilly, and dixieland jazz...
harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
player, guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer who performed early harmonica blues active most in the 1930s. His career fizzled out and he was left to perform as a street act in Alabama. Document RecordsDocument RecordsDocument Records is a British record label that specializes in early American blues, bluegrass, gospel, spirituals jazz, and other rural American genres , generally made between 1900 and 1945...
has issued a compilation of all of his recordings. - James CottonJames CottonJames Cotton is an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who has performed and recorded with many of the great blues artists of his time as well as with his own band.-Career:...
- Born July 1, 1935 in Tunica, MississippiTunica, MississippiTunica is a town in Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, located near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s the town was one of the most impoverished places in the United States, semi-famous for the particularly deprived neighbourhood known as "Sugar Ditch Alley", named for the open...
, James Cotton is a harmonica blues player and singer who got his start performing the Delta bluesDelta bluesThe Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from Memphis, Tennessee in the north to Vicksburg, Mississippi in the south, Helena, Arkansas in the west to the Yazoo River on the east. The...
, later moving to ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
and performing Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
. Performing both in acoustic and electric settings, Cotton has recorded dozens of albums for labels like Alligator RecordsAlligator RecordsAlligator Records is a Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971.Iglauer started the label with his own savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record...
and VerveVerve RecordsVerve Records is an American jazz record label now owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded by Norman Granz in 1956, absorbing the catalogues of his earlier labels, Clef Records and Norgran Records , and material which had been licensed to Mercury previously.-Jazz and folk origins:The Verve...
. He also leads his own James Cotton Blues Band.
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- J. GeilsJ. GeilsJohn Geils popularly known as J. Geils, is an American blues-rock lead guitarist, singer and founder of The J. Geils Band; he has also recorded with several jazz musicians. Born in New York, he grew up in Far Hills, New Jersey where he graduated from Bernards High School.Since 1982, Geils has...
- Alan GlenAlan GlenAlan Glen is a British blues harmonica player, best known for his work with The Yardbirds, Nine Below Zero, Little Axe, and his own bands, The Barcodes and The Incredible Blues Puppies.-Career:...
- Adam GussowAdam GussowAdam Gussow is a scholar, memoirist, and blues harmonica player.Gussow is currently an associate professor of English and Southern Studies at the University of Mississippi in Oxford...
is an American harmonica player and a member of the blues duo Satan and AdamSatan and AdamSatan and Adam, a blues duo consisting of Sterling "Mister Satan" Magee and Adam Gussow , were a fixture on Harlem's sidewalks in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
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- Slim HarpoSlim HarpoSlim Harpo was an American blues musician. He was known as a master of the blues harmonica; the name "Slim Harpo" was derived from "harp," the popular nickname for the harmonica in blues circles.-Early life:...
- (January 11, 1924 – January 31, 1970) Born in Baton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge, LouisianaBaton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
, Harpo is one of the best known bluesBluesBlues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
neck-rack harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
players from his era despite having begun his career as a guitarist. He played everything from Louisiana bluesLouisiana bluesLouisiana blues is a genre of blues music that developed in the period after World War II in the state of Louisiana. It is generally divided into two major sub-genres, with the jazz-influenced New Orleans blues based around the city and the slower tempo swamp blues incorporating influences from...
, swamp bluesSwamp bluesSwamp blues, sometimes the Excello sound, is a sub-genre of blues music and a variation of Louisiana blues that developed around Baton Rouge in the 1950s and which reached a peak of popularity in the 1960s. It generally has a slow tempo and incorporates influences from other genres of music,...
, electric bluesElectric bluesElectric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
and harmonica blues, and was also a singer. - Shakey Jake HarrisShakey Jake HarrisShakey Jake Harris was an American Chicago blues singer, harmonicist and songwriter. Harris released five albums over a period of almost 25 years, and he was often musically associated with his nephew, Magic Sam....
- Big Walter HortonBig Walter HortonWalter Horton, better known as Big Walter Horton or Walter "Shakey" Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming and essentially shy man, Horton is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the history of blues...
- (April 6, 1917 – December 8, 1981) Born in Horn Lake, MississippiHorn Lake, MississippiHorn Lake is a city in DeSoto County, Mississippi, United States. Horn Lake is a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee, which is located just a few miles to the north. As of the 2000 U.S...
and also known as Shakey Walter Horton, Horton was one of the better known harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
players of his day. He played the gambit, including Memphis bluesMemphis bluesThe Memphis blues is a style of blues music that was created in the 1920s and 1930s by Memphis-area musicians like Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie...
, Chicago bluesChicago bluesThe Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
, juke joint bluesJuke joint bluesThe term juke joint blues refers to a form of dance music that combines rhythm and blues and blues music, often played in the 1950s and 1960s, though not restricted to that period. The music tends to be rather heavy on the rhythm, and can encompass both quick and rather slow tunes.-External links:*...
and harmonica blues. He performed both acoustic as well as amplified harmonica, and was also a singer. Sideman with many of the leading bluesmen of the day, still an influence on many players. - Mark HummelMark HummelMark Hummel is an American blues harmonica player, vocalist, songwriter, and long-time bandleader of The Blues Survivors. Since 1991, Hummel has produced the Blues Harmonica Blowout tour, of which he is also a featured performer. The shows have featured blues harmonica players such as James...
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- Giles King Born August 1971 in IpswichIpswichIpswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
, SuffolkSuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
. King has played with "Lightnin Willie and the Poorboys" since 2000 and features on two of his studio albums, Lucky As The Devil and Tracks (2008)
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- Paul LambPaul Lamb (musician)Paul Lamb is a British blues harmonica player and bandleader. He has had a four decade long career as a blues harmonicist and bandleader, with fans around the world.-Biography:...
- Lazy LesterLazy LesterLazy Lester is an American blues harmonica player, whose career spans the 1950s to the 2000s....
- Little SonnyLittle SonnyLittle Sonny is an American electric blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. His early mentor and inspiration was Sonny Boy Williamson II. Nevertheless, Little Sonny stated that his nickname originated with his mother...
- Little WalterLittle WalterLittle Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs , was an American blues harmonica player, whose revolutionary approach to his instrument has earned him comparisons to Charlie Parker and Jimi Hendrix, for innovation and impact on succeeding generations...
- John "Juke" LoganJohn "Juke" LoganJohn "Juke" Logan is an American electric blues harmonica player, singer, pianist and songwriter. He is best known for his harmonica playing on the theme music for television programs and films...
- John Long (musician)
- Louisiana RedLouisiana RedLouisiana Red is an African American blues guitarist, harmonica player, and singer, who has recorded more than 50 albums...
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- Eddie MappEddie MappEddie Mapp was an American country blues harmonicist. He is best known for his accompaniment on record of both Barbecue Bob and Curley Weaver.-Biography:...
- Steve Marriner (2009 Harmonica Player of the Year Award - Maple Blues Awards - Canada)
- Johnny MarsJohnny MarsJohnny Mars is an American electric blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. Over a long career, Mars has worked with Magic Sam, Earl Hooker, B.B. King, Jesse Fuller, Spencer Davis, Ian Gillan, Do-Re-Mi, Bananarama and Michael Roach.-Biography:####Mars was born in Laurens, South Carolina,...
- John MayallJohn MayallJohn Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
- Lee McBeeLee McBeeLee McBee is an American electric blues musician, singer and harmonica player.Though he is primarily a regional blues act in the midwest, McBee gained national attention in the late 1980s and early 1990s for his work with Mike Morgan and the Crawl and for his band the Passions...
- Jerry McCainJerry McCainJerry McCain, often billed as Jerry "Boogie" McCain , is an American electric blues musician, best known as a harmonica player. One of five children of a poor family, many of his siblings became involved in music as well, most notably his brother, Walter, who played drums on some early recordings...
- Mike Morgan - Born November 30, 1959, Morgan is the harmonica blues bandleader of "Mike Morgan & the Crawl", a Texas bluesTexas bluesTexas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
band. He is a guitaristGuitaristA guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and blues harpBlues harpThe Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica or blues harp , is the most widely known type of harmonica...
player, and has released a series of albums for Black Top RecordsBlack Top RecordsBlack Top Records was a New Orleans, Louisiana based independent record label founded in 1981 by brothers Nauman S. Scott, III and Hammond Scott. The label specialized in blues and R&B music. The first release was "Talk To You By Hand" by Anson Funderburgh & The Rockets...
. - Charlie MusselwhiteCharlie MusselwhiteCharlie Musselwhite is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the non-black bluesmen who came to prominence in the early 1960s, along with Mike Bloomfield and Paul Butterfield. Though he has often been identified as a "white bluesman", he claims Native American heritage...
- Sam MyersSam MyersSam Myers was an American blues musician and songwriter. He appeared as an accompanist on dozens of recordings for blues artists over five decades. He began his career as a drummer for Elmore James, but was most famous as a blues vocalist and blues harp player...
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- Curtis SalgadoCurtis SalgadoCurtis Salgado is a Portland, Oregon based blues, R&B, and soul singer-songwriter. He plays harmonica and fronts his own band as lead vocalist.-Career:...
- Mikael SantanaMikael SantanaMikael Santana is an American blues harmonica player and singer-songwriter, who blends the Chicago blues style with jump blues and West Coast swing. He lives in Memphis, Tennessee.-Early years:...
- Satan and AdamSatan and AdamSatan and Adam, a blues duo consisting of Sterling "Mister Satan" Magee and Adam Gussow , were a fixture on Harlem's sidewalks in the late 1980s and early 1990s...
- Harmonica ShahHarmonica ShahHarmonica Shah is an American Detroit and electric blues harmonicist and singer. His playing was influenced by Junior Wells, Jimmy Reed, Little Walter, Lazy Lester, and Little Sonny.-Biography:...
- Mark "Corky" SeigelCorky SiegelMark Paul "Corky" Siegel is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and composer. He plays harmonica and piano. He plays and writes blues and blues-rock music, and has also worked extensively on combining blues and classical music...
- Little Mack SimmonsLittle Mack SimmonsLittle Mack Simmons was an African American, Chicago blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter.-Biography:...
- George "Harmonica" Smith - (April 22, 1924 – October 2, 1983) Born in Helena, ArkansasHelena, ArkansasHelena is the eastern portion of Helena-West Helena, Arkansas, a city in Phillips County, Arkansas. As of the 2000 census, this portion of the city population was 6,323. Helena was the county seat of Phillips County until January 1, 2006, when it merged its government and city limits with...
, Smith was a Harmonica blues blues harpBlues harpThe Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica or blues harp , is the most widely known type of harmonica...
player and singer and exponent of West Coast bluesWest Coast bluesThe West Coast blues is a type of blues music characterized by jazz and jump blues influences, strong piano-dominated sounds and jazzy guitar solos, which originated from Texas blues players relocated to California in the 1940s...
, spending most of his career in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. Playing harmonica on an amplified microphone as well as in acoustic settings, he released at least four albums under his own name. - Wade Schuman, of Hazmat ModineHazmat ModineHazmat Modine is a blues/folk/world fusion/jazz musical group from New York. "Hazmat" is a portmanteau of "hazardous material" and "Modine" is the name of a company that manufactures commercial heaters but may be used to refer to the heater itself...
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- Junior WellsJunior WellsJunior Wells , born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., was an American Chicago blues vocalist, harmonica player, and recording artist...
- Golden "Big" WheelerGolden "Big" WheelerGolden "Big" Wheeler was an American Chicago blues and electric blues singer, harmonicist and songwriter. He released two albums in his lifetime, and is best known for his recordings of the songs "Damn Good Mojo" and "Bone Orchard"...
- Sonny Boy Williamson ISonny Boy Williamson ISonny Boy Williamson was an American blues harmonica player and singer, and the first to use the name Sonny Boy Williamson.-Biography and career:...
- Sonny Boy Williamson IISonny Boy Williamson IIWillie "Sonny Boy" Williamson was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, from Mississippi. He is acknowledged as one of the most charismatic and influential blues musicians, with considerable prowess on the harmonica and highly creative songwriting skills...
- Chris Wilson
- Kim WilsonKim WilsonKim Wilson is an American blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman for The Fabulous Thunderbirds on two hit songs of the 1980s; "Tuff Enuff", and "Wrap It Up."-Career:...
- Born January 6, 1951 in Detroit, MichiganDetroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
, Wilson is better known as the leader of The Fabulous ThunderbirdsThe Fabulous ThunderbirdsThe Fabulous Thunderbirds are an American, Grammy-nominated Blues rock band, formed in 1974.-Career:After performing for several years in the Austin, Texas blues scene, the band won a recording contract with Takoma/Chrysalis Records, and later on signed with Epic Records.Their first two albums,...
. A blues harpBlues harpThe Richter-tuned harmonica, or 10-hole harmonica or blues harp , is the most widely known type of harmonica...
player and singer, Wilson performs Texas bluesTexas bluesTexas blues is a subgenre of blues. It has had various style variations but typically has been played with more swing than other blues styles....
, blues-rockBlues-rockBlues rock is a hybrid musical genre combining bluesy improvisations over the 12-bar blues and extended boogie jams with rock and roll styles. The core of the blues rock sound is created by the electric guitar, piano, bass guitar and drum kit, with the electric guitar usually amplified through a...
and harmonica blues. Starting in the 1990s, he began pursuing a solo career, out of which he has released at least five solo albums for labels such as Discovery RecordsDiscovery RecordsDiscovery Records was a United States-based record label known for its recordings of jazz music.Discovery was founded in 1948 by jazz fan and promoter Albert Marx...
. - Big John WrencherBig John WrencherBig John Wrencher , also known as One Arm John, was an American blues harmonica player and singer, well known for playing on Maxwell Street Market, Chicago in the 1960s, and who later toured Europe in the 1970s.-Biography:...