Blues legend Bessie Smith’s tombstone (ironically, purchased by singer Janis Joplin just before her own death) declares, “The greatest blues singer in the world will never stop singing.” Smith may be ...

Shemekia Copeland has a distinctive voice. The Washington Post called her, “the greatest blues singer of her generation,” and the Chicago Tribune called her, “the greatest blues vocalist working today ...

Born from the spirituals, work songs, and field hollers of African American communities in the Deep South, blues music gave ...

Ma Rainey is best known, but Ida Cox, Cora Mae Bryant, Beverly ‘Guitar’ Watkins and Precious Bryant left essential music. From left to right: Ma Rainey, Beverly “Guitar” Watkins, Ida Cox, Precious ...

Blues music is a soulful genre. It has roots deeply embedded in the Black experience. Blues has long been a powerful expression of the struggles, joys and resilience of Black life in America.

The singer/songwriter is one of the 2024 Kennedy Center honorees. In 1996, Raitt spoke to Fresh Air about about the musicians that inspired her, including Mississippi Fred McDowell. This is FRESH AIR.

Nashville, Austin, New Orleans, Chicago, and New York are some of the more notable American locations for music. However, the location that partially gave these places their music: the Mississippi ...

The subgenre of contemporary blues is best defined as one that merges the traditions of blues music (which date back at least to the 1860s) with more modern musical aspects. The Grammy Awards ...