- Sam Phillips
Sam Phillips, born Samuel Cornelius Phillips, was a record producer who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s. He is most notably attributed with the discovery of Elvis Presley, and is associated with several other noteworthy rhythm and blues and rock and roll stars of the period. Phillips was a native of Florence, Alabama and a graduate of Coffee High School. - Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson (born August 17, 1954) is a Grammy Award-winning guitarist and recording artist from Austin, Texas. Best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, New Age, and country and western elements into his recordings. Guitar Player magazine calls Johnson "One of the most respected guitar virtuosos on the planet". Johnson composes and plays not just instrumental songs, but also sings and plays piano. - John Hiatt
John Hiatt (born August 20, 1952 in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA) is an American rock guitarist, pianist, singer, and songwriter. He has played a variety of musical styles on his albums, including New Wave, blues and country. Hiatt has been nominated for eleven Grammy Awards and has been awarded a variety of other distinctions in the music industry. - Larry Carlton
Larry Carlton (born 2 March, 1948) is an American jazz guitarist, dividing his recording time between solo recordings and session appearances with more popular bands. Over his career Carlton has won three Grammys for his performances and compositions, including the theme music for the hit television series, Hill Street Blues (1981). Carlton started learning to play guitar when he was six years old. Taking an interest in jazz whilst at high school, … - Bobby Bland
Bobby "Blue" Bland was born Robert Calvin Bland, January 27 1930, in Rosemark, Tennessee) and is an influencial African-American singer, and an original member of The Beale Streeters. He is sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues". Along with such artists as Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, and Junior Parker, Bland developed a sound that mixed gospel with blues and R&B. =Career= Bobby "Blue" Bland was born 27 January 1930, in Rosemark, Tennessee, USA. - Bukka White
Booker T. Washington "Bukka" White was a delta blues guitarist and singer born near Houston, Mississippi. Even though he didn't like the spelling "Bukka", he was best known by that name. He gave his more famous cousin B.B. King his first guitar, a Stella. Bukka himself is remembered as a player of National Steel guitars. He also played, but was less adept at, the piano. - Earl Hooker
Earl Hooker (January 15, 1929 - April 21, 1970) was an American blues guitarist. Born Earl Zebedee Hooker in Clarksdale, Mississippi, his impoverished family moved to Chicago, Illinois when he was still an infant. Influenced by parents and relatives who played music, he was a cousin of John Lee Hooker and began playing guitar as a teenager. - Joe Sample
Joseph Leslie "Joe" Sample (born February 1, 1939 in Houston, Texas) is an American pianist, keyboard player and composer. He was one of the founding members of the Jazz Crusaders, the band which became simply The Crusaders in 1971, and remained a part of the group until its final album in 1991. Sample began playing the piano when he was five years old. - Dave Clark
Dave Clark was a pioneering African-American record promoter. Born in Jackson, Tennessee, Clark became interested in music after a teacher gave him piano and violin lessons. He later learned band music and performed as a teenager with traveling minstrel shows. He graduated from Lane College in Jackson and attended Juilliard School in New York. He began promoting for Decca Records in 1938, beginning with Jimmie Lunceford. - Sue Foley
Sue Foley (born March 29, 1968) is a Canadian blues singer/guitarist. Widely regarded as one of the finest blues/roots artists working today, Sue Foley has been writing and playing for over twenty years. Sue has recorded ten full-length albums, for both Austin, TX - based Antone's Records and New Jersey-based Shanachie Records. Sue has spent over fourteen years on the road as bandleader, lead vocalist, guitarist and manager of her own band. - Tonia Wilson
- Corey
I am a Computer Tech. I have two biological children a daughter who is 4 years old and a son who is 1 month old, and another son that I think of as my own who is also 4 years old. I am honest with people from the start and keep things real. I would like to be married someday hopefully to my sons mother Baby, I know we are going through some rough times but I hope we can get through it. A special note for my love Baby. - Z. Z. Hill
Arziel Hill (born September 30, 1935, Naples, Texas; died April 27, 1984, Dallas, Texas), known popularly as Z. Z. Hill, was an African-American blues singer, in the Soul blues tradition, known for his 1970s and 1980s recordings for Malaco. His "Down Home Blues" (1982) stayed on the charts for nearly two years. The title track and songs, "Someone Else Is Steppin In" and "Open House" have become R&B/Southern soul staples. - Jackie Brenston
Jackie Brenston was an R&B musician who recorded, with Ike Turner's band, the first version of the proto-rock and roll song “Rocket 88”. Returning to Clarksdale from army service in 1947, Brenston learned to play the tenor saxophone, linking up with Ike Turner in 1950 as sax player and occasional singer in his band. The local success of Turner’s Kings of Rhythm prompted B.B. King to recommend them to studio owner Sam Phillips in Memphis, … - Don Was
Don Was (born Don Fagenson on September 13, 1952 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American musician, bassist and record producer. Fagenson graduated from Oak Park High School in the Detroit suburb of Oak Park, then attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor but dropped out after the first year. A journeyman musician, he grew up listening to the Detroit blues sound and the jazz music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis. - Bill Kirchen
Bill Kirchen (born Jan 29, 1948 in Ann Arbor, Michigan)) is an American rockabilly guitarist. He is best known as lead guitarist with the original Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen from 1967 to the mid-1970s. He played lead guitar on the 1972 Commander Cody hit "Hot Rod Lincoln." He normally plays a Fender Telecaster. Kirchen grew up in Ann Arbor Michigan, where he attended high school with Iggy Pop and Bob Seger. - Barbara Lynn
Barbara Lynn (born Barbara Lynn Ozen, later Barbara Lynn Cumby 16 January 1942 in Beaumont, Texas) is an American rhythm and blues guitarist and singer. She played piano as a child, but switched to guitar. Inspired by blues artists Guitar Slim and Jimmy Reed, and pop acts Elvis Presley and Brenda Lee, she created an all-female band, Bobbie Lynn and the Idols. Singer Joe Barry introduced Lynn to producer Huey Meaux. - Plas Johnson
John Johnson Jr., known since childhood as Plas Johnson, is an American tenor saxophonist, probably most familiar as the lead on Henry Mancini’s "The Pink Panther Theme". He and his pianist brother Ray first recorded as the Johnson Brothers in New Orleans in the late 1940s, and Plas then toured with R&B singer Charles Brown. After army service, he moved to Los Angeles and began session recordings as a full-time musician, … - Blind Mississippi Morris
Morris "Blind Mississippi Morris" Cummings is an American blues artist born in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Cummings lost his sight at the age of four, but that didn’t stop him from learning the blues. Morris has become a popular blues act on Beale Street. Morris and his band, the Pocket Rockets, are known as the "real deal from Beale". Morris has a talented lineage. His cousins, Robert and Mary Diggs, led the Memphis Sheiks, … - Will Lee
Will Lee (born September 8, 1952) is an American musician and bassist, best known for his work on the CBS Television program "The Late Show with David Letterman" as part of the CBS Orchestra. Born in San Antonio, Texas, Lee has recorded and/or toured with many artists including Bette Midler, The Brecker Brothers, Barry Manilow, Mariah Carey, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, B.B. King, Cat Stevens, Michael Bolton, Ringo Starr, Gloria Estefan & the Miami Sound Machine, … - George Coleman
George Coleman (born March 8, 1935 in Memphis, Tennessee) is an American hard bop saxophonist, known chiefly for his work with Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock in the 1960s. Coleman taught himself to play the alto saxophone in his teens, inspired (like many jazz musicians of his generation) by Charlie Parker. Among his schoolmates were Harold Mabern, Booker Little, Frank Strozier, Hank Crawford and Charles Lloyd. - Eric Marienthal
Eric Marienthal is a Los Angeles-based contemporary saxophonist best known for his work in the jazz, smooth jazz, and pop genres. After graduating high school in Southern California in 1976, Eric went on to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Mass. There he studied with the legendary saxophone professor, Joe Viola. By the time he left Berklee, Eric had achieved the highest proficiency rating given by the school. - Will Jennings
Will Jennings (born 1944 in Kilgore, Texas) is a prolific and highly successful American songwriter. He attended school just outside Tyler, TX, in the nearby Chapel Hill Independent School District. Born Wilbur Jennings, he has co-written or wrote songs for a number of motion picture soundtracks and numerous popular singers including Steve Winwood, B.B. King, Peter Wolf, Randy Crawford, Jimmy Buffett, Rodney Crowell, Roy Orbison, Joe Cocker, Eric Clapton, … - Wavy Gravy
Wavy Gravy is a life-long activist for peace and personal empowerment, best known for his hippie appearance, personality, and beliefs. His moniker (which is the name he uses on a day-to-day basis: "It's worked pretty well through my life," he says, "except with telephone operators – I have to say 'Gravy, first initial W.") was given to him by B.B. King at the Texas International Pop Festival while he lay onstage incapacitated by a high dosage of LSD. - Elliot Scheiner
Elliot Scheiner is a record producer and record engineer. Scheiner has received 16 Grammy Award nominations, five of which he won, and he has been awarded two Emmy nominations and three TEC Award nominations. He started as Phil Ramone's assistant at A&R Recording in New York City, and quickly advanced to an engineer. By 1973 he had begun to freelance as an engineer and producer, becoming the first person ever to work as a freelance engineer for other artists. - Jerry Miller
Jerry Miller is an American musician, a guitarist and vocalist who was a member of the 1960s San Francisco band Moby Grape. Before joining the group, Miller and bandmate Don Stevenson were members of The Frantics, a Pacific Northwest bar band. Jerry Miller's professional career began in the late ‘50s, playing and recording with popular Northwest dance-rock bands including the Elegants. - Will Calhoun
Will Calhoun (born William Calhoun, 22 July 1964, Brooklyn, New York) is an American drummer, whom graduated with honors from Berklee College of Music. - Bill Szymczyk
Bill Szymczyk (pronounced) (born February 13, 1943 in Muskegon, Michigan) became a musical producer and technical engineer of rock working with, among others, The Eagles in the 1970s. He produced The Who's 1981 album "Face Dances", which included the hit single "You Better You Bet". He also produced B.B. King, Dishwalla, Joe Walsh, Wishbone Ash, Michael Stanley, Grant Sparks, The James Gang, Tom Kimmel, Ford Theatre and many others. - Clifford Antone
Clifford Antone (October 27, 1949 in Port Arthur, Texas-May 23, 2006 in Austin, Texas) was the founder of a well-known Austin blues club, record label, and a mentor to Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan and numerous other musicians. Antone moved to Austin in 1968 and attended The University of Texas at Austin. An arrest for marijuana led to his dropping out of school. Nurturing a passion for Chicago blues, Antone started a blues club at age 25. The namesake club, … - Riley B King
Is one of the most talented and celebrated electric-blues artists of the late 20th Century. He has recorded between 90 to 100 blues albums over the course of his singing career and is known for refining electric-blues more than any other blues artist, (a genre invented by the late great Muddy Waters). Claims to have fathered 15 children out of wedlock, all with different women. He plays a Gibson B.B. King Lucille. The model he plays used to have a Gibson number name, but starting in... - Flip Wilson
Clerow "Flip" Wilson (December 8, 1933 - November 25, 1998) was an American comedian and actor. Born in 1933 in New Jersey, he was one of eighteen children in an impoverished household. After years of bouncing from foster homes to reform school, sixteen-year-old Wilson lied about his age and joined the air force. His outgoing personality and funny stories made him popular; he was even asked to tour military bases to cheer up other servicemen. - Andy Newmark
Andrew "Andy" Newmark (born July 14 1950) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the influential funk band Sly & the Family Stone from 1973 to 1974. Hired to replace Gerry Gibson, who in turn had replaced founding Family Stone member Gregg Errico, Newmark was invited to audition for Sly Stone by Family Stone saxophonist Pat Rizzo. Newmark went on to record two albums as the Family Stone's drummer, "Fresh" (1973) and "Small Talk" (1974), … - Tom Keifer
Carl Thomas Keifer was born in Springfield, Pennsylvania, on January 26, 1961. He is best known for being the vocalist and guitarist for the band Cinderella. Tom grew up in a musical family and began playing guitar at a young age. By the time he reached his teens, Tom discovered rock bands such as Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones, and Bad Company. Tom was interested to know what kind of music influenced these bands, … - Rui Veloso
Rui Veloso, <small>CavIH</small> (born in 1957,Lisbon), is a Portuguese rock singer and musician. Regarded as the "father of Portuguese rock", this composer and interpreter had a great impact on the Portuguese music scene with the record "Ar de Rock" (April 1980). Songs such as "Chico Fininho" and "A Rapariguinha do Shopping" were instant classics in the 1980s. His lyrics, normally written by Carlos Tê, are strongly influenced by the Porto culture. - Abe Laboriel Jr.
Abe Laboriel Jr. is a world-renowned American drummer, best known for working with artists like Paul McCartney, Sting, Sheryl Crow, Fiona Apple, Eric Clapton, K.D. Lang, Shakira, Jewel, Meredith Brooks, Duran Duran, Liz Phair, Chris Castle, Johnny Halliday, Mylène Farmer, Vanessa Carlton, and others. Laboriel is the son of bassist Abraham Laboriel. In addition to the artists listed above, Laboriel has also recorded and performed with artists like Crystal Lewis, B.B. King, … - Lee Atwater
Harvey Leroy "Lee" Atwater (February 26, 1951 - March 29, 1991) was an American Republican political consultant and strategist. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia and graduated from Newberry College, a small private Lutheran institution in Newberry, South Carolina. Atwater was a trusted advisor of U.S. Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush. He was also a political mentor and close friend of Karl Rove. - Larry Dale
Larry Dale (b. January 7, 1923 in Wharton, Texas) is an American blues singer and guitarist. During the early 1950s Ennis Lowery (his legal name) took initial inspiration on guitar playing from B.B. King, … - Tim Drummond
Tim Drummond (Born: 4/20/41 in Canton, IL) is a legendary American bassist who has played with many music industry legends including Conway Twitty, Bob Dylan, James Brown, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Ry Cooder, J.J. Cale, Lonnie Mack, Miles Davis, B.B. King, Albert Collins, and many others. - Oscar Brand
Oscar Brand (born February 7, 1920, in Winnipeg, Manitoba) is a folk singer and songwriter. In his career, spanning over 60 years, he has composed at least 300 songs and released nearly 100 albums. He has played alongside such legends of American folk music as Leadbelly, Woody Guthrie, and Pete Seeger. He currently resides in Great Neck, New York. He has been hosting the radio show "Oscar Brand's Folksong Festival" every Saturday at 10 pm, … - Jymie Merritt
Jymie Merritt (born 3 May, 1926) is an American hard bop double-bassist, and a father of a bassist, Mike Merritt, from Late Night with Conan O'Brien. Raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, he received early training as a classical bassist (double bass), but he credits the following experiences, which took place in the 1940s, as proving more significant musically: (1) his early gigs in Philadelphia, PA with pianist Hassan Ibn Ali (duo) and (2) jam sessions, …
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