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Arthur “Blind” Blake (c. 1896 – December 1, 1934) stands among the most admired and technically brilliant acoustic guitarists to emerge in the U.S. during[…]

Eleanora Fagan, universally known by her stage name Billie Holiday and affectionately nicknamed “Lady Day,” remains one of the most influential vocalists in American music.[…]

Walter “Big Walter” Horton stands among the most influential harmonica players in American blues. Renowned for a warm, powerful tone, a deceptively simple phrasing that[…]

Mabel Louise Smith (May 1, 1924 – January 23, 1972), known professionally as Big Maybelle, was one of the most powerful and distinctive voices in[…]

Major “Big Maceo” Merriweather (March 31, 1905 – February 23, 1953) was one of the most influential blues pianists of the prewar and immediate postwar[…]

Joseph Lee “Big Joe” Williams (October 16, 1903 – December 17, 1982) stands among the most distinctive and idiosyncratic figures of American Delta blues. A[…]

Joseph Vernon “Big Joe” Turner Jr. (May 18, 1911 – November 24, 1985) was a foundational American blues singer whose powerful, chest-driven voice and commanding[…]

Big Bill Broonzy stands as one of the most influential figures in the history of American blues. Active during the formative decades in which the[…]

Bessie Smith stands as one of the most commanding and influential figures in the history of American music. Known universally as the “Empress of the[…]

Benny Goodman, often called the “King of Swing,” stands as one of the most influential figures in American music. His clarinet mastery, bandleading genius, and[…]