Embedded Files
Historical Figures
Historical Figures
Mattie Delaney was a Delta blues guitarist and singer who was born around 1905 in Mississippi. Relatively little is known about her life. While Delaney recorded only two known songs, “Tallahatchie River Blues” and “Down the Big Road Blues,” for Vocalion Records in the early 1930s, she remains an important figure in blues history. Listen to her play the song, "Down the Big Road Blues."
Queen Sylvia Embry, born Sylvia Lee Burton in 1941 in Wabbaseka, Arkansas, was a talented blues bassist and vocalist known for her commanding stage presence in Chicago’s vibrant blues scene. Moving to Chicago in her twenties, Embry initially played gospel music before transitioning to the blues, where she became a sought-after bassist, performing alongside notable artists like Lefty Dizz before fronting her own band and making her first recordings with Alligator Record's Living Chicago Blues series. Embry’s work helped break barriers for women instrumentalists in blues, leaving a legacy in Chicago blues history. Listen to her play a live show with Jimmy Dawkins in 1983. Sylvia Embry died of cancer in 1992.
Born in Livingston, Alabama around 1920, Cora Fluker was a traditional gospel and blues singer and guitarist whose music was deeply rooted in the Black folk traditions of the Deep South. Raised in a family of cotton field laborers, she often led the field while singing work songs and spirituals. Inspired by a rich musical lineage as the niece of Rich Amerson and Vera Hall, two celebrated Alabama folk artists recorded by the Lomaxes, Fluker fashioned her first guitar out of “screw wire” and “a piece of plank,” and taught herself how to play. She performed at the Chicago Blues Festival in 1992 and the Sunflower Blues Festival in Mississippi in 1993. She also appears on several compilations, including The Introduction to Living Country Blues USA field recordings, Sisters of the South, and We are the Music Makers. Listen to her performance of the song “Move Daniel.”
Rosa Lee Hill was born around 1911 in Como, Mississippi. She was part of the musical Hemphill family that included her father Sid Hemphill, a locally renowned blues artist, and her niece Jessie Mae Hemphill. Rosa Lee Hill played a variety of instruments, including fife, banjo, and drums, but she was best known for playing North Mississippi Hill Country blues on guitar. She was recorded by ethnomusicologist Alan Lomax in 1959 and by the blues historian George Mitchell in 1967. Her recordings with Mitchell were reissued by Fat Possum Records under the title Rosa Lee Hill and Friends and featured both Jessie Mae Hemphill and Precious Bryant. Rosa Lee Hill was best known for her songs "Bullyin’ Well" and "Rolled & Tumbled." She died in 1968 in Senatobia, Mississippi.
Born Barbara Lynn Ozen in Beaumont, Texas in 1942, Barbara Lynn is an influential Texas blues and R&B singer, songwriter, and left-handed guitarist. Lynn taught herself to play electric guitar at a young age and later started her own band in high school. She eventually went on to front her own band, writing many of her own songs while self-accompanying on her guitar. Lynn is best known for her chart-topping 1962 R&B hit, "You’ll Lose a Good Thing.” A recipient of the Rhythm and Blues Foundation’s Pioneer Award, the Star of Texas Folklife Award, and the National Endowment of the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship, Lynn continues to inspire future generations of blues and R&B musicians. Here she is playing “What’d I say” on the television show The !!! Beat.
Odetta Holmes, known simply as Odetta, was born on December 31, 1930, in Birmingham, Alabama, and is celebrated as a powerful figure in American folk and blues music. Often called the "Voice of the Civil Rights Movement," Odetta used her rich, commanding voice and distinctive guitar playing to bring traditional folk songs, blues, and spirituals to new audiences. She performed “I’m on my way” and “Oh Freedom” at the March on Washington in 1963 and later took part in the Selma to Montgomery March in 1965. Her debut solo album Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues was released in 1956 by Tradition records. She went on to produce many more studio albums, compilations, and recorded live performances. She was nominated for multiple Grammy awards, received the NEA's National Medal of Arts in 1999, and was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2024. Through her music, she inspired artists like Bob Dylan and Joan Baez, blending blues and folk with a call for social change. Listen to her perform “Waterboy” in 1959.
Esther Mae Scott, also known as Mother Scott, was a multi-instrumentalist and blues musician who embodied the spirit of early 20th-century Black American music. Born into a sharecropping family in Mississippi in 1893, Scott taught herself to play guitar, mandolin, banjo, and piano at a young age. As a teenager, she joined W.S. Wolcott's Rabbit Foot Minstrels, touring the South and honing her skills as a singer, guitarist, and dancer. Like her contemporary Elizabeth Cotten, Scott spent several decades working as a domestic servant, first in Mississippi and later in Baltimore, putting her musical career on hold. In the late 1950s, she moved to Washington D.C. and experienced a musical renaissance, performing first in churches, weddings, nightclubs, and schools, and later expanding to folk festivals, radio, and television appearances. At the age of 78, Scott released her first and only album, Mama Ain't Nobody's Fool (1971), cementing her legacy as an important figure in early blues.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, born Rosetta Nubin on March 20, 1915, in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, was a groundbreaking gospel and blues musician whose electric guitar playing lay the foundation for the birth of rock and roll. Known as the “Godmother of rock and roll,” Tharpe combined gospel with rhythm, blues, and early rock elements, creating a unique and powerful sound. Her guitar style was pioneering, marked by heavy use of distortion and swing-inspired rhythms that contributed to the development of electric and British blues, and influenced musicians like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash. Her hit song, “Strange Things Happening Every Day,” recorded in 1944, became the first gospel song to cross over into the R&B charts and is often considered one of the first rock and roll records. Tharpe’s contributions to gospel, blues, and rock and roll were posthumously recognized with her induction in the Blues Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017, finally recognizing her legacy as a true music pioneer.
L.V. Thomas, also known as L.V. Grant and "Elvie" Thomas, was a mysterious yet important figure in early blues history. Born in Houston, Texas, in 1891, she recorded only a handful of tracks in 1930 with Geeshie Wiley, including her most well-known song, Motherless Child Blues. Relatively little is known about L.V. Thomas, though the publication of John Jerimiah Sullivan's New York Times Magazine article "The Ballad of Geeshie and Elvie," is starting to change this for both L.V. and Geeshie. She reportedly lived a quite life in a small Texas town of Tomball and avoided the limelight. Her musical career appears to have been brief, most likely because of the restrictions and hardships faced by Black women in the Jim Crow South. Despite her relative obscurity, her legacy and impact on blues music endures. Listen to her take the lead on "Motherless Child Blues" while Geeshie Wiley accompanies her on guitar.
Contemporary Artists
Contemporary Artists
Gaye Adegbalola is an activist, teacher, and award-winning blues guitarist. She is a founding member of Saffire – Uppity Blues Women. The trio released their first album Middle Aged Blues in 1987. Their song by the same title won the W.C. Handy Award for “Song of the Year” in 1990. After 25 years together, the group disbanded and Adegbalola went on to pursue a solo career, recording her first album Bitter Sweet Blues in 1999. A recipient of numerous awards, including the Blues Music award, Adegbalola has left a lasting mark on blues music, using her art as a platform for empowerment and social change. Listen to her play slide and fingerpicking blues guitar in her Amelia Street Session.
Joan Armatrading is a British singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Skilled on both (6 and 12 string) guitar and piano, she released her first album Whatever’s for Us in 1972. Over the span of her long career, she has produced more than 30 studio albums. One of her most successful albums, Into the Blues, debuted at number one on the Billboard Blues Chart and was also nominated for a Grammy Award. Over the course of her career, Armatrading has received numerous accolades and awards, solidifying her status as an influential and trailblazing artist. Listen to her play the song "Steppin’ Out " live in 1979.
Deborah Coleman was a blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter known for her fierce guitar playing and powerful stage presence. Influenced by blues legends like Memphis Minnie and Jimi Hendrix, she developed a style that married traditional blues with elements of rock. Throughout her career, she received numerous awards and accolades, including multiple nominations for the W.C. Handy Blues Music Award. The blues world lost Deborah Coleman in 2018 when she died unexpectedly from bronchitis and pneumonia but she left an indelible mark on blues music and culture. Watch her performance at the 2007 North Atlantic Blues Festival in Rockland, Maine.
Ruthie Foster is a singer-songwriter and guitarist known for her rich blend of blues, gospel, soul, and folk. After serving in the Navy and pursuing a career in New York, she returned to her roots in Texas to establish herself in the blues and roots music scene. One of her best-known songs, “Phenomenal Woman,” inspired by the Maya Angelou poem, is a standout track from her album The Phenomenal Ruthie Foster and has become an anthem celebrating the strength and spirit of women. Foster’s work has garnered critical acclaim and numerous awards, making her one of the most respected voices in contemporary blues and Americana. Listen to her play one of my personal favorites, “Up Above My Head,” a song also performed by the late, great Sister Rosetta Tharpe.
Rhiannon Giddens makes my short list of artists I most admire. She is a Grammy and Pulitzer Prize winner, MacArthur Genius grant recipient, and celebrated musician known for amplifying the voices of historically marginalized artists. Giddens is a classically trained vocalist and multi-instrumentalist who uses instruments like the banjo, fiddle, and viola to explore and reinterpret the cultural contributions of Black musicians in American music history. In addition to her five solo studio albums, she was a founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops and Our Native Daughters, the other half of Duo with Francesco Turrisi, and Artistic Director of the Silkroad Ensemble. Beyond music, she’s an accomplished author, actor, and host, known for her collaborations on projects like the opera Omar, the ballet Black Lucy at the Bard. Listen to her play my absolute favorite song, “Julie,” on her 1858 replica minstrel banjo.
Brittany Howard is a celebrated singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for her powerful vocals and genre-defying approach to music, often fusing elements of blues, rock, soul, folk, and psychedelic influences into one distinct style that resists easy classification. Howard rose to fame fronting the Grammy-winning band Alabama Shakes. In 2018, the band went on hiatus, creating the space for Howard to launch her very successful solo career with the release of her Grammy winning debut album Jamie (named after her late sister) in 2019. Listen to her live performance of her hit song, “Stay High” (I just love this song!).
Valerie June is a Grammy nominated singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist known for her distinctive blend of Appalachian folk, blues, gospel, country, bluegrass, and soul. Born on January 10, 1982, in Jackson, Tennessee, she grew up in a musically rich environment and began performing at a young age, learning to play guitar and banjo, which became central to her sound. June has released several acclaimed albums, including The Moon and the Stars, The Order of Time, and Pushing Against the Stone. She is also a published poet and the author of the book, Somebody to Love: The Story of Valerie June’s Sweet Little Baby Banjolele. Listen to her play one of her most well-known songs, “Workin’ Woman Blues.”
Kaia Kater is a Canadian-born musician whose Appalachian folk and Black Americana sound is deeply informed by her Grenadian-Canadian heritage. Born in Montreal and raised in Toronto, Kater studied Appalachian music in West Virginia, where she developed her distinctive style on the clawhammer banjo, an instrument she uses to explore themes of social justice, Black identity, and the experiences of diasporic communities. Watch her play one of my personal favorites, “Saint Elizabeth.”
Amythyst Kiah, who is easily one of my favorite musicians of all time, is a rising star from East Tennesse whose musical compositions draw on elements of blues, folk, country, rock, and pop to create her own distinctive brand of “Southern Gothic” that “doesn’t play by anyone’s rules but her own” (Pitchfork). A powerhouse vocalist and skilled guitarist and banjo player, Kiah self-released her debut album Dig in 2013 and her EP Her Chest of Glass three years later. Her best-known song, “Black Myself,” initially recorded with the group Our Native Daughters, won a Grammy nomination and became an anthem for the Black Lives Matter movement, self-empowerment, and the strength of the human spirit. Kiah’s second album, Wary + Strange garnered widespread critical acclaim, solidifying her reputation as a transformative voice in contemporary roots music. Watch her performance of the song, “Black Myself,” and be sure to explore her newest album Still + Bright. She is also amazing in concert!
Originally from Sacramento, California, Hannah Mayree plays the banjo, guitar, and other traditional folk instruments, drawing on roots music and African Rhythms to create a sound that honors both her heritage and her deep connection to nature. In addition to her solo work, she is the founder of the Black Banjo Reclamation Project, an initiative aimed at reconnecting Black communities with the banjo’s African roots and fostering cultural restoration. Listen to my favorite Hannah Mayree song, “Home.”
Leyla McCalla, a classically trained cellist who also plays (tenor and clawhammer) banjo and guitar, creates music rooted in folk, blues, Haitian Creole, and Cajun traditions. Born in New York City to Haitian immigrant parents, McCalla grew up in a bilingual, multicultural household that has deeply influenced her sound and storytelling. She joined forces with Rhiannon Giddens in the Grammy-winning group Carolina Chocolate Drops and later collaborated with Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, and Allison Russell in Our Native Daughters. McCalla and Russell co-wrote the song “I Knew I Could Fly,” which they later dedicated it to the legendary guitarist Etta Baker. McCalla's 2014 solo debut, Vari-Colored Songs, was met with wide acclaim, and she continues to explore complex themes in her recent work, including her fifth album, Breaking the Thermometer. Watch her perform selections from this album in her NPR Tiny Desk concert, and be sure to check out her latest release, The Sun Without the Heat.
Toshi Reagon is a guitarist, singer, songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia best known for her genre-blending approach to blues, folk, rock, and gospel, often incorporating themes of social justice and community. Reagon is the daughter of the late Civil Rights icon Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, founding member of the famed a cappella group Sweet Honey and the Rock. In 2017, Toshi Reagon collaborated with her mother to write and produce the musical adaptation of Octavia Butler’s novel Parable of the Sower. Watch her TEDxUNC Colorwheel performance and talk.
Allison Russell is a Canadian musician from Montreal, known for her contributions to folk and Americana music. She plays a range of instruments, including guitar, banjo, and clarinet. Russell first gained recognition as a member of Po' Girl, a Canadian roots band, and later as part of Birds of Chicago, a duo with her husband, JT Nero. Russell is also a founding member of the group Our Native Daughters, a supergroup that includes Rhiannon Giddens, Amythyst Kiah, and Leyla McCalla. In 2021, Russell’s debut solo album Outside Child garnered widespread critical acclaim and earned her multiple Grammy nominations. Her latest album The Returner further cemented her career as a solo artist, winning her a Grammy and showcasing her storytelling and musical talent. Watch her perform “You’re Not Alone” at the 2024 Can’t Cancel Pride celebration.
Valerie Turner is a musician and educator specializing in Piedmont blues, a fingerpicking guitar style rooted in the East Coast Black tradition (from Richmond, Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia). Originally from New York City, Turner developed her skills in traditional blues guitar, drawing inspiration from blues legends like Etta Baker and Mississippi John Hurt. She performs as part of the duo Piedmont Blūz, alongside her husband, Benedict Turner. Known for her dedication to preserving lesser-known blues styles and artists, Turner works to highlight the sound labor and contributions of Black women blues guitarists in her performances and writings. Listen to her perform Geeshie Wiley’s best known song, “Last Kind Words.”
Born to Nigerian immigrant parents and raised in Casa Grande, Arizona, Joy Oladokun is a singer-songwriter and guitarist whose music draws from many different genres and often addresses themes of love, mental health, identity, and survival. One of her best-known songs, “Sunday,” from her acclaimed album in defense of my own happiness, explores her experiences growing up queer in a religious environment and the search for personal freedom. Listen to her play standout tracks in her full concert special, Your Attention Please: The Concert and be sure to check out her latest release Observations from a Crowded Room. She too is one of my all time favorite artists!
Sunny War is an amazing fingerstyle guitarist, singer, and songwriter, known for her unique blend of folk, punk, Americana, and country blues. Born Sydney Lyndella Ward on June 26, 1990, in Nashville, Tennessee, Sunny War began playing guitar at a young age and developed a fingerstyle technique reminiscent of traditional blues players. Her music is often grounded in the themes of personal struggle, resilience, and social justice. Watch her perform my favorite Sunny War song “Lucid Lucy” here and, as a bonus, be sure to check out her insane guitar skills in her cover of "Deep River Blues." Her newest album Armageddon In a Summer Dress is set to release in February 2025.
Adia Victoria is singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for her haunting blend of blues, rock, and Southern Gothic influences, using her music to confront themes of race, identity, and the complexities of Southern life. Born on July 22, 1986, in Spartanburg, South Carolina, she grew up in a conservative, religious, multi-racial household; experiences that later shaped her storytelling through music. Watch her play an unplugged version of her best-known song, “Stuck in the South,” a powerful meditation on feeling alienated in her home region while also reclaiming her Southern roots.
Yola, born Yolanda Quartey, is a British singer-songwriter known for blending elements of country, soul, R&B, rock, and Americana while often self-accompanying on acoustic guitar. Her 2019 debut studio album Walk Through Fire and her follow up 2021 album Stand for Myself were both nominated for multiple Grammy awards. Yola has also stared in the recent Elvis biopic, playing “Godmother of rock and roll,” Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Watch Yola perform one of my favorite songs by her, “Stand for Myself.”
Rissi Palmer is a singer, songwriter, and guitarist consistently breaking barriers as one of the few Black women to gain prominence in country music. Palmer’s best-known song, “Country Girl,” from her 2007 self-titled debut album, was a milestone in country music, reaching the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and establishing her as a groundbreaking artist in a genre that has a long history of eschewing Black artists. In addition to her music, Palmer hosts “Color Me Country Radio,” a platform that amplifies the voices of Black and marginalized artists in country and roots music. Her work has been widely celebrated for challenging genre norms and bringing inclusivity to the forefront of Americana. Watch her perform the song “Seeds” from her album Revival.
Brittney Spencer is a country-pop artist and self-taught guitarist from Baltimore, Maryland. She moved to Nashville in 2013 to kickstart her career as a country music artist. She released her debut album My Stupid Life in 2024. Spencer’s work is celebrated for pushing the boundaries of country music and amplifying diverse voices in the genre. Listen to her play the song “Guitar Lady” from her debut album.
Yasmin Williams is a multi-instrumentalist and composer celebrated for her innovative, fingerstyle technique and her unique “ruminating” approach to creating music. Williams taught herself how to play guitar and released her first EP Serendipity as a teenager. She also self-released her first album Unwind in 2018. In 2021 she released her second album Urban Driftwood through Spinster records and her latest release Acadia through Nonesuch records. Williams often plays with a combination of lap-tapping, fingerpicking, and foot percussion, using instruments like the kalimba and lap-slide guitar to create "textured, complex soundscapes." Watch her play the song “Virga” on her harp guitar.
Curated Playlist of Select Contemporary Artists
Curated Playlist of Select Contemporary Artists
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