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Bobby Blue Bland: The Singer’s Singer
By John Morthland, eMusic Contributor
Until his health gave out on him, Bobby Blue Bland was the singer's singer. One of the biggest black hitmakers of the '60s, he had little crossover success but influenced countless other vocalists. He personified the sturdiest bridge in the transition from blues to soul music. And nearly everything you need to know about him can be found on three albums of two discs apiece: I Pity the Fool/The Duke Recordings, Volume 1; Turn On… more »
Houston Blues Guitars
By John Morthland, eMusic Contributor
They grew up together in Houston's rough-and-tumble Third Ward, played in bands together as teenagers. Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland and Joe Hughes were all devotees of the classic Texas electric guitar sound of T-Bone Walker and Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown. But all three absorbed their primary influences early on, and took the sound to three strikingly different places. Collins was the first to emerge nationally. In the late '50s and early '60s, he cut a string of… more »