John Morthland has been writing about music since the days of electronically rechanneled stereo and duophonic sound. His name has darkened the mastheads of Rolling Stone, Creem, Country Music, Texas Monthly and many other magazines and web sites. Born in Chicago, Morthland lives in Austin, Texas, and prefers his music rootsy; his favorite color is purple and his favorite food is bacon cheeseburgers.
Lazy Lester, the last of the Big Four of swamp blues, is enjoying one of … more »
It used to be easier to pretend that an album was its own perfectly self-… more »
Blues | Contemporary Blues Roy Buchanan, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eden Brent, The Black Keys, Etta James
It used to be easier to pretend that an album was its own perfectly self-… more »
Until Berry Gordy founded Motown in 1960, Don Robey's Duke-Peacock, and i… more »
Hubert Sumlin, who died of heart failure on Dec. 4, 2011, at age 80, had … more »
"Sing Me Back Home" still ranks among Haggard's most heartbreaking songs;… more »
By now, nearly everyone knows the classic Christmas blues, starting with … more »
For years, the Chitlin' Circuit - the network of mostly-Southern, mostly-… more »
Each new album has represented a quantum leap forward for these Girls, an… more »
This Mississippi harmonica man spent the height of his career in St. Loui… more »
The Little Orphan Annie of blues rock, Carolyn Wonderland continues to gr… more »
These youthful Chicago favorites ostensibly explore "the intersection bet… more »
This is a reasonably good introduction to the genre-busting West Coast '5… more »
Blues | Chicago Blues Muddy Waters, Muddy Waters, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Howlin' Wolf
Let me tell you about Let Me Tell You About the Blues, a series of three-… more »
These are not easy times for blues. That's been true much of the time sin… more »
Seals was the most formidable Chicago blues newcomer of the '70s, with hi… more »
The slide guitarist's trio (second guitarist, drums) was banging heads ag… more »
From this, her 1975 label debut, until her death in 2009, Taylor personif… more »
This is arguably the biggest sleeper in Alligator's catalog. Robinson was… more »
Collins had an impressive bag of tricks — minor key tunings, capo, … more »
At eMusic, we take pride in being the place you hear about artists first. Whether it's through our eMusic Selects program - which brought you the first releases by Best Coast, Crystal Stilts, Strand of… more »
