By John Morthland, eMusic ContributorUntil Berry Gordy founded Motown in 1960, Don Robey's Duke-Peacock, and its several subsidiary labels, was the largest black-owned record company inAmerica. Sonically, it was a diverse outfit. Robey never confined his roster to regional… more »
By John Morthland, eMusic ContributorBy now, nearly everyone knows the classic Christmas blues, starting with Charles Brown's "Merry Christmas Baby" and "Please Come Home for Christmas." Christmas songs, after all, are a perennial favorite throughout the record industry. But… more »
By John Morthland, eMusic ContributorFor years, the Chitlin' Circuit - the network of mostly-Southern, mostly-rural clubs where black artists performed from the 1930s into the '60s - has been an elusive element in music history, often referred to but… more »
By John Morthland, eMusic ContributorThese are not easy times for blues. That's been true much of the time since Bruce Iglauer founded Alligator Records in Chicago in 1971, after he couldn't convince other local blues labels to record Hound… more »
By John Morthland, eMusic ContributorPostwar, electric blues guitar in Texas all derives from T-Bone Walker, says conventional wisdom, and when you hear a great stylist like Pee Wee Crayton soloing in that jazzy, single-string tradition, it seems like an… more »
By John Morthland, eMusic ContributorThey 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… more »