Ellas Otha Bates McDaniel, known professionally as Bo Diddley, was an American guitarist and singer who played a key role in the transition from the blues to rock and roll. He influenced many artists, including Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Animals, George Thorogood, Syd Barrett, and The Clash.
Henry St. Claire Fredericks Jr., better known by his stage name Taj Mahal, is an American blues musician. He plays the guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, and many other instruments, often incorporating elements of world music into his work. Mahal has done much to reshape the definition and scope of blues music over the course of his more than 50-year career by fusing it with nontraditional forms, including sounds from the Caribbean, Africa, India, Hawaii, and the South Pacific.
The Byron Bay Bluesfest, formerly the East Coast International Blues & Roots Music Festival, is an annual Australian music festival that has been held over the Easter long weekend in the Byron Bay, New South Wales, area since 1990. The festival features a large selection of blues and roots performers from Australia and around the world and is one of the world's leading contemporary music festivals.
Tommy Castro is an American blues, R&B, and rock guitarist and singer. He has been recording since the mid-1990s. His music has taken him from local stages to national and international touring. His popularity was marked by his winning the 2008 Blues Music Award for Entertainer of the Year.
The Long Beach Blues Festival, in Long Beach, California, United States, was established in full in 1980, and was one of the largest blues festivals and was the second oldest on the West Coast. It was held on Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend. For many years it was held on the athletic field on the California State University, Long Beach campus. The 2009 festival, the 30th annual, was held at Rainbow Lagoon in downtown Long Beach. The Festival went on hiatus in 2010, and has not been held since.
Music Maker Relief Foundation is an American non-profit, based in Hillsborough, North Carolina. Music Maker Relief Foundation was founded in 1994 by Tim and Denise Duffy to "help the true pioneers and forgotten heroes of Southern music gain recognition and meet their day-to-day needs. Music Maker presents these musical traditions to the world so American culture will flourish and be preserved for future generations."
Phantom Blues is a studio album by American blues artist Taj Mahal.
Shoutin' in Key is a live album by American blues artist Taj Mahal.
Drew Nelson is a Canadian blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and recording artist. Nelson is particularly known for his slide guitar playing. He has been playing professionally for nearly forty years.
Little Freddie King is an American Delta blues guitarist. Despite the name, his style is not based on that of Freddie King, but is more influenced by John Lee Hooker and his approach to electric blues is original.
"Diddy Wah Diddy" is a song written by Willie Dixon and Ellas McDaniel, known as Bo Diddley, and recorded by the latter in 1956. The song shares only its title with Blind Blake's song "Diddie Wah Diddie" recorded in 1929. Over the years, the Bo Diddley song has been covered by many bands and artists, including the Astronauts, Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, the Remains, the Twilights, Taj Mahal, the Sonics, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Ty Segall Band, and the Blues Band among others.
Robert Lewis Jones, known as both Guitar Gabriel and Nyles Jones, was an American blues musician. Gabriel's unique style of guitar playing, which he referred to as "Toot Blues", combined Piedmont, Chicago, and Texas blues, as well as gospel, and was influenced by artists such as Blind Boy Fuller and Reverend Gary Davis. After hearing of Guitar Gabriel from the late Greensboro, North Carolina blues guitarist and pianist, James "Guitar Slim" Stephens, musician and folklorist Tim Duffy located and befriended Gabriel, who was the inspiration for the creation of the Music Maker Relief Foundation. Gabriel wore a trademark white sheepskin hat, which he acquired while traveling and performing with Medicine Shows during his late 20s.
Neal Pattman was an American electric blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. Sometimes billed as Big Daddy Pattman, he is best known for his self-penned tracks, "Prison Blues" and "Goin' Back To Georgia". In the latter, and most notable stages of his long career, Pattman worked with Cootie Stark, Taj Mahal, Dave Peabody, Jimmy Rip, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Guitar Gabriel, and Lee Konitz.
John Dee Holeman was an American Piedmont blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. His music includes elements of Texas blues, R&B and African-American string-band music. In his younger days he was also known for his proficiency as a buckdancer.
Albert White is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has released two albums in his own name, although his musical career started in the late 1950s, when he played in Piano Red's then ensemble, later known as Dr. Feelgood & the Interns.
Cool John Ferguson is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He has released five albums under his own name and played on around twenty others. He is the Director of Creative Development for the Music Maker Relief Foundation, and plays his guitar "upside down".
Brice Lee Gates was an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. The cousin of fellow bluesman Albert Collins, Gates released three albums on the Music Maker label. Gates performed for almost sixty years, for the bulk of that time being resident in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Adolphus Bell was an American electric blues musician, best known as a one-man band. He performed in a professional capacity for five decades and released two albums on the Music Maker label. He also played at various music festivals.
James Arthur "Boo" Hanks was an American Piedmont blues guitarist and singer. He was billed as the last of the Piedmont blues musicians.
Milton Frazier, known professionally as Alabama Slim is an American blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. It was noted that he "plays a minimal guitar style with a piercing attack". Playing on-and-off since the 1950s, Alabama Slim has been involved in the recording of four albums since 2007, having had assistance both from Little Freddie King and the Music Maker Relief Foundation.
