Jamesetta Hawkins, known professionally as Etta James, was an American singer and songwriter. Starting her career in 1954, James frequently performed in Nashville's famed R&B clubs, collectively known as the Chitlin' Circuit, in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. She sang in various genres, including gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, rock and roll, and soul, and gained fame with hits such as "The Wallflower" (1955), "At Last" (1960), "Something's Got a Hold on Me" (1962), "Tell Mama", and "I'd Rather Go Blind". She faced a number of personal problems, including heroin addiction, severe physical abuse, and incarceration, before making a musical comeback in the late 1980s with the album Seven Year Itch (1988).
Mel Brown was an American-born blues guitarist and singer. He is best remembered for his decade-long backing of Bobby Bland, although in his own right Brown recorded over a dozen albums between 1967 and 2006.
Moanin' in the Moonlight is a compilation album and the first album by American blues artist Howlin' Wolf, released by Chess Records in 1959. It contains songs recorded between 1951 and 1959 previously issued as singles, including one of his best-known, "Smokestack Lightning". Rolling Stone ranked it number 477 on its 2020 list of "the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time".
"Goin' Down Slow" or "Going Down Slow" is a blues song composed by American blues singer St. Louis Jimmy Oden. It is considered a blues standard and "one of the most famous blues of all".
Let's Roll is the twenty-sixth studio album by Etta James. It won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album in 2003, and also won a W. C. Handy Award as the Soul/Blues Album of the Year from the Blues Foundation in 2004.
Frankie Lee Sims was an American singer-songwriter and electric blues guitarist. He released nine singles during his career, one of which, "Lucy Mae Blues" (1953), was a regional hit. Two compilation albums of his work were released posthumously.
Love's Been Rough on Me is the twentieth studio album by Etta James, released in 1997 through Private Music. AllMusic noted "... a record that delivers the real goods with grace and style".
Matriarch of the Blues is the twenty-fourth studio album by Etta James, released in December 2000 through the record label Private Music. The album's title reflects James' nickname as "matriarch of the blues". Marking James' return to blues following attempts at country music and jazz and pop standards, the album consists primarily of rhythm and blues covers. James' sons, Donto and Sametto, are credited as engineers, mixers, and producers, among other contributions; the album features Mike Finnigan on the Hammond organ, guitarist Leo Nocentelli, and performances on multiple instruments by Jimmy Zavala.
Blue Gardenia is the twenty-fifth studio album by Etta James, released through the record label Private Music. It was produced by John Snyder, who had worked with James on five of her previous studio albums. Blue Gardenia contains thirteen jazz standards from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. All of the standards were arranged by pianist Cedar Walton, with the exception of "Love Letters", which was arranged by Josh Sklair. Between November 2000 and February 2001, Snyder and Walton assembled musicians to record tracks while James was recovering from a flu; her vocals were added following her recovery. In addition to Walton, artists appearing on the album included Red Holloway on tenor saxophone and Dorothy Hawkins, James' mother, who provided vocals on the title track. Hawkins died in May 2002, less than a year after the album's release.
Heart of a Woman is the twenty-third studio album by Etta James released in June 1999 by RCA Records. The album consists of eleven love songs from her favorite female singers as well as a recording of her most popular song, "At Last". Recorded in March 1999, Heart of a Woman was produced by James and John Snyder with Lupe DeLeon as executive producer. James' two sons Donto and Sametto served as assistant producers. Guest musicians appearing on the album include Mike Finnigan, Red Holloway, and Jimmy Zavala. Critical reception of Heart of a Woman was mixed. The album peaked at number four on the Top Blues Albums chart of Billboard magazine.
Life, Love & the Blues is the twenty-first studio album by Etta James, released in 1998. The album reached a peak position of number three on Billboard's Top Blues Albums chart.
Blues Summit is the thirty-third studio album by B.B. King released in 1993 through the MCA label. The album reached peak positions of number 182 on the Billboard 200, and number 64 on Billboard's R&B Albums chart. The album won a Grammy Award in 1994 for Best Traditional Blues Album.
Bobby Murray is an American electric blues guitarist, songwriter and record producer, who played in Etta James' backing band for 23 years, performed on three Grammy Award winning recordings with James and B.B. King and released four solo albums. In 2011, the Detroit Blues Society granted Murray their Lifetime Achievement Award. Murray currently leads his own band in Metro Detroit and has won several Detroit Music Awards. His latest solo recording, Love Letters From Detroit, was released in 2021 and was granted the Outstanding Blues Recording of the Year at the Detroit Music Awards.
Stickin' to My Guns is the sixteenth studio album by Etta James, released in 1990. It was nominated for a Grammy for "Best Contemporary Blues Recording".
Walkin' This Road by Myself is an album by the blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins, recorded in Texas and released on the Bluesville label.
Soul Blues is an album by the blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins, recorded in 1963 and released on the Bluesville label.
Lightnin'! is an album by the blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins recorded in California in 1969 and released on the Poppy label as a double LP.
Live at Newport is a live album by the blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins, recorded at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Several tracks were released on three Vanguard Records compilation albums, The Great Blues Men (1971), Great Bluesmen Newport (1977), and Blues with a Feeling (1993), before the complete performance was released on CD in 2002.
The Swarthmore Concert, subtitled King of the Blues, is a live album by the blues musician Lightnin' Hopkins, recorded at the Swarthmore College Folk Festival in 1965. It was originally released as part of the seven-CD box set Lightnin' Hopkins: The Complete Prestige/Bluesville Recordings, in 1991, before being reissued on Bluesville as a single CD in 1993.
I Couldn't Believe My Eyes is an album by blues musicians Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry with Earl Hooker recorded in 1969 but not released by the BluesWay label until 1973.
