Luther Sylvester Allison was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas, although some accounts suggest his actual place of birth was Mayflower, Arkansas. Allison was interested in music as a child and during the late 1940s he toured in a family gospel group called The Southern Travellers. He moved with his family to Chicago in 1951 and attended Farragut High School where he was classmates with Muddy Waters' son. He taught himself guitar and began listening to blues extensively. Three years later he dropped out of school and began hanging around outside blues nightclubs with the hopes of being invited to perform. Allison played with the bands of Howlin' Wolf and Freddie King, taking over King's band when King toured nationally. He worked with Jimmy Dawkins, Magic Sam and Otis Rush, and also backed James Cotton. Chicago Reader has called him "the Jimi Hendrix of blues guitar".
Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the Living Blues magazine in Chicago in 1970.
Morris Holt, known as Magic Slim, was an American blues singer and guitarist. Born at Torrance, near Grenada, Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers, he followed blues greats such as Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf to Chicago, developing his own place in the Chicago blues scene.
Lonnie Brooks was an American blues singer and guitarist. The musicologist Robert Palmer, writing in Rolling Stone, stated, "His music is witty, soulful and ferociously energetic, brimming with novel harmonic turnarounds, committed vocals and simply astonishing guitar work." Jon Pareles, a music critic for the New York Times, wrote, "He sings in a rowdy baritone, sliding and rasping in songs that celebrate lust, fulfilled and unfulfilled; his guitar solos are pointed and unhurried, with a tone that slices cleanly across the beat. Wearing a cowboy hat, he looks like the embodiment of a good-time bluesman." Howard Reich, a music critic for the Chicago Tribune, wrote, "...the music that thundered from Brooks' instrument and voice...shook the room. His sound was so huge and delivery so ferocious as to make everything alongside him seem a little smaller."
Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson was an American blues singer and guitarist. He is not to be confused with Luther "Georgia Boy" Johnson, Luther "Houserocker" Johnson, or Lonnie "Guitar Junior" Brooks.
MacHouston "Mickey" Baker was an American musician, best known for his work as a studio musician and as part of the recording duo Mickey & Sylvia.
Lonnie McIntosh, known as Lonnie Mack, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was influential in the development of blues rock music and rock guitar soloing.
Bruce Iglauer is an American businessman and record producer who founded Alligator Records as an independent record label featuring blues music.
Edward Harrington, better known by his stage name Eddy Clearwater, was an American blues musician who specialized in Chicago blues. Blues Revue said he plays "joyous rave-ups…he testifies with stunning soul fervor and powerful guitar. One of the blues' finest songwriters."
Dion Payton was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer, who gained popularity in the late 1980s and early 1990s in Chicago clubs.
Wayne Baker Brooks is an American blues and blues-rock guitarist and singer.
Lil' Ed Williams is an American blues slide guitarist, singer and songwriter. With his backing band, the Blues Imperials, he has built up a loyal following.
John Thurman Hunter Jr., known by the stage name Long John Hunter, was an American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He released seven albums in his own name, and in his later years found critical acknowledgement outside of his homeland. Hunter's best known tracks are "El Paso Rock" and "Alligators Around My Door", the latter of which Hunter co-wrote with Bruce Iglauer.
Chris Beard is an American electric blues singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He has released five albums to date, the first of which was nominated for a Blues Music Award. He is dubbed 'Prince of the Blues'.
Selwyn Birchwood is an American blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter from Tampa, Florida. He was the winner of the Blues Foundation’s 2013 International Blues Challenge, as well the winner of the Albert King Guitarist of the Year award, presented at the same event. To win, he bested 125 other bands from around the world. Birchwood plays electric guitar and electric lap steel guitar. His live performances feature his original songs. Living Blues magazine said, "Selwyn Birchwood is making waves, surprising people and defying expectations. Be on the lookout. He revels in the unexpected." The Tampa Tribune said Birchwood plays with "power and precision reminiscent of blues guitar hero Buddy Guy. He is a gritty vocalist [who is] commanding with his axe." Rolling Stone said "Birchwood is a young, powerhouse guitarist and soulful vocalist. Don't Call No Ambulance is a remarkable debut by a major player." The Washington Post said, "Selwyn Birchwood is an indelibly modern and original next-generation bluesman; his tough vocals, guitar and lap steel touch on classic Chicago blues, Southern soul and boogie."
Albert Castiglia is an American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. Castiglia has variously worked alongside Junior Wells, Sandra Hall, Aron Burton, Pinetop Perkins, Melvin Taylor, Sugar Blue, Phil Guy, Ronnie Earl, Billy Boy Arnold, Ronnie Baker Brooks, John Primer, Lurrie Bell, Jerry Portnoy, Larry McCray, Eddy Clearwater and Otis Clay.
Toronzo Cannon is an American electric blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter. He grew up on the South Side of Chicago near the Robert Taylor Homes and Theresa's Lounge where he heard blues artists including Buddy Guy and Junior Wells.
Roadhouse Rules is an album by the American musician Lonnie Brooks, released in 1996. It was his seventh album for Alligator Records. The album peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart. Brooks supported it with a North American tour.
