Blind Willie McTell was a Piedmont blues and ragtime singer and guitarist. He played with a fluid, syncopated fingerstyle guitar technique, common among many exponents of Piedmont blues. Unlike his contemporaries, he came to use twelve-string guitars exclusively. McTell was also an adept slide guitarist, unusual among ragtime bluesmen. His vocal style, a smooth and often laid-back tenor, differed greatly from many of the harsher voices of Delta bluesmen such as Charley Patton. McTell performed in various musical styles, including blues, ragtime, religious music and hokum.
Nehemiah Curtis "Skip" James was an American Delta blues singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter. AllMusic stated: "Coupling an oddball guitar tuning set against eerie, falsetto vocals, James' early recordings could make the hair stand up on the back of your neck."
Christopher Anton Rea is an English rock and blues singer-songwriter and guitarist from Middlesbrough. Known for his distinctive voice and his slide guitar playing, Rea has recorded twenty five studio albums, two of which topped the UK Albums Chart, The Road to Hell in 1989 and its successor, Auberge, in 1991. He had already become "a major European star by the time he finally cracked the UK Top 10" with the single "The Road to Hell ".
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.
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."
Michelle Malone is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Born and raised in Atlanta, she started performing in bands and writing songs as a teenager. Initially, she would sign with Arista Records after performing around parts of Atlanta. Soon after, she would release an album entitled Relentless with her band Drag the River. She would also collaborate with The Harshed Mellows with the song "U.S. Blues" for the tribute album Deadicated. She would again switch labels, going to Velvel Records, but decided to found her own record company, SBS Records.
The Wood Brothers are an American roots band consisting of brothers Chris and Oliver Wood, as well as multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix. Their music is a combination of folk, gospel, blues and jazz.
"Rollin' and Tumblin'" is a blues standard first recorded by American singer-guitarist Hambone Willie Newbern in 1929. Called a "great Delta blues classic", it has been interpreted by hundreds of Delta and Chicago blues artists, including well-known recordings by Muddy Waters. Rock musicians usually follow Waters' versions, with the 1960s group Cream's rendition being perhaps the best known.
Napoleon Brown Goodson Culp better known by his stage name Nappy Brown, was an American R&B singer. His hits include the 1955 Billboard chart No. 2 "Don't Be Angry", "Little By Little", and "Night Time Is the Right Time". His style was recognizable; Brown used a wide vibrato, melisma, and distinctive extra syllables, in particular, "li-li-li-li-li."
Sean Costello was an American blues musician, renowned for his fiery guitar playing and soulful singing. He released five critically acclaimed albums before his career was cut short by his sudden death from a drug overdose at the age of 28. Tinsley Ellis called him ‘the most gifted young blues guitarist on the scene... he was a triple threat on guitar, vocals and as a songwriter’.
William Clarke was an American blues harmonica player and singer. He was chiefly associated with the Chicago blues style of amplified harmonica, but also incorporated elements of jump blues, swing, and soul jazz into his playing. Clarke was a master of both cross and chromatic harmonica styles and many consider him among the blues harmonica greats.
Live:Highwayman is a 2005 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded live at the Chord On Blues Blues Club in St. Charles, Illinois, by Timothy Powell for Metro Mobile Recording, mixed by Sam Fishkin and live performance location sound mixing by Ron Willhoff. It was mastered by Dan Stout and Bruce Iglauer and produced by Tinsley Ellis and Bruce Iglauer. Tinsley wrote or co-wrote seven of the songs on the album.
The Hard Way is a 2004 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded and mixed at Stonehenge at ZAC Atlanta, Georgia, engineered and mixed by Jimmy Zumpano, mastered by Rodney Mills and produced by Tinsley Ellis with Robert Woods as executive producer. Tinsley wrote all songs except for "Still in the Game" and "Me Without You".
Hell or High Water is a 2002 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded and mixed at Stonehenge at ZAC Atlanta, Georgia by Eddy Offord and Jimmy Zumpano, mastered by Rodney Mills and produced by Eddy Offord with Robert Woods as executive producer and Michael Rothschild as co-ordinating producer. Tinsley wrote all the songs.
Trouble Time is a 1992 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded by Mark Richardson at Triclops Sound Studios and Ricky Keller at Southern Living Studio in Atlanta, Georgia with horns recorded by Lynn Fuston at Classic Recording Nashville, Tennessee. It was mixed by Rodney Mills assisted by Russ Fowler and Tag George at Southern Tracks Studios Atlanta, Georgia, mastered by Dr. Toby Mountain at Northeastern Digital, Southborough, Massachusetts, and produced by Ricky Keller, Tinsley Ellis and Bruce Iglauer, with Michael Rothschild as executive producer. Tinsley wrote/co-wrote all songs except "Hey Hey Baby", "What Have I Done Wrong?" and "The Axe".
Speak No Evil is a 2009 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded and mixed by Jim Z and Tony Terrebonne with Matt Pool assisting at Stonehenge at Zac Recording in Atlanta, Georgia. It was mastered by Rodney Mills at Rodney Mills Master House, Duluth, Georgia, and produced by Tinsley Ellis with Bruce Iglauer as executive producer. Tinsley wrote all of the songs on the album.
Moment of Truth is a 2007 blues album by Tinsley Ellis. It was recorded by Tony Terrebonne, mixed by Sam Fishkin, mastered by Dan Stout and produced by Tinsley Ellis with Bruce Iglauer and Tim Kolleth as executive producers. Tinsley wrote all but two of the songs.
Kevin Yates McKendree is an American electric blues pianist, keyboardist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to having a lengthy and varied career as a session musician, McKendree has released two solo albums.
Delta Moon is an American swamp blues, blues rock, and blues band. They originated in Inman Park, Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The group's name came to founder member, Mark Johnson, whilst on a pilgrimage to Muddy Waters' cabin near Clarksdale, Mississippi. In 2003, Delta Moon won the International Blues Challenge. They have released a number of albums on various record labels, including Low Down, which Down Beat magazine named in their "best albums of 2015".
Tore Up is an album by the American musician Nappy Brown, released in 1984. A comeback album, it was recorded with Tinsley Ellis and the Heartfixers. The album was reissued by Alligator Records in 1990.
