Biography of Paul Butterfield

Chicago-born Paul Butterfield started out on classical flute before switching to amplified harmonica. He hung out and jammed with Chicago South Side blues players, starting his own band in 1963. The first Butterfield album (1965) had an enormous impact on young rock players who were used to getting their blues via groups like the Rolling Stones. This album was no deferential imitation of Black music by shy Whites, but a hard-driving blues album that rocked. It was a signal to White players to stop making respectful tributes to Black music and just play it. In a flash, the image of blues as old-time music was gone, and modern Chicago-style urban blues was out of the closet and introduced to mainstream White audiences. The first two Butterfield Blues albums are essential from a historical perspective. While East-West, the second album, set the tone for psychedelic rockers with its Eastern influence and extended solos, it was that incredible first album (The Paul Butterfield Blues Band) that put the music scene on alert to what was coming. Later Butterfield material somehow misses the mark. Butterfield was one of the only White harmonica players to develop his own style -- one respected by Black players (another is the brilliant William Clarke). Butterfield has no credible imitators. His harp playing was always understated, concise, and serious -- only Big Walter Horton has a better sense of note selection. ~ Michael Erlewine

Biography of Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan was the most impressive blues guitarist to appear in the '80s, which made his death in a helicopter crash at the start of the '90s all the more tragic. Vaughan grew up in Dallas, the younger brother of Jimmie Vaughan (cofounder of The Fabulous Thunderbirds). Stevie began playing in clubs at 12, and by 17 had dropped out of high school and moved to Austin. There followed years of struggling until April 23, 1982, when Vaughan and his group, Double Trouble, played a private audition for The Rolling Stones in New York. The gig led to an invitation to appear at The Montreux Jazz Festival, at which Vaughan was seen by David Bowie, who hired him to play guitar on his Let's Dance album, and Jackson Browne, who offered the free use of his recording studio. Vaughan took up that offer after being signed by legendary talent scout John Hammond to Epic, recording his debut album, Texas Flood, in the fall of 1982.The release of the album led to a wave of recognition that included gold albums, Grammy awards, and other accolades over the next seven years. In 1987, Vaughan took time out to go through a rehabilitation program to overcome alcohol and drug addiction, and he wrote about the experience on his final studio album, In Step (1989). In the last year of his life, he embarked on a co-headlining tour with Jeff Beck and recorded a duo album with his brother. He had just finished a jam with Eric Clapton and Robert Cray at a show at Alpine Valley in East Troy, WI, when he was killed. In 1991 Epic released the posthumous The Sky Is Crying, assembled by Jimmie Vaughan. ~ William Ruhlmann

Biography of B.B. King

Born Riley B. King, B. B. King is perhaps the most important and influential electric guitarist ever. Inspired by Lonnie Johnson, Django Reinhardt, T-Bone Walker, Elmore James, and Blind Lemon Jefferson, B. B. studied their music and then took the electric guitar to new heights by developing a blues guitar "vibrato" -- used primarily for soloing -- that hadn't previously existed. B. B.'s vibrato (his method of trilling, slurring, or bending the string) has become the major lead guitar "tool" of every blues and rock guitarist since -- White or Black. Now known as "The King of the Blues," B. B.'s roots are in the music of the Mississippi Delta and Southern church choirs. Within the Black community B. B. has been a famous recording artist and entertainer from the late 40s until the present, so when White audiences "discovered" the blues in the 60s, B. B. was already on top and was finally greeted by a worldwide audience. Since then, B. B. King has received more awards and honors in recognition of his music than could ever be listed here (Grammy, Best R&B Vocal by a Male in 1970 for "The Thrill Is Gone"; Honorary Doctor of Music, Yale University) and has toured the world many times over, playing for presidents, kings, and world leaders. B. B. is as great a singer as he is a guitarist, his vocal artistry influencing the styles of the younger Texas bluesmen -- from Freddie King and Magic Sam to Luther Allison and Mighty Joe Young. Fame has never changed B. B. King, either. He's a humble entertainer who names his audience as the reason for his greatness. B. B. lives for his music, and he still plays some 150+ engagements a year! ~ Daniel Erlewine

Biography of Albert King

Albert King first played the guitar in his early teens -- at times in a gospel quartet. Albert was in and out of music until the early 50s when, after playing drums for Jimmy Reed, he again took up the guitar and decided to go it on his own. His first single, "Bad Luck Blues"/"Be on Your Merry Way," was recorded for the Parrot label in the early '50s. In the years to follow -- and into the '60s -- King sang and played his way onto the blues charts with songs such as "Laundromat Blues" and "Don't Throw Your Love on Me So Strong." Then, during the so-called "blues revival" (the discovery of blues music by a White audience in the 60s), King's recordings of "Born under a Bad Sign" and "Personal Manager" caught the fancy of British blues guitarist Eric Clapton. In fact, Eric Clapton copied King's "Personal Manager" guitar solo note-for-note on the Cream's song "Strange Brew" (Disraeli Gears album) -- thereby introducing King's style to a new audience. From that point on, King was more famous than ever and began getting more lucrative bookings, including many of the rock clubs of the day, such as the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco. Albert King is truly a "King of the Blues," although he doesn't hold that title (B. B. does). Along with B. B. and Freddie King, Albert King is one of the major influences on blues and rock guitar players. Without him, modern guitar music would not sound as it does, and his style has influenced both Black and White blues players from Otis Rush and Robert Cray to Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray Vaughan (Stevie Ray was especially influenced by King). It's important to note that while almost all modern blues guitarists seldom play for long without falling into a B.B. King guitar cliché, Albert King never does -- he's had his own style and unique tone from the beginning. Albert King plays guitar left-handed, without re-stringing the guitar from the right-handed setup; this "upside-down" playing accounts for his difference in tone, since he pulls down on the same strings that most players push up on when bending the blues notes. King's massive tone and totally unique way of squeezing bends out of a guitar string has had a major impact. Many young White guitarists -- especially rock & rollers -- have been influenced by King's playing without even knowing it. Many players who emulate his style may never have heard of Albert King, let alone heard his music. His style is immediately distinguishable from all other blues guitarists, and he's one of the most important blues guitarists to ever pick up the electric guitar. Albert King is a tough act to follow. ~ Daniel Erlewine