Blues

Three Kings. Blues has its roots in the African American community and has evolved over the years into a genre that is appreciated worldwide. Many great artists have contributed to the development of the blues, but three artists stand out as the kings of the blues - B.B. King, Freddie King and Albert King. These three musicians had a major impact on the sound of the blues and their influence on the genre is still felt today. Albert King was known for his powerful, soulful voice and his ability...

The Blues Boy. Next to Albert King and Freddie King, B. B. King is one of the „three kings of electric blues“. Born on the Mississippi, grown up with gospel and jazz music, the young Riley Benjamin King, as he is known by his real name, got his own radio show where he played guitar and started to develop his own style. Soon King dominated the R&B charts, and later the pop charts with his style of blues. He ignored the Rock-N-Roll era, let the folk music boom pass by, refused pop music,...

Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom. John Lee Hooker is one of the greats of the blues. With his mixture of vocals and speech and the infectious beats, he became a world star. He developed a completely new sound. His electrically amplified guitar, his instrumental pieces, which he accompanied only by the clacking of the crown corks under the soles of his shoes, were trend-setting. His style also includes lyrics that often don't rhyme even when the rhyme actually seems unavoidable. Countless songs dominated...

Chicago Blues. Muddy Waters, born McKinley Morganfield in Mississippi in 1913, is considered one of the most important figures in the history of blues music. He was the son of sharecroppers and grew up on a plantation, where he began playing harmonica and guitar as a child. After moving to Chicago in the 1940s, he became one of the central figures in the city‘s burgeoning blues scene, performing regularly in South Side clubs. Label, which became synonymous with Chicago blues. His recordings...

The Booming Voice. Distinctive vocals, booming voice and strong harmonica playing; that‘s what the blues legend Howlin‘ Wolf stands for. Many of his songs such as „Spoonful“, „Smokestack Lightnin‘“ or „Evil“ are blues rock standards today and have been covered countless times, even by musicians outside the blues. Mick Jagger, Tom Waits, John Fogerty and other superstars point to Howlin‘ Wolf as an important source of their own musical development. Rolling Stone lists him...