Blues

“Her voice is gutsy, earthy and coarse, but at the same time there is a beauty, sensitivity and control to everything she does.” Big Mama created tension without harshness, excitement without strain. She can make you weep.

Black and Blue is an album by Lou Rawls, originally released in January 1963 on Capitol Records

The story of Chess Records is the story of American popular music in the second half of the twentieth century.

Midway through Martin Luther King, Jr.'s historic speech at the 1963 March on Washington, a voice rang out from behind him: Tell them about the dream, Martin! That voice belonged to Mahalia Jackson, King's close friend and one of the most revered gospel singers of the 20th century.

Following his late-career resurgence with 1989’s The Healer, John Lee Hooker stepped into Russian Hill Recording in San Francisco and The Record Plant in Sausalito to reimagine some of his most iconic songs, including “Boom Boom,” which lends this album its title.

This new album brings together a collection of B.B. King’s most remarkable live performances from nine legendary concerts recorded at the Festival over three decades. Featuring previously unreleased recordings throughout, the collection captures electrifying one-off live renditions of some of B.B. King’s best loved classics that made him a true legend of the genre.

Although she never strayed too far from her gospel roots, the great Sister Rosetta Tharpe pioneered a sound that younger admirers, such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis Presley, would mold into rock & roll.