Tuesday Tunesday
Tuesday Tunesday: Possessed by Paul James

Tuesday Tunesday: Possessed by Paul James

Possessed by Paul James Live from Colorado Some musicians only make music that sounds good on recordings. Konrad Wert, more commonly known as Possessed by Paul James, is not one of those musicians. In fact, he’s the direct opposite. The only way to fully experience Wert is in person. I have reservations with this week’s...
Tuesday Tunesday: Muddy Waters

Tuesday Tunesday: Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters “Manish Boy” When anyone who knows what’s what compiles a list of the all-time greatest blues musicians, Muddy Waters (birthday McKinley Morganfield) is guaranteed to be near the top. Rolling Stone put Muddy Waters at the #17 greatest musician of all time in any genre, not just the blues. Muddy Waters is known as the...
Tuesday Tunesday: Son House

Tuesday Tunesday: Son House

Son House “Grinnin’ in Your Face” Son House is one of the most genuine bluesmen in American history. In his youth, he set out to begin his career as a preacher. Despite his church’s prohibition against the blues, he learned how to play the guitar in his twenties. Inevitably, his music has a tinge of...
Tuesday Tunesday: Bob Dylan

Tuesday Tunesday: Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan “It Must be Santa” Given that last week’s Tuesday Tunesday covered Bob Dylan and that this is the last Tuesday before Christmas, I thought this song aptly fit the time. I’ll admit, before I started this article, I had a lot of trouble thinking about what to include in it. In fact, I still...
Tuesday Tunesday: Odetta

Tuesday Tunesday: Odetta

Odetta “The Times They Are A-Changin'” The opera-trained Odetta was one of the most important figures in the civil rights movement. Using her booming voice and overwhelming passion in song, she sang for human rights and equality. She influenced many of the key figures of the folk-revival of that time, including Bob Dylan (whose song...
Tuesday Tunesday: Freddie King

Tuesday Tunesday: Freddie King

Freddie King “Going Down” While being the youngest “King” of electric guitar (alongside Albert King and B.B. King), Freddie King is certainly not lacking in emotional power. Also referred to the “Texas Cannonball,” because he was a big man from Dallas, Freddie’s music certainly smashes into your chest like a cannonball breaching the hull of a ship....
Tuesday Tunesday: Roscoe Holcomb

Tuesday Tunesday: Roscoe Holcomb

Roscoe Holcomb “Little Birdy” and “Graveyard Blues” If you’ve ever spent a night in the woods, whittled a stick, drank water from a spring, fallen out of a tree, had your dog run away, or ever longed for something you couldn’t quite reach, then you’ve felt Holcomb’s music even if you haven’t heard it. Restricting...
Tuesday Tunesday: T-Bone Walker

Tuesday Tunesday: T-Bone Walker

T-Bone Walker “Woman You Must Be Crazy” and “Goin to Chicago Blues” Aaron Thibeaux “T-Bone” Walker is one of the most influential guitarists in American blues. In his later years he would often play with a large backing brass band to give his work a full and complex sound. T-Bone grew up eating dinner with...
Tuesday Tunesday: John Lee Hooker

Tuesday Tunesday: John Lee Hooker

John Lee Hooker “Boom Boom” First and foremost, it breaks my heart that Chili’s used this song in their commercial. I cringe every time it comes on. That said, we can’t disavow everything awesome in the world whenever popular culture catches up to it, unless you’re just totally cool. John Lee Hooker created his own...
Tuesday Tunesday: R. L. Burnside

Tuesday Tunesday: R. L. Burnside

R.L. Burnside “Jumper on the Line” Robert Lee (R. L.) Burnside is the epitome of Mississippi delta blues. Learning from Mississippi Fred McDowell, Junior Kimbrough, and his cousin-in-law, the immortal Muddy Waters, Burnside became a force of his own, eventually becoming one of the most well-known blues artists around. Burnside, similar to Kimbrough, has a common...
Tuesday Tunesday: The Black Keys

Tuesday Tunesday: The Black Keys

The Black Keys “Lonely Boy” Dedicated to reviving the blues within modern music, American duo The Black Keys fights for their right to play the blues. As a long-time purist of real blues played by people who know unimaginable pain, I have a soft spot in my heart for The Black Keys, and I’m not the...
Tuesday Tunesday: Howlin' Wolf

Tuesday Tunesday: Howlin’ Wolf

Howlin’ Wolf “Smokestack Lightning” Howlin’ Wolf was born under the name Chester Arthur Burnett 1910, but quickly changed to his moniker to reflect his gristly, whiskey-riddled, soft-as-a-chainsaw singing voice. Howlin’ Wolf is bar far one of the top tier popular blues musicians, influencing literally everyone who came after him even if they weren’t aware of...