Chester Arthur Burnett, known as Howlin' Wolf, was a Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player, originally from Mississippi. With a booming voice and looming physical presence, he is one of the best-known Chicago blues artists. Musician and critic Cub Koda noted, "no one could match Howlin' Wolf for the singular ability to rock the house down to the foundation while simultaneously scaring its patrons out of its wits." Producer Sam Phillips recalled, "When I heard Howlin' Wolf, I said, 'This is for me. This is where the soul of man never dies'". Several of his songs, including "Smokestack Lightnin'", "Back Door Man", "Killing Floor" and "Spoonful", have become blues and blues rock standards. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him number 51 on its list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time."

Buddy Guy revitalized his career when he signed with Silvertone Records in the early '90s. His first album for the label, Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, was a smash success, earning critical acclaim, awards, and sales hand over fist. Prior to that record, he was a legend only among blues fans; afterward, he was a star. Although it was a bit too rock-oriented and slick for purists, Damn Right was a terrific album, setting the pace not only for Guy but for modern electric blues in the '90s. As the decade wore on, Guy continued to make albums for Silvertone, some of them a little complacent, others quite excellent. Buddy's Baddest: The Best of Buddy Guy attempts to summarize those years in 14 songs, including three previously unreleased cuts.

Feel Like Blowing My Horn is a spectacularly vibrant, historically monumental, and masterfully synchronized classic Chicago blues studio masterpiece led by the legendary American barrelhouse piano pioneer and vocal titan Roosevelt "The Honeydripper" Sykes, reissued with bonus material in 1997 by Bob Koester's premier independent blues preservation imprint Delmark Records. Spanning over 50 minutes of raw, infectious instrumental and vocal interactions across 14 tracks, this high-fidelity restoration serves as an absolute peak monument in 1973 urban blues archaeology. Originally recorded in August 1970, the session captures Sykes returning to a robust, horn-augmented ensemble format, executing a fierce, liberating sonic blueprint that seamlessly marries his booming, boogie-woogie piano architecture with sophisticated jump blues and traditional South Side ensemble dynamics.

Trouble On The Run is a spectacularly raw, deeply soulful, and masterfully synchronized electric blues studio masterpiece by the critically acclaimed Syracuse, New York outfit The Kingsnakes, released in 1990 by the premier independent blues label Blue Wave Records. Spanning nearly 50 minutes of high-octane roots music across 11 driving tracks, this high-fidelity document stands as a defining monument to the gritty resurgence of late-1980s and early-1990s roadhouse blues archaeology. Anchored by the blistering, virtuoso harmonica work and commanding vocals of frontman Pete McMahon alongside the stinging, razor-sharp guitar leads of Terry Mulhauser, the band delivers a fierce sonic blueprint that seamlessly marries traditional Chicago shuffles with grease-stained jump-blues rhythms and hard-edged rock-and-roll attitude.

Recorded December 8th, 1963 at Craw-Daddy Club, Richmond and at the Club A Go Go, Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, England on 30 Dec. 1963.
Sonny Boy Williamson was, in many ways, the ultimate blues legend. By the time of his death in 1965, he had been around long enough to have played with Robert Johnson at the start of his career and Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, and Robbie Robertson at the end of it. In between, he drank a lot of whiskey, hoboed around the country, had a successful radio show for 15 years, toured Europe to great acclaim, and simply wrote, played, and sang some of the greatest blues ever etched into Black phonograph records…

Accurately dubbed "the Queen of Chicago blues" (and sometimes just the blues in general), Koko Taylor helped keep the tradition of big-voiced, brassy female blues belters alive, recasting the spirits of early legends like Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Big Mama Thornton, and Memphis Minnie for the modern age. Taylor's rough, raw vocals were perfect for the swaggering new electrified era of the blues, and her massive hit "Wang Dang Doodle" served notice that male dominance in the blues wasn't as exclusive as it seemed. After a productive initial stint on Chess, Taylor spent several decades on the prominent contemporary blues label Alligator, going on to win more W.C. Handy Awards than any other female performer in history, and establishing herself as far and away the greatest female blues singer of her time. Collection includes: Koko Taylor (1969); South Side Lady (1973); I Got What It Takes (1975); The Earthshaker (1978); From The Heart Of A Woman (1981); Queen of the Blues (1985); Jump For Joy (1990).

Harmonica player Billy Boy Arnold is more than just a master of the vintage late 1940s, early 1950s classic Chicago blues harp style, he's also a natural singer, with a warmth and joy in his vocals that just gets bigger and better as his career goes on. This wonderful (and generous) 17-track set (there's also an unlisted 18th track) finds Arnold paying tribute to his mentor John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson, whose electric harp style in the mid 1940s is where the whole modern Chicago blues sound really lifted off of the ground. Arnold had a few harp lessons from Williamson as a child and the two remained close until Williamson's tragic murder in 1948. A more soulfully nuanced and less deliberately explosive singer than Williamson, Arnold does a great job of bringing his own flair to the 14 Williamson tunes here (Arnold also adds three of his own compositions)…

In his younger days, Billy Boy Arnold was captivated by the recordings of Big Bill Broonzy. He even met the pre-war generation bluesmaster and asked him if he would play on his recording session (what Big Bill denied).
The 15 songs that Billy Boy selected for this CD, in collaboration with producer and guitarist Eric Noden, were ones that Big Bill recorded between the late 1930s and the early 1950s. Even though they represent only a small fraction of the several hundred songs Big Bill wrote over his thirty-year career, they showcase his versatility as a songwriter.
The talented musicians who have chosen to pay tribute to Big Bill have accomplished this successfully by playing in the spirit of his work rather than trying to reproduce it precisely as it was recorded…

One of the greatest of all Chicago bluesmen, vocalist, guitarist and harp player Bill Boy Arnold made his recording debut in 1952 and played harmonica on Bo Diddley's massive 1955 hit, "I'm A Man." A prolific songwriter, Arnold's songs have been covered by many artists including the influential English blues rock group, The Yardbirds. Arnold's career has spanned well over 50 years and he still continues to write and record new material. Presented here is Arnold's classic 1979 release, "Checkin' It Out," featuring nearly all original compositions, except for a pair of Little Walter tunes. The band is Billy Boy Arnold (vocals, harmonica); Tony S. McPhee (guitar); Wilbur Campbell (drums); Alan Fish (bass).

Indeed he is. Recorded in Los Angeles with a crew of young acolytes offering spot-on backing (guitarists Zach Zunis and Rick Holmstrom acquit themselves well), Arnold eases back into harness with a remake of "I Wish You Would" before exposing some fine new originals (the Chuck Berry-styled rocker "Move on Down the Road" is a stomping standout) and an homage to his old mentor Sonny Boy (a romping "Shake the Boogie").

Classic 1982 Chicago studio session also featuring Buddy Guy - plus stunning live tracks and previously unreleased three track studio session.

Billy Boy Arnold, a fluent blues harmonica player and an expressive singer, made his initial impact in the 1950s/early '60s, but then went three decades between American records. The second recording from his comeback, Eldorado Cadillac, finds Arnold (who worked many yeas earlier with Bo Diddley) in enthusiastic form while utilizing a top-notch group that includes guitarists Bob Margolin and James Wheeler, pianist Sonny Leyland, bassist Steve Hunt, drummer Chuck Cotton, and (for three numbers) David Zielinski on tenor. Arnold contributes such originals as "Don't Stay out All Night," "Mama's Bitter Seed," "Man of Considerable Taste," "Too Many Old Flames," and "Slick Chick." A fun set of passionate Chicago blues.

More highlights from Sonny Boy Williamson's overseas travels, in a wide variety of settings - during the 1963 and 1964 American Folk Blues Festivals with old friends like Willie Dixon, Sunnyland Slim, Hubert Sumlin and Matt Murphy behind him, and for nine tracks, with the Yardbirds in support. The latter combination works pretty well - Eric Clapton and company offer reverent, laidback rhythms that seldom intrude and often mesh nicely.