Latest articles by Charles Shaar Murray
Muddy Waters was 62 when he released 1977’s classic Hard Again
Buying guide Stevie Ray Baughan hot-wired the 80s blues revival and launched a new generation of players
How Led Zeppelin turned an obscure 1929 recording from Memphis Minnie into an epic rock monolith
Jimi Hendrix released just three studio albums and one live album in his lifetime. These are the 10 best songs from his posthumous albums
A ribald number that Willie Dixon wrote for Howlin’ Wolf, covered by The Doors at their most seamy and sinful. But which version’s better?
Buying guide Gris-gris or gumbo? Voodoo priest or piano-tickling new orleans R&B guru? Where to start with the music of Dr John…
A heartbreaking story of love and loss written in 1930 by ex-convict Son House, Death Letter was covered by alternative scenesters The White Stripes. But who did it best?
From teenage R&B prodigy to Matriarch Of The Blues, this deep soul diva’s output was passionate, wounded and raunchy.
Cut loose from Chess Records, Muddy Waters teamed up with Johnny Winter for Hard Again, the first in a trio of albums that served as the Hoochie Coochie Man’s brilliant final flourish.
Half a century on from the British blues boom, can authenticity still exist on the scene?
Master of the Telecaster, The Iceman: Albert Collins was the blues bruiser with the huge frosty tone and a big warm heart to match.
Robert Cray brought the blues to the MTV generation – including Barack Obama – and redefined the notion of stardom.
Needlepoint clarity meets bulldozer power: acquaint yourself with the songs of the meanest, nastiest and funkiest of the Three Kings.
Buddy Guy's 17 albums have made him a blues legend, but he came from humble beginnings in rural Louisiana. Here he looks back on a life making up for lost time.
Baffling biopic with a solid central performance and... well, not much else.
One great song. Two great versions. Which is best?
Have you looked at your baby pictures lately? Michael Chapman has been going back to his roots, and invites you to do likewise...
With people expecting nothing, Bowie blind-sides with his best album in almost 20 years.
