Alberta Hunter Blues Singer/Blues Diva

Alberta Hunter: The Sophisticated Songbird of Classic Blues and Cabaret 

Alberta Hunter stands out as one of the most resilient, internationally celebrated, and enduring pioneers in the history of American popular song and classic blues. Possessing a pristine vocal clarity and an incredibly sharp rhythmic sense, she was instrumental in transforming early rural folk blues into a sophisticated, theatrical art form that conquered urban cabaret stages across the globe. Beyond her exceptional vocal talents, Hunter was a highly accomplished songwriter whose compositions became timeless standards for her contemporaries. Her extraordinary artistic journey famously included a legendary late-career comeback that proved her magnificent storytelling power and charismatic stage presence remained completely untouched by time, cementing her status as an absolute institution of 20th-century music. 

Alberta Hunter was one of the first female blues singers to record. She was born in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1895 and made her first recordings, “Bring Back the Joys/How Long, Sweet Daddy, How Long,” in 1921 for the Black Swan label. By 1922, she had moved on to the Paramount label and established herself as one of the most prolific blues performers of the early Twenties. 

Hunter continued to perform and record late into her long life. She died in New York City in 1984 at the age of 89. Among several compilation albums of Hunter’s music are "Complete Recorded Works" (1996) and "Young Alberta Hunter" (1996). 

Technical Catalog Spotlight: Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Volume 1 (1996) 

This essential archival reference compilation beautifully preserves the historic genesis of Hunter's pioneering recording career. The tracking captures her definitive early 1921 to 1923 sessions for the historic Black Swan and Paramount record companies, highlighting her clean, elegant diction and jazz-inflected phrasing. The record holds massive historical weight for containing the original acoustic masters of her self-penned classic blues masterpiece, which went on to become an immortal standard covered by nearly every major artist of the era. 

• Released: 1996 
• Label: Document Records 
• Producer: Johnny Parth 
• Core Personnel: Alberta Hunter (Vocals), Fletcher Henderson (Piano), Louis Armstrong (Cornet), Buster Bailey (Clarinet) 
• Key Tracks: Downheartened Blues, Bring Back the Joys, Chirping the Blues 

Technical Catalog Spotlight: Amtrak Blues (1980) 

Representing the absolute pinnacle of her legendary late-career creative renaissance, this spectacular studio album re-established Hunter as a global powerhouse in the modern high-fidelity era. Recorded when she was in her mid-eighties, the production showcases a warm, organic jazz combo arrangement that allows her worldly charisma and sharp, witty vocal timing to take absolute center stage. The record was an immense critical and commercial success, introducing her timeless classic blues legacy to a completely new generation of listeners. 

• Released: 1980 
• Label: Columbia Records 
• Producer: John Hammond 
• Core Personnel: Alberta Hunter (Vocals), Doc Cheatham (Trumpet), Vic Dickenson (Trombone), Wynton Kelly (Piano) 
• Key Tracks: Amtrak Blues, Rough and Ready Man, Darktown Strutters' Ball 

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Albert King: Born Under a Bad Sign

Albert King: The Velvet Voice and Stinging Guitar of Modern Electric Blues 

Albert King stands as one of the most towering, uniquely influential, and revered architects of modern electric blues guitar history. Standing over six feet tall and playing a right-handed Gibson Flying V guitar upside-down and left-handed, he conjured a colossal, instantly recognizable sonic identity characterized by massive, multi-step string bends and a deeply expressive vocal delivery. His innovative style effortlessly bridged the structural gap between rural Mississippi traditions and urban Memphis soul. King's pioneering approach to the instrument fundamentally reshaped the landscape of rock and blues music, serving as a primary sonic blueprint for generation-defining guitarists across North America and Europe.

 

Albert King is one of three blues singers/guitarists, Freddie, B.B., and Albert, with the surname “King.” Of the three, BB King is by far the most famous, but blues purists will often point to Albert as the best of the trio. King was born in Indianola, Mississippi, in 1923 and died in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1993. 

King made his first recordings during the early Fifties for the Parrot label, but his career didn’t get started in earnest until the early Sixties with singles for the King label. King recorded for the legendary Chess Records but may have produced his best work, "Born Under a Bad Sign," for the soul label, Stax. 

Other fine albums by King include “The Big Blues” (1963), “Live Wire/Blues Power” (1968), “Years Gone By” (1969), and "King of the Blues Guitar" (1969). King appears on the superb compilation, “The Complete Stax/Volt Singles” series, along with the rest of the stellar Stax roster of blues and soul stars. 

Technical Catalog Spotlight: Born Under a Bad Sign (1967) 

This landmark studio masterpiece stands out as an absolute cornerstone of modern electric blues and cross-genre roots music history. Recorded at the historic Stax Studios in Memphis, the production features the flawless backing of the house rhythm section alongside a sharp, driving horn framework. The album holds massive historical importance for successfully infusing traditional Mississippi Delta narratives with a tight, syncopated Southern soul groove, creating an authoritative reference work that influenced generations of alternative rock pioneers. 

• Released: August 1967 
• Label: Stax Records 
• Producer: Jim Stewart 
• Core Personnel: Albert King (Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar), Steve Cropper (Rhythm Guitar), Donald "Duck" Dunn (Bass), Al Jackson Jr. (Drums), Booker T. Jones (Keyboards), The Memphis Horns 
• Key Tracks: Born Under a Bad Sign, Laundromat Blues, Crosscut Saw 

Technical Catalog Spotlight: Live Wire/Blues Power (1968) 

Widely considered by blues critics to be one of the most cohesive and powerful live long-playing records ever captured, this release perfectly highlights King at the absolute pinnacle of his improvisational powers. Recorded live over several nights at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, the production showcases his incredible ability to command a predominantly rock-oriented mainstream audience. The stinging, overdriven tone of his guitar work and his intimate, conversational stage manner provide a flawless audio time capsule of late-sixties concert energy. 

• Released: 1968 
• Label: Stax Records 
• Producer: Al Jackson Jr. 
• Core Personnel: Albert King (Lead Vocals, Lead Guitar) 
• Key Tracks: Blues Power, Night Stomp, Please Come Back to Me 

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Lonnie Johnson Blues

Johnson was one of the best of the early acoustic blues guitarists. He possessed a technical proficiency that separated him from his peers, and he was always in high demand as a session guitarist for blues and jazz recordings. Johnson was a fine vocalist as well, and his prodigious chops made him a hot recording property in the twenties.

The place and date of his birth are the subject of some debate, although many believe his birthplace to be New Orleans. It is known for sure that Johnson was raised in New Orleans and later moved to St. Louis in the twenties, where he began recording for Okeh Records. That label would release his first side, “Mr. Johnson’s Blues,” in 1925. Johnson recorded numerous sides for the label, including “Very Lonesome Blues,” “Lonesome Jail Blues,” Five O’Clock Blues,” “Backwater Blues,” and many others.

Johnson lent his nimble guitar skills to Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five recordings in 1927. The next year, Johnson and the white jazz guitarist, Eddie Lang, made some of the first racially integrated jazz recordings. Johnson’s career suffered during the Depression Era of the 1930s when Okeh went bankrupt, and he relocated to Canada. Johnson died in 1970 in Toronto from injuries he had suffered in a car accident.

His work is best experienced through compilation albums:

• Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Volume 1 (1991): Released by Document Records and produced by Johnny Parth, featuring Lonnie Johnson on vocals, acoustic guitar, and violin. Key tracks include "Mr. Johnson's Blues," "Lonesome Jail Blues," and "Very Lonesome Blues."
• Blues in My Fingers (1994): Released by Indigo Records, highlighting his 1928 duets with Eddie Lang (recording as Blind Willie Dunn). Key tracks include "Blues In My Fingers," "Bull Frog Moan," and "A Handful of Riffs."

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