News & Updates — Chicago

An OG proto-punk, Chester Burnett aka "Howlin' Wolf" was born on this day in 1910. In my opinion, one of the meanest sounds to ever grace records was his distinctively nasty growling voice and his raging tunes. "Smokestack Lightnin", "Moanin' At Midnight", "Evil", "Spoonful", "Killin Floor"...dosn't get any sicker! He came from Mississippi and learned guitar from Charley Patton, learned harmonica from Sonny Boy Williamson II and his vocal style was influenced by Jimmie Rodgers. In '51 he recorded for Sam Phillips in Memphis and moved to Chicago the next year to record for Chess. In the '50s he learned...

Happy birthday to one of the greats, Curtis Mayfield! Singer, composer, guitarist, record label owner, businessman, civil rights hero, movie musician, talent scout, psych-soul songwriter, Black Power icon, Chicago legend and so much more.

Happy birthday to one of Chicago's greatest! Terry Callier was an amazing singer/songwriter and guitarist, his sound & style were equal parts folkie, soul and jazz. Callier grew up with Curtis Mayfield, Major Lance and Jerry Butler and sang in doo-wop groups and played piano. In '62 he signed to Chess and released his first record while still in high school. While in college he got heavily into John Coltrane and took his songs to the folk coffeehouses. He recorded the classic The New Folk Sound of Terry Callier for Prestige Records and had his songs covered by others from...

Happy birthday to one of the early influential jazz greats, Joe "King" Oliver! Old enough to claim Buddy Bolden as an influence, he became one of New Orleans' star cornet & trumpet players (he also had professional experience playing trombone). Despite having one working eye he learned to read and write music and was also a notable composer. He was mentor and a lifelong friend to Louie Armstrong, whom he taught and helped in New Orleans and later hired in Chicago. From about 1908 or so he was one of the best musicians in NOLA's Storyville district, destroying competitors in...

Blues harp icon Little Walter Jacobs influenced nearly every single blues and rock harmonica player that came after him, Junior Wells included. He was hugely popular in the '50s with his loose & jazzy updates of old blues tunes, as well as original compositions hitting the charts and attaining worldwide popularity. Born and raised in Louisiana, he quit school at 12 to busk and work in various cities in the South, playing with Honeyboy Edwards and Sunnyland Slim along the way before hitting the Windy City in '45. Chicago, being the loud & buzzing town that it was, forced Walter...