I first heard Koko Taylor's "Wang Dang Doodle" in the early 70s on the radio in Chicago. It knocked me out and I was a Koko fan from that point on. I first started seeing her perform live in 1974. She used to play regularly at a North side Chicago bar called Biddy Mulligan’s. She had a great band with Johnny Twist on the guitar, and later Johnny B. Moore. She would tear the house down regularly. I was just 18 and 19 at the time. Read more

William Clarke was a follower and a good friend of George Harmonica Smith. His style can be described as "West Coast high energy harp blues", and oh boy, he was very good in it. The full extent of his talent had yet to be realized when he died at age 45, in 1996. Clarke's indie label recordings prior to sigining with Alligator are not easy to find. Nevertheless, the early recordings between 1978 and 1689 resulted in no less than six Handy Awards. Besides George Harmonia Smith, Clarke ... Read more

Songwriter’s competition with respected blues people in judging panel Read more