List of Delta blues musicians
The Delta blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music. It originated in the Mississippi Delta, a region of the United States that stretches from north to south between Memphis, Tennessee, and Vicksburg, Mississippi, and from east to west between the Yazoo River and the Mississippi River. The Mississippi Delta is historically famous for its fertile soil and the poverty of farm workers living there. Guitar and harmonica are the dominant instruments in Delta blues. Vocal styles range from introspective and soulful to passionate and fiery.
A
- Woodrow Adams. Singer, guitarist and harmonica player who recorded three singles.
- Cecil Augusta. Singer and guitarist who recorded one song for Alan Lomax in 1959.
B
- Kid Bailey. Recorded one known session, in 1929.
- Tommy Bankhead. Guitarist and singer who backed other musicians, including Howlin' Wolf and Sonny Boy Williamson I, and released a few albums under his own name.
- John Henry Barbee. Guitarist and singer, an exponent of early country blues and Delta blues, who early in his career performed with Sunnyland Slim.
- Robert Belfour. Country blues and Delta blues guitarist and singer, collaborator with Mose Vinson; started recording late in his career, beginning in the 1990s.
- Charley Booker. Singer and guitarist, mostly active around Leland and Greenville, Mississippi, in the 1940s and early 1950s.
- Ishmon Bracey. Early country blues and Delta blues guitarist and vocalist.
- Willie Brown. Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
- R. L. Burnside. Acoustic and electric North Mississippi hill country blues, Delta blues, and juke joint blues guitarist and singer.
C
- Sam Carr. Drummer best known as a member of the Jelly Roll Kings.
- Bo Carter. Country blues singer and multi-instrumentalist who performed mostly early Delta blues, playing guitar, banjo, string bass and clarinet, one of the first dirty blues musicians, with songs such as "Banana in Your Fruit Basket".
- James Cotton. Harmonica blues player and singer who began as a Delta blues musician and later moved to Chicago and began playing Chicago blues in acoustic and electric settings.
- Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Guitarist and singer who began as a Delta blues musician and later moved to Chicago, where he played Delta blues and Chicago blues in acoustic and electric settings.
D
- Delta Blind Billy
E
- David Honeyboy Edwards. Grammy Award–winning guitarist and singer; at the time of his death he may have been the last living Delta blues player of the twentieth century.
- Robert "Big Mojo" Elem.
G
- Boyd Gilmore. Delta blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. Among the songs he wrote were "All in My Dreams", "Believe I'll Settle Down", "I Love My Little Woman" and "If That's Your Girl". Gilmore also recorded a version of fellow Delta bluesman Robert Johnson's track, "Ramblin' on My Mind".
H
- Richard "Hacksaw" Harney. Guitarist and pianist.
- John Lee Hooker. Acoustic and electric guitarist and singer, one of the best-known exponents of Delta blues, who also played Detroit blues.
- Son House. Singer and guitarist.
- Howlin' Wolf. Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player.
J
- Elmore James. Slide guitarist, playing acoustic and electric guitars, and singer, who performed Delta blues and Chicago blues and is best known for the latter; his technique influenced a generation of guitarists that followed.
- Skip James. Singer, guitarist, pianist and songwriter.
- Big Jack Johnson. Electric blues musician, one of a very small number of blues musicians to play the mandolin.
- Louise Johnson. Singer and pianist.
- Robert Johnson. Singer-songwriter and guitarist, recognized since the 1960s as a master of Delta blues and an important influence on many rock musicians.
- Tommy Johnson. Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
K
- Junior Kimbrough. Acoustic and electric guitarist and singer of North Mississippi hill country blues, Delta blues and juke joint blues
- Little Freddie King. Guitarist.
- King Solomon Hill. Singer and guitarist who recorded a handful of songs in 1932.
L
- Robert Lockwood, Jr.. Guitarist who learned to play directly from Robert Johnson and is known for his longtime collaboration with Sonny Boy Williamson II and his work in the mid-1950s with Little Walter.
- Willie Lofton. Singer and guitarist.
- Willie Love. Pianist.
M
- Tommy McClennan. Singer and guitarist.
- Hayes McMullan . Singer, guitarist and songwriter. He also was variously employed as a sharecropper, deacon and was a civil rights activist.
- Papa Charlie McCoy. Guitarist, mandolinist, and singer, one of the major blues accompanists of his time.
- Mississippi Fred McDowell. Hill country blues singer and guitar player.
- Mississippi John Hurt. Known for his syncopated fingerpicking style. Recorded by the Library of Congress late in his life.
- Mississippi Matilda. Singer and songwriter who recorded four songs for Bluebird Records in 1936. Wife of Sonny Boy Nelson from 1935 to 1952.
- Muddy Waters. Slide guitarist and singer who began his career playing Delta blues but is best known as a Chicago blues musician, one of the more recognizable names in blues.
N
- Sonny Boy Nelson. Multi-instrumentalist, playing the banjo, guitar, harmonica, horn, mandolin and violin.
O
- Jack Owens. Singer and guitarist.
P
- Charley Patton. Guitarist, slide guitarist and singer, considered by many to be the "father of the Delta blues" is credited with creating an enduring body of American music and personally inspiring just about every Delta bluesman.
- Pinetop Perkins. Pianist who played with some of the most influential blues and rock and roll performers in American history.
- Robert Petway. Singer and guitarist who recorded only 16 songs, but was an influence on many notable blues and rock musicians.
R
- Sonny Rhodes. Singer and lap steel guitar player.
- Andy Rodgers was a harmonicist, guitarist, singer and songwriter. A flamboyant character, known commonly as the "Midnight Cowboy", Rodgers worked part-time as a musician for most of his lifetime, finally recording two albums in the 1990s.
- Doctor Ross. Harmonica player, guitarist and singer of country blues, Delta blues, Detroit blues and juke joint blues.
S
- Johnny Shines. Singer and guitarist.
- J.D. Short. Singer, guitarist and harmonica player.
- Henry "Son" Sims. Fiddler and songwriter, best known as an accompanist for Charley Patton and the young Muddy Waters.
- Freddie Spruell. Singer and guitarist, generally regarded as the first Delta bluesman to be recorded.
- Houston Stackhouse. Guitarist and singer best known for his association with Robert Nighthawk.
T
- Johnny Temple. Guitarist and singer.
- James Thomas
- T-Model Ford. His musical style combined the rawness of Delta blues with Chicago blues and juke joint blues styles.
U
- L. C. Ulmer. Singer, songwriter and one-man band, playing up to 12 musical instruments at one time.
W
- Bukka White. Guitarist and singer.
- Geeshie Wiley. Singer and guitarist who recorded six songs in 1930 and 1931.
- Big Joe Williams. Guitarist, singer and songwriter, notable for the distinctive sound of his nine-string guitar.
- Sonny Boy Williamson II. Early and influential harmonica stylist who recorded in the 1950s and 1960s.
Timeline of some well-known Delta blues artists