List of Chicago blues musicians

A

• Alberta Adams. In 1952, she signed a recording contract with Chess Records and recorded with Red Saunders for the label. She toured with Duke Ellington, Eddie Vinson, Louis Jordan, Lionel Hampton, and T-Bone Walker, among others.
• Linsey Alexander. Moved to Chicago in 1959, where he was active in the South Side music scene and became one of the hardest-working bluesmen in Chicago. He is known for his strong voice and guitar with his own style of electric blues. His album Been There Done That, recorded by Delmark Records in 2012, has been critically acclaimed as pure blues of the finest quality.
• Luther Allison. Moved to Chicago as a teenager and became a major force in the blues scene there, primarily as an electric guitarist and also as a singer. He released many albums for Alligator Records, based in Chicago.
• Kokomo Arnold. Slide guitarist and vocalist who began his career in New York City and moved to Chicago in the latter half of the 1920s. He stopped recording for good in 1938, because he was not making a livable wage performing. His first recording was for Decca Records. Several compilation albums of his work have been released, such as those issued by Document Records.

B

• Chico Banks. Released one album in 1997 for Evidence Records and played with many other blues musicians.
• L.V. Banks. Moved to Chicago in 1965 and released two albums for Wolf Records.
• George Barnes. Electric guitar pioneer who recorded at the age of 16 with Big Bill Broonzy. He also recorded with Blind John Davis, Jazz Gillum and other notable Chicago blues artists, but was better known as a swing jazz guitarist and composer.
• Barrelhouse Chuck
• Lefty Bates. Guitarist who played on numerous recordings of Chicago blues, jazz and R&B.
• Carey Bell. Acoustic and electric harmonica blues and Chicago blues multi-instrumentalist, playing bass guitar, guitar, drums and harmonica and singing. He released several albums for Alligator Records, Delmark Records and other labels.
• Fred Below. Drummer for the Aces and Little Walter and session player for Muddy Waters and many others.
• Buster Benton. Guitarist in Willie Dixon's Blues All-Stars, best known for his solo rendition of Dixon's song "Spider in My Stew."
• Elvin Bishop. An American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. An original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of that group in 2015 and the Blues Hall of Fame in his own right in 2016.
• Scrapper Blackwell. Acoustic Piedmont blues artist and an early exponent of Chicago blues, who worked closely with pianist Leroy Carr. He also backed the singer Black Bottom McPhail. Document Records has issued most of his work in three volumes.
• Mike Bloomfield. Guitarist.
• Boston Blackie –. Stage name of Benjamin Joe "Bennie" Houston, born and raised in Alabama who established himself as a guitarist and singer on Chicago's West Side. He was shot dead by fellow musician Tail Dragger Jones.
• Eddie Boyd. Blues pianist, singer, and songwriter, a fixture of the Chicago blues scene, performing electric and acoustic Chicago blues. He toured Europe with Buddy Guy in 1965. He left the United States and lived abroad because of racial discrimination. He recorded for Love Records, Decca Records, and other labels.,
• Billy Branch. Blues harp player and vocalist who plays electric Chicago blues. He leads his own band, the Sons of Blues, and has released several albums for Evidence Records, Alligator Records and other labels.
• John Brim. Acoustic and electric Chicago blues guitarist, harmonica player and singer who regularly performed with his wife, Grace, on drums. He recorded for Fortune Records and Chess Records, among others.
• Lonnie Brooks. Guitarist and singer.
• Ronnie Baker Brooks. Blues singer and guitarist. His father, the blues guitarist Lonnie Brooks, was a strong musical influence on him, as were Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and other Chicago blues luminaries who jammed at the Brookses' home while he was growing up. His brother Wayne Baker Brooks is also a blues musician, and the three Brookses often appear as guests in each other's shows.
• Wayne Baker Brooks. Guitarist and singer, son of the blues guitarist Lonnie Brooks.
• Big Bill Broonzy. Acoustic country blues musician who performed Chicago blues, singing and playing guitar and mandolin. He recorded over 350 compositions.
• J. T. Brown. Electric and acoustic Chicago blues tenor saxophonist and singer. He performed with Washboard Sam, Eddie Boyd, Elmore James and others.
• George "Mojo" Buford. Played periodically in Muddy Waters's band.
• Aron Burton. Played with Albert Collins, Freddie King and Champion Jack Dupree and released a number of solo albums, including Good Blues to You.
• George "Wild Child" Butler. Electric guitarist, blues harp player and vocalist. He recorded in the 1960s and 1970s for Mercury Records. In the 1980s he moved to Canada and continued recording and performing. His last album was released by APO Records in 2001.
• Paul Butterfield. Amplified harmonica player, guitarist, vocalist and flautist who performed blues-rock and Chicago blues. He recorded for various labels, including Bearsville Records and Elektra Records.

C

• Eddie C. Campbell. Electric blues guitarist and singer. Performed with Howlin' Wolf, Luther Allison and many others. His debut album was for Mr. Blues Records. He has recorded for Blind Pig Records, JSP Records and other labels.
• Karen Carroll. Blues vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter, the daughter of Mack Carroll and Alberta Simmons. She first recorded with the Blues Masters on the album Son of a Gun, released in 1984 by Rooster. She recorded two albums for Delmark Records and contributed to at least eight works on that label. She has written and recorded many singles and holds copyrights to them. Her final release was in 2011.
• Toronzo Cannon. Electric blues guitarist, vocalist and songwriter.
• Leonard Caston. Rhythm and blues pianist and a member of the Chicago blues band the Big Three Trio, with Willie Dixon and Ollie Crawford. He recorded for Okeh Records and Columbia Records with the group. After the trio broke up, he performed soul music and urban contemporary gospel as an organist.
• Chicago Blues All-Stars – An American blues band based in Chicago and formed in 2007.
• William Clarke. Blues harmonica player and singer. He recorded for various labels, including Alligator Records, Watch Dog Records and Rivera Records.
• Willie Clayton. Having started performing in the late 1960s, he has had 10 albums in the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart.
• Eddy "The Chief" Clearwater. Moved to Chicago at the age of fifteen. He is a modern electric rhythm and blues and Chicago blues guitarist and singer. He has recorded numerous solo albums for Rounder Records, Delmark Records, and other labels.
• Climax Blues Band. Formed in 1968 and based in Stafford, England, performing blues-rock in the Chicago blues vein. In later years, the band has ventured into soft rock, roots rock and pop rock. The band has released many albums for Sire Records, Warner Bros. Records and others.
• Michael Coleman. Played with James Cotton, Eddy Clearwater, Syl Johnson, and John Primer. Beginning in 1995, he released five albums, for Delmark Records and others
• James Cotton. Blues harmonica player and singer who got his start performing Delta blues, later moving to Chicago and performing Chicago blues. Performing in both acoustic and electric settings, he has recorded dozens of albums, for Alligator Records, Verve Records and other labels. He leads the James Cotton Blues Band.
• Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Guitarist and singer who began his career performing Delta blues. He later moved to Chicago, where he continued performing Delta blues and also Chicago blues, in both acoustic and electric environments. Not until the blues revival of the 1960s did he receive widespread appreciation from audiences.

D

• Lester Davenport. Moved to Chicago in 1945. Electric Chicago blues harmonica player and vocalist, sometimes called Mad Dog Davenport. He recorded his first album in 1991 for Earwig Music. He recorded I Smell a Rat for Delmark Records in 2002.
• Blind John Davis. Accomplished blues, jazz, and boogie-woogie pianist who recorded with Sonny Boy Williamson, Tampa Red, Big Bill Broonzy, Merline Johnson and others.
• Jimmy Dawkins. Moved to Chicago in 1955. Guitarist and vocalist and a fixture of the modern electric Chicago blues scene. His first album, Fast Fingers, was recorded in 1969 for Delmark Records, for which he recorded several others. He also recorded for the Earwig Music and other labels.
• Detroit Junior. Born Emery Williams Jr in Haynes, Arkansas, he was a pianist, vocalist and songwriter. He is known for songs such as "So Unhappy", "Call My Job", "If I Hadn't Been High", "Ella" and "Money Tree". His songs have been recorded by Koko Taylor and Albert King among others.
• Bo Diddley. Guitarist and vocalist who performed electric Chicago blues, rock and roll and rhythm and blues. He had a long career, beginning in the 1950s. He recorded well over twenty albums for Checker Records, Chess Records, Atlantic Records and other labels.
• Willie Dixon. Double bassist, singer, songwriter, record producer and guitarist, a key figure in the acoustic and electric Chicago blues scene. He was involved in helping start the careers of Bo Diddley and Muddy Waters, to name only two. He recorded for numerous labels. He also performed jump blues and would sometimes sing jive.
• Lefty Dizz Born Walter Williams in Osceola, Arkansas, and before his four-year tour of duty in the U.S. Air Force ended in 1956, Lefty began to play the guitar. When he returned to Chicago later that year, he came under the tutelage of Lacy Gibson and Earl Hooker. In 1958, Lefty joined Sonny Thompson's road band, playing rhythm 'n' blues throughout the country. During a gig in Seattle, a left-handed teenage guitarist named Jimi Hendrix, hung out with, and was influenced by, Lefty Dizz. In 1960, Lefty moved to Detroit, where he remained for four years, working with Junior Cannady and John Lee Hooker. From 1964 to 1971, Lefty worked with Junior Wells, during which time they toured the U.S., Canada, Africa, Europe, Southeast Asia, the Fiji Islands and Indonesia. Lefty then joined Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers, performing extensively until Hound Dog's passing in late 1975. He then formed his own band, Lefty Dizz and Shock Treatment. His most well-known compositions include "Bad Avenue", "I Found Out", If I Could Just Get My Hands on What I Got My Eyes On", Funny Acting Woman", "Somebody Stole My Christmas" and "Ain't It Nice to be Loved". Lefty Dizz died from esophageal cancer on September 7, 1993, at age 56, in Chicago.
• Johnny Drummer. Singer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter.
• Little Arthur Duncan. Moved to Chicago in 1950 and accompanied Earl Hooker in the 1950s. He released three solo albums.
• Champion Jack Dupree. Pianist.

E

• Robert "Big Mojo" Elem. Bass guitarist and singer.

F

• Paul Filipowicz. Singer, guitarist, harmonica player and songwriter. A 2015 inductee to the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame.
• Billy Flynn. Electric guitarist, singer and songwriter.
• "Baby Face" Leroy Foster. Singer, guitarist, and drummer.
• Little Willy Foster. Harmonica player, singer, and songwriter.
• Steve Freund. Guitarist, singer, bandleader and record producer.

G

• Lacy Gibson. Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
• Jazz Gillum. Harmonica player.
• Good Rockin' Charles. Born Henry Lee Bester, he released one album in his lifetime and is best known for his work with Johnny "Man" Young, Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers, Arthur "Big Boy" Spires and Jimmy Rogers.
• Jimmie Gordon was a pianist, singer, and songwriter.
• Nick Gravenites. Blues, rock and folk singer and songwriter.
• Buddy Guy. Acoustic and electric guitarist and an accomplished singer, one of the most recognizable artists of the Chicago blues. He has recorded numerous albums for Chess Records, Vanguard Records, Silvertone Records and other labels.
• Phil Guy. Guitarist. He was the younger brother of Buddy Guy.
• Steve Guyger. Harmonica player, singer, and songwriter. He has recorded five albums since 1997, having previously backed Jimmy Rogers for almost 15 years.

H

• Harmonica Hinds. Considered one of the most talented Chicago blues musicians, having played with many blues artists for more than five decades. He is still active on the Chicago blues scene.
• Shakey Jake Harris. Singer, harmonica player and songwriter, long associated with his nephew, Magic Sam.
• Homesick James. Slide guitarist. Elmore James was his cousin.
• Earl Hooker. Moved to Chicago with his family in the early 1940s. Slide guitarist who left an indelible mark on the Chicago blues. Having learning the rudiments of slide guitar from Robert Nighthawk, he joined Ike Turner's Kings of Rhythm in 1949 and toured the South. He returned to Chicago in the mid-1950s and became much in demand as a session player, recording with artists like Pinetop Perkins, Muddy Waters and his cousin, John Lee Hooker.
• Big Walter Horton. Also known as Shakey Walter Horton, he was one of the better-known harmonica players of his day. He played the gamut, including Memphis blues, Chicago blues, juke joint blues and harmonica blues. He played both acoustic and amplified harmonica and was also a singer.
• Howlin' Wolf. Singer, guitarist and harmonica player.
• J. B. Hutto. Guitarist and singer.

I

• Daniel Ivankovich . Founding member of the Chicago Blues All-Stars. He has performed and recorded with many Chicago blues musicians, including Otis Rush, Magic Slim and Junior Wells. He is also an orthopedic surgeon and a co-founder and medical director of OnePatient-Global Health Initiative, an organization that provides medical care to the poor in Chicago and abroad.

J

• Lee Jackson. Guitarist, bass guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although he did release a number of recordings in his own name, such as "Fishin' in My Pond", he is mostly known for his work on recordings with other blues musicians such as Johnny Shines, Willie Dixon, Jimmy Reed, J. B. Hutto, Sunnyland Slim, Lacy Gibson, and Little Walter.
• Elmore James. Slide guitarist, playing acoustic and electric guitars, and singer. He performed Delta blues and Chicago blues and is best known for the latter. His technique influenced a generation of guitarists who followed.
• Jimmy Johnson. Guitarist and singer.
• Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson. Electric guitarist best known for his long stints with Muddy Waters in the 1970s. In 1980 he began doing solo work. His debut album was released by Evidence Records in 1976. He has also recorded for Telarc and Bullseye Blues.
• Luther "Georgia Boy" Johnson. Electric guitarist, singer and songwriter, also known as Snake or Snake Boy and sometimes billed as Luther King or Little Luther.
• L.V. Johnson. Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
• Syl Johnson. Blues and soul singer and record producer.
• Floyd Jones. Singer, guitarist and songwriter.
• Johnny "Yard Dog" Jones. Chicago blues and soul blues singer, guitarist, harmonica player, and songwriter.
• Little Johnny Jones. Pianist and singer.
• Moody Jones. Guitarist, bass player, and singer. Performed on Maxwell Street in the 1940s. A significant figure in the development of postwar Chicago blues, backing his cousin Floyd Jones, Snooky Pryor and others on singles released in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
• Tail Dragger Jones –. American Chicago blues singer who performed since the 1960s and released four albums. Jones gained a certain notoriety in 1993, after being convicted of second-degree murder for the killing of fellow blues musician, Boston Blackie.

K

• E.G. Kight. Singer, guitarist and songwriter.
• Bobby King. Guitarist, singer-songwriter. King worked with Hank Ballard and The Midnighters, Bobby Bland, Lee "Shot" Williams, Eddy Clearwater, Freddie King, Lonnie Johnson, The Aces and Sonny Thompson. Although he may be better remembered as a session musician, between 1962 and 1975, King recorded four singles and one album.
• Eddie King. Guitarist, singer-songwriter.
• Big Daddy Kinsey. Singer, guitarist and harmonica player.
• Donald Kinsey. Guitarist and singer.

L

• Pierre Lacocque. Harmonica player, songwriter, and Mississippi Heat band leader.
• Sammy Lawhorn. Guitarist.
• Johnny Laws. Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
• Sam Lay. Drummer and singer.
• Bonnie Lee. Singer.
• J. B. Lenoir. Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
• Hip Linkchain. Guitarist, singer and songwriter.
• John Littlejohn. Electric blues slide guitarist.
• Little Walter. Harmonica player and singer.
• Robert Lockwood, Jr.. Guitarist.
• Professor Eddie Lusk. Session and touring musician.
• Willie James Lyons. Guitarist, singer and songwriter. He worked primarily in the West Side of Chicago from the late 1950s up to his death. Lyons was an accompanist to many musicians who included Luther Allison, Jimmy Dawkins and Bobby Rush. A noted performer in his own right, Lyons work was influenced by B.B. King and Freddie King, T-Bone Walker and Lowell Fulson. His only solo album was Chicago Woman, recorded in France in 1979.

M

• Willie Mabon. Pianist, singer-songwriter.
• Magic Sam. Guitarist and singer.
• Liz Mandeville. Singer-songwriter, guitarist, rubboard player, music producer, owner of the record label Blue Kitty Music.
• Earring George Mayweather. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. Although he only recorded a single solo album, Mayweather's harmonica work appeared on recordings by J. B. Hutto and Eddie Taylor.
• Holle Thee Maxwell. Singer-songwriter with a six-decade career. She is known for her command of a wide range of genres. She replaced Tina Turner as vocalist with Ike Turner's band. Bobby Bland used one of the songs she wrote for his critically acclaimed album Come Fly with Me.
• L. C. McKinley. Guitarist.
• Andrew "Blueblood" McMahon. Bass guitarist, singer-songwriter. McMahon played bass guitar in Howlin' Wolf's backing ensemble for over a decade. He also backed a number of other Chicago-based blues musicians on record.
• Big Maceo Merriweather. Pianist and singer.
• Little Brother Montgomery. Pianist and singer.
• Johnny B. Moore. Guitarist, singer-songwriter.
• Nick Moss. Guitarist, bassist, harmonica player and singer.
• Matt "Guitar" Murphy. Guitarist and singer-songwriter. He was associated with the bands The Blues Brothers and Howlin' Wolf.
• Charlie Musselwhite. Electric blues harmonica player and bandleader.

N

• Robert Nighthawk. Guitarist, harmonica player and singer.

O

• Andrew Odom. Chicago blues and electric blues singer and songwriter.

P

• Odie Payne. Drummer.
• Dion Payton. Guitarist and singer.
• Morris Pejoe. Singer, guitarist, and songwriter.
• Pinetop Perkins. Pianist.
• Brewer Phillips. Chicago blues and juke joint blues acoustic and electric guitarist and singer active from the 1970s to the 1990s. He recorded for Delmark Records and JSP Records.
• Snooky Pryor. Harmonica player.

R

• A.C. Reed. Saxophonist.
• Jimmy Reed. Guitarist, harmonica player and singer.
• Rhythm Willie Harmonica player.
• Jimmy Rogers. Guitarist, harmonica player and singer.
• Freddie Roulette. Electric blues lap steel guitarist and singer.
• Otis Rush. Guitarist and singer.

S

• Marty Sammon. Keyboardist.
• Ken Saydak. Pianist and singer-songwriter.
• Son Seals. Electric blues guitarist and singer.
• Eddie Shaw. Tenor saxophonist.
• Corky Siegel. Singer-songwriter and composer, he plays harmonica and piano. He plays and writes blues and blues-rock music, and has also worked extensively on combining blues and classical music. He is best known as the co-leader of the Siegel-Schwall Band.
• Little Mack Simmons. Harmonica player, singer-songwriter.
• Matthew Skoller. Harmonicist, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has released five albums, as well as recording his harmonica playing on other musicians work.
• Barkin' Bill Smith.. Singer-songwriter, performed solo and sang for electric blues bands, such as Dave Specter & the Bluebirds.
• Byther Smith. Blues guitarist and singer.
• Little Smokey Smothers. Guitarist and singer.
• Otis "Big Smokey" Smothers. Guitarist and singer.
• Otis Spann. Pianist and singer.
• Dave Specter. Guitarist.
• Arthur "Big Boy" Spires. Guitarist and singer.
• Arbee Stidham. Singer and multi-instrumentalist.
• Bob Stroger. Bass guitarist, singer-songwriter active since the 1960s. He backed Eddie King, Otis Rush and Sunnyland Slim.
• Studebaker John. Guitarist and harmonica player.
• Sugar Blue. Harmonica player.
• Hubert Sumlin. Guitarist and singer.
• Sunnyland Slim. Pianist and singer.

T

• Tampa Red. Guitarist and songwriter.
• Demetria Taylor. Singer and songwriter, the daughter of the underneath named musician.
• Eddie Taylor. Electric blues guitarist and singer.
• Eddie Taylor Jr.. Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Son of the above.
• Hound Dog Taylor. Guitarist and singer.
• Koko Taylor. Singer.
• Melvin Taylor. Guitarist.
• Johnny Temple. Guitarist and singer.

W

• Johnny "Big Moose" Walker. Chicago blues and electric blues pianist and organist.
• Washboard Sam. Washboard player and singer.
• Muddy Waters. Slide guitarist and singer who began his career playing Delta blues but is best known as a Chicago blues musician.
• Valerie Wellington. Classical opera singer who successfully turned to recording Chicago blues.
• Junior Wells. Harmonica player and singer.
• Golden "Big" Wheeler. Chicago blues and electric blues singer, harmonica player, and songwriter.
• James Wheeler. Chicago blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the younger brother of the above named.
• Big Joe Williams . Better known as a Delta blues player and itinerant musician, but an important figure in the development of Chicago blues by virtue of his recordings with Sonny Boy Williamson I.
• Johnny Williams. Guitarist and singer.
• Lil' Ed Williams. Slide guitarist, singer-songwriter.
• Sonny Boy Williamson I. Harmonica player, singer-songwriter.
• Sonny Boy Williamson II. Harmonica player, singer-songwriter.
• Big John Wrencher. Harmonica player and singer.

Y

• Johnny "Man" Young. Singer, mandolin player and guitarist. His nickname, Man, came from his playing the mandolin.
• Mighty Joe Young. Guitarist. He began his music career in the early 1950s, singing on the Milwaukee nightclub circuit and taking his stage name after the film of the same name. In 1955, he returned to Louisiana to make his recording debut, for Jiffy Records.
• Zora Young. Soul blues and gospel blues singer. She has toured Europe several times and has released albums for Delmark Records, Deluge Records, Black Lightning Records and other labels.