List of electric blues musicians


The following is a list of electric blues musicians. The electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, the bass guitar, and/or the harmonica and other instruments. Electric blues is performed in several regional subgenres, such as Chicago blues, Texas blues, Delta blues and Memphis blues. Most interpretations of electric blues have a solemn tone through the common uses of the minor pentatonic scale, slow backing, and extended soloing periods, that extend through all subgenres.

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  • Terry Hanck – is an American electric blues saxophonist, singer, songwriter and record producer, who won a Blues Music Award in 2015 in the 'Instrumentalist – Horn' category. Previously Hanck earned both a Blues Music Award and a Living Blues Award for 'Best Horn' in 2012, and was nominated for the latter prize in the 'Best Song' category. In May 2015, he won the International Songwriting Competition for his soul ballad, "I Keep On Holding On."
  • Pat Hare – Born in Cherry Valley, Arkansas, he was a Memphis blues guitarist, who recorded with Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton, Muddy Waters, Bobby Bland and other artists.
  • Harmonica Slim –, was an American blues harmonicist, singer and songwriter.
  • Slim Harpo – Born in Lobdell, Louisiana, Harpo is one of the best known blues neck-rack harmonica players from his era despite having begun his career as a guitarist. He played everything from Louisiana blues, swamp blues, electric blues and harmonica blues, and was also a singer.
  • Casey Hensley – American female blues, swing, and rock and roll singer, songwriter and record producer. To date, Hensley has released two albums including her 2017 debut issue, Live.
  • Matt Hill is an American electric blues singer, guitarist and songwriter. To date, Hill has released two albums, and he has also gained a reputation for his energetic live performances. Hill won a Blues Music Award in May 2011, in the category of 'Best New Artist Debut' for his first album, On the Floor.
  • Z. Z. Hill –, was an American blues singer best known for his recordings in the 1970s and early 1980s, including his 1982 album for Malaco Records, Down Home, which stayed on the Billboard soul album chart for nearly two years. The track "Down Home Blues" has been called the best-known blues song of the 1980s.
  • Smokey Hogg – Born in Westconnie, Texas, Hogg began his career as a rhythm and blues musician. An acoustic and electric guitarist, singer and pianist, Hogg performed with musicians in Texas like Black Ace.
  • Rick Holmstrom –, Holmstrom has released six albums since 1996, and previously worked with William Clarke and Rod Piazza.
  • John Lee Hooker – Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, Hooker was an acoustic and electric guitarist and singer who was perhaps the most well known exponent of the Delta blues sound, though he also performed Detroit blues.
  • Ellis Hooks –, has released six albums to date.
  • Jay Hooks – American Texas blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. After gaining national exposure playing in Lavelle White's backing ensemble, Hooks has released three albums to date, appeared on German television and undertaken various tours, including one in Europe.
  • Lightnin' Hopkins – Born Sam Hopkins in Centerville, Texas, Hopkins was an acoustic and electric guitarist and a major exponent of Texas blues. During his late career he performed mostly on electric guitar, though in the same manner that he would perform on an acoustic one. Like John Lee Hooker, Hopkins is one of the better known blues musicians of history.
  • Joe "Guitar" Hughes – Born in Houston, Texas. One of the unsung heroes of the Texas blues scene, Hughes was an acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist. He performed with Bobby "Blue" Bland in the 1960s and released a series of solo albums in the late 1980s and 1990s for labels like Black Top Records and Double Trouble Records.
  • Long John Hunter – He released three albums on Alligator Records in the 1990s. His dinal release, Looking for a Party was issued by Blue Express in October 2009.
  • Steve Hunter – performed as rock guitarist with Lou Reed and Alice Cooper and later transformed into an electronic blues guitarist with his 2013 release of The Manhattan Blues Project.

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  • Ironing Board Sam –. Born in Rock Hill, South Carolina, this keyboardist, singer and songwriter has released a small number of singles and albums. Despite having several lows in his musical career, it has spanned over fifty years, and he released a new album in 2012.
  • 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.

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  • Clara McDaniel – is an American blues singer and songwriter.
  • Lonnie Mack –, Mack performed as an electric guitarist and singer. He is widely considered to be the founder of the blues rock guitar genre, with his 1963 hits, "Memphis" and "Wham!", but also received critical acclaim as one of the best of the early blue-eyed soul singers.
  • Janiva Magness –, Magness was named the B.B. King Entertainer of the Year in 2009, becoming only the second woman, after Koko Taylor, to be so honored. She has released 15 albums to date.
  • Taj Mahal –, Taj Mahal performs on guitar, harmonica and banjo and also sings. Mahal explores a variety of genres which he fuses into his music, including zydeco. He performs in both acoustic and electric settings, depending on the material.
  • Big Joe Maher is an American electric blues drummer, singer-songwriter. His backing band are known as the Dynaflows.
  • Lisa Mann – American electric blues bassist, singer-songwriter. In 2015 and 2016, she won a Blues Music Award.
  • Johnny Mars – is an electric blues harmonica player, singer, and songwriter.
  • Johnnie Marshall – American guitarist, singer-songwriter. Discovered by Johnny Rawls in the mid 1990s, Marshall has released three albums on JSP Records and continues as a live performer to the present day.
  • Krissy Matthews – British-Norwegian blues rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. He had released three albums by the age of 18. His most recent and fifth album, Scenes From a Moving Window, was released by Promise Records in 2015.
  • John Mayall – was an English blues and rock musician, songwriter and producer. In the 1960s, he formed John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, a band that has counted among its members some of the most famous blues and blues rock musicians. A singer, guitarist, harmonica player, and keyboardist, he had a career that spanned nearly seven decades, remaining an active musician until his death aged 90. Mayall has often been referred to as the "godfather of the British blues", and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the musical influence category in 2024.
  • Pete Mayes – Born in Double Bayou, Texas. He performed for over fifty years, and was awarded a W.C. Handy Award for 'comeback album of the year' in 1998.
  • 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.
  • Gerry McAvoy – is a Northern Irish blues bass guitarist, who played from 1970 to 1995 with fellow Irish bluesman Rory Gallagher's band, usually consisting of power trios. After Gallagher's early death, he joined Nine Below Zero, based in London, England.
  • Jerry McCain –, was an American electric blues musician, best known as a harmonica player.
  • Cash McCall – American electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was best known for his 1966 R&B hit "When You Wake Up". Over his long career, his musical style evolved from gospel music to soul music to the blues.
  • Kevin McKendree – American electric blues pianist, keyboardist, guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In addition to his lengthy and varied career as a session musician, McKendree has released two solo albums.
  • Kid Memphis –, is an American electric blues guitarist and singer. He has a record released on Vizztone and one on Retrofonic.
  • Michael Messer – is an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. He, along with Steve Phillips and Bob Greenwood, is noteworthy for his ability to combine acoustic National steel guitar, as well as slide guitar, into his playing style. The American magazine, Spirit, listed Messer as one of the greatest slide guitarists alongside Duane Allman and Ry Cooder.
  • Floyd Miles – Electric blues and soul blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He released four solo albums.
  • Luke "Long Gone" Miles – Texas and electric blues singer-songwriter.
  • Biscuit Miller – is an American bassist, singer and songwriter. He writes most of his own material, and has released three albums to date. In 2012 and 2017, Miller won a Blues Music Award.
  • Little Milton – Born in Iverness, Mississippi, Little Milton performed everything from soul-blues to outright boogie-woogie and rhythm and blues. A guitarist and singer, he released countless albums over a long career.
  • R.J. MischoHarmonicist, singer-songwriter, and record producer. To date he has released eleven albums on a number of labels, and his music has been aired on independent film scores, television commercials, and documentaries on the Discovery Channel. Mischo has contributed to a couple of Mel Bay harmonica instruction books. In addition, he was listed in that author's The Encyclopedia of Harmonica.
  • McKinley Mitchell – Born in Jackson, Mississippi, Mitchell was a Chicago-based soul-blues and rhythm and blues singer who started out performing Gospel music. He recorded singles for Boxer Records, Chess Records, and a variety of other labels. In his later career he returned to Mississippi and recorded "I Won't Be Back for More" in 1984.
  • Johnny B. MooreChicago and electric blues guitarist and singer, who has released nine albums since 1993.
  • Mike Morgan – Morgan is bandleader of "Mike Morgan & the Crawl", a Texas blues band. He is a guitarist and blues harp player, and has released a series of albums for Black Top and Severn Records.
  • Big Bill Morganfield – William Morganfield Son of blues legend Muddy Waters. He came to music relatively late in life, recording his first album 1997. He has since recorded six additional albums, and is a recipient of the 2000 W. C. Handy Award for best new artist.
  • Nick Moss – Guitarist, bassist, harmonica player and singer.
  • Mr. Bo – Born in Indianola, Mississippi, Mr. Bo was a Detroit-based guitarist, singer and songwriter. Primarily working as a live performer in Detroit for four decades, his co-written song, "If Trouble Was Money", was later recorded by both Charlie Musselwhite and Albert Collins.
  • Bobby Murray – Murray has played in Etta James' backing band for twenty years, performed on three Grammy Award winning recordings with James and B.B. King, and has released three solo albums. In 2011, the Detroit Blues Society granted him their Lifetime Achievement Award.

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  • John Németh – Electric blues and soul harmonicist, singer, and songwriter. He has received two Blues Music Awards for Soul Blues Male Artist in 2014 and Soul Blues Album in 2015. He has recorded nine solo albums since 2002, having also backed Junior Watson, Anson Funderburgh and Elvin Bishop.
  • Sugar Ray Norcia – is an electric and soul blues singer and harmonica player. He is best known for his work with his backing band, The Bluetones, with whom he has released seven albums since 1980.
  • Darrell Nulisch – Singer and harmonica player, has worked with Anson Funderburgh and Ronnie Earl as well as issuing several solo albums.

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