Mike Bloomfield
July 28, 1943 – February 15, 1981
Mike Bloomfield was an influential electric guitarist who came on like a sonic boom during the ’60s Chicago blues revival. Bloomfield took Chicago by storm, winning early accolades from the likes of Buddy Guy, Bob Dylan and B.B King. In 1964, Bloomfield was signed to Columbia Records by legendary talent scout and producer, John Hammond Sr. Rather than pursue a solo career, he opted to join the Paul Butterfield Blues Band with whom he recorded two seminal electric blues albums. In later years, Bloomfield collaborated with Dylan and Al Kooper, and finally made recordings of his own. In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine listed Mike Bloomfield and #22 on their list of the greatest guitarists of all time. On February 15, 1981, Bloomfield was found in his car dead of a drug overdose.