Died On This Date (January 15, 1998) Junior Wells / Chicago Blues Legend
themusicsover Junior Wells (Born Amos Blakemore)
December 9, 1934 – January 15, 1998
Junior Wells was one of the premiere bluesmen of the Chicago scene during the ’50s and ’60s. After moving from Arkansas to Chicago in 1948, Wells landed his first significant gig when he was hired to replace Little Walter on harmonica in Muddy Waters’ band. In 1953, Wells began cutting his own records for the States label and later, Chief and Profile. Over the course of his career he released such great recordings as “Messin’ With the Kid,” “It Hurts Me Too,” and “Little By Little.” During the ’60s, Wells began collaborating with Buddy Guy, appearing on several of each others’ records. And it was during this time that a handful of his recordings were included on Vanguard Records’ Chicago/The Blues/Today! series, which is credited for introducing Chicago blues to white America. In 1997, Wells was diagnosed with cancer. While receiving treatment, he suffered a heart attack, and went into a coma, from which he never recovered. Junior Wells was 65 when he passed away on January 15, 1998.
What You Should Own
With his loud booming voice and raw harmonica skills, Howlin’ Wolf became one of the mid-20th century’s most influential blues men. Wolf’s career began to build during the 1930s when he performed with the likes of 
If you lived in Los Angeles in the mid ’90s and were into music, you know doubt heard the proverbial “buzz” about this old black soul/blues singer belting it out for change on the Venice boardwalk. That voice belonged to Ted Hawkins, and thank God, the folks at Geffen Records followed that buzz until they also witnessed one of the greatest contemporary blues voices as he soothed the crowds of beach urchins. But before all that, Hawkins was forced to survive a rough childhood when he was abused and left to fend for himself as an illiterate child. In and out of reform school and jail, Hawkins finally settled in Los Angeles, but not before spending time in Mississippi’s notorious Parchman Farm penitentiary. By the time he hit his mid 30s, Hawkins had made several attempts at establishing a music career in Los Angeles, but nothing substantial materialized. But in the mid ’80s, Hawkins was becoming somewhat of a blues legend in Europe thanks to a British DJ spinning his records. Hawkins moved overseas and found a bit of success throughout Great Britain and Japan. But returning home to Los Angeles, he was met with the same indifference. And then in 1994, Hawkins was finally “discovered” and signed to Geffen Records. The label then released The Next Hundred Years, a collection of soulful blues with a voice that is at once as smooth as the an L.A. sunset and as rough as windblown Venice boardwalk. In a cruel twist of fate, Hawkins died of a stroke just as the rest of us were just catching up to him.
Freddie King was a Texas blues guitarist who directly inspired no less than 