When you think of Chicago what comes to mind? For some it’s the Cubbies, or deep-dish pizza, or even the city that helped put Al Capone on the map. But for music aficionados Chicago is the Blues capital of the world. That’s right, Blues. Artists like Willie Dixon, Elmore James, Big Walter Horton, and the incomparable Muddy Waters all honed their skills and made their careers in the Chicago nightlife of smoky rooms and dim lights. But Blues music wasn’t started in Chicago, so how did it get there?

The Mississippi river delta is the birthplace of the Blues, a style of music born out of the hard life lived in the American deep south at the turn of the 20th century. The Delta Blues had since the days of American slavery, but in the early twenties it came to life as record companies discovered the potential of this raw and passionate music. Some of the big names back in the day included Mississippi John Hurt, Hound Dog Taylor, and Big John Williams. ( Read more )