Various – Essential – Chicago Blues – 2LP

This is a compilation of Chicago blues. But it’s rather more than that. Run your finger down the list of songs here performed by the original artists and it’s highly likely you’ll recognize them from the repertoire of more recent artists. And while many of the singers here are, sadly, no longer with us, the blues’ ability to be creatively recycled has given the music a longevity that should ensure its future.

Back in the years following World War II, Black Americans were moving to where the jobs were. A massive influx of labour was needed to sustain the hectic pace war had established, and Chicago, with its steel mills and car factories, was a key industrial centre. When the newly arrived workers weren’t working they needed to be entertained. So it was that a live circuit of venues grew up offering live music aimed at the working man and woman.

If the cutting edge of innovation had passed from black blues to white rock as the Sixties progressed, the Chicago blues treasure trove has provided rich pickings for bands over the years. Our compilation proves this point many times over, so take a trip back in time to sweet home Chicago