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- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Feb 11, 2020
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Blues guitarist Jimmy Johnson is much more than just Syl’s big brother
This 91-year-old living legend released his newest album just four months ago.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Jan 27, 2020
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Slide guitarist John Littlejohn brought Mississippi country blues to Chicago
His raw style grew from the same soil that produced Elmore James, but he never became a star outside the Windy City.
- Music, Concert Preview Jan 24, 2020
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Hardy is the new, loud voice of modern pop-country
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Jan 6, 2020
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Blues singer Lucille Spann earned a share of her famous husband’s spotlight
Most of her recordings were with star pianist Otis Spann, but she released a great solo album in 1974.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Oct 22, 2019
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Remembering drummer, pharmacist, activist, and seeker Alvin Fielder
A charter member of the AACM and a longtime partner of saxophonist Kidd Jordan, he was an encyclopedia of jazz history with an eye on the future.
- Music, Concert Preview Sep 12, 2019
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Cedric Burnside keeps authentic modern Delta blues alive
- Music, Music Feature Jun 4, 2019
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O.B. Buchana sings about sin with the voice of a saint
This soul-blues superstar brings a distinctive grit to his tales of all-night escapades.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Apr 9, 2019
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Louis Myers cofounded one of the great backing bands in the blues
The guitar and harmonica master from the Aces played with Junior Wells, Little Walter, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, and many more.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Mar 26, 2019
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Blues bassist Calvin ‘Fuzz’ Jones made Muddy Waters sound his best
Calvin "Fuzz" Jones, who spent most of his five-decade career in Chicago, was one of the most prominent sidemen in electric blues.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Oct 9, 2018
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Otis Rush and his searing guitar immortalized the west-side Chicago blues sound
Rush is hardly obscure, but the Secret History of Chicago Music couldn't let the death of such a powerful and influential artist pass in silence.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Jul 2, 2018
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Matt ‘Guitar’ Murphy did much more than join the Blues Brothers
By the time Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi recruited him, Murphy had worked as a sideman for the likes of Howlin' Wolf, Memphis Slim, and James Cotton.
- Music, Music Feature Jun 5, 2018
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Willie Clayton still has his sterling voice as his career nears its golden anniversary
For his fourth appearance on the Blues Festival’s main stage, the southern soul king will be cooking with a full band—backup singers, horn players, and all.
- Music, Music Feature Jun 5, 2018
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Shardé Thomas propels the Rising Stars Fife & Drum Band into a new century
The granddaughter of fife master Otha Turner flavors a Mississippi hill country tradition with modern hip-hop and R&B.
- Music, Music Feature Jun 5, 2018
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Southern soul-blues queen Ms. Jody always respects herself in the morning
She can get pretty raunchy, but never at the expense of her self-worth or good sense.
- Arts & Culture, Travel May 30, 2018
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Leave the flatlands behind in Savanna and Galena, along the bluffs of the mighty Mississippi
Head west for quaint townships and lush landscapes.
- News & Politics, Feature May 24, 2018
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Hundreds of Illinois prisoners languish behind bars waiting for Dorothy Brown to do her job
The court clerk lost the records of James Allen, who's fighting to overturn convictions that put him in prison 30 years ago. His case is not unique.
- Columns & Opinion, On Politics Mar 1, 2018
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Trump cuts food stamps while looking for a handout for his hotel in Mississippi
And other recent acts in the season of hypocrisy
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Jan 16, 2018
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In 1924 Maxwell Street regular Daddy Stovepipe became one of the first bluesmen ever recorded
Bluesman Daddy Stovepipe was born during Reconstruction and lived long enough to be "rediscovered" in 1960, during the folk-music revival.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Jan 2, 2018
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Underappreciated guitarist Johnny B. Moore links Delta blues with the electric postwar Chicago sound
Johnny B. Moore launched his career as a full-time bluesman in 1975 with the great Koko Taylor, and he's still kicking today.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Dec 18, 2017
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Blues guitarist Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis learned his raw, propulsive style from John Lee Hooker
Maxwell Street Jimmy Davis got his start walking on broken glass in a traveling variety troupe, but he became an institution at Chicago's most famous outdoor market.
- Food & Drink, Restaurant Review Nov 9, 2017
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The Delta’s red hot tamales spotlight Chicago’s links to Mississippi
At the Wicker Park barstaurant, Adam Wendt chefs up the iconic original snack—and offers constructions southern-food aficionados might find controversial.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Jul 18, 2017
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Phil Cohran shaped the Black Arts Movement with his vision and discipline
Secret History pays tribute to its first subject, the late Phil Cohran, who cofounded the AACM, formed the Artistic Heritage Ensemble, and launched the Affro-Arts Theater.
- Music, Music Feature Jun 7, 2017
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At age 88, late-blooming guitarist Jimmy Johnson enters his fifth decade in the blues
Syl’s older brother started out playing soul, but he came into his own as a bluesman in the late 1970s.
- Music, Music Feature Jun 7, 2017
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Denise LaSalle earned her crown in southern soul—and wears it in the blues
In a career spanning 50 years, the Mississippi native has proved herself a riveting performer and chart-topping songwriter.
- Music, The Secret History of Chicago Music Mar 28, 2017
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Otis ‘Big Smokey’ Smothers recorded with Howlin’ Wolf even before his own first session
Guitarist Big Smokey Smothers wrote for Muddy Waters and partnered with Freddie King, but his traditional style of Chicago electric blues didn't help him make his own name.
