Diunna Greenleaf sings the blues

Diunna Greenleaf sings the blues

Living Blues #287 features Houston singer Diunna Greenleaf. Greenleaf grew up immersed in gospel music. Encouraged by the likes of Katie Webster and Teddy Reynolds, she began to sing the blues. Now, with more than 25 years in the blues, Greenleaf has become one of its strongest voices. Danva Johnson is the son of James

Latest Living Blues features Jimi “Primetime” Smith

guitar player Jimi Smith

Living Blues #282 features Chicago bluesman Jimi “Primetime” Smith. His first gig at age 13 was backing his mother, Chicago drummer Johnnie Mae Dunson’s, friend Jimmy Reed at the 1973 Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival. Smith’s journey in the blues has certainly been atypical. Now, at age 63, he has absorbed all of the

Living Blues magazine showcases Old School Southern Soul

Living Blues #274 (September/October 2021) is an Old School Southern Soul special. Mississippi bluesman Sam Mosley has spent his life making music. Now 75, Mosley looks back on his long career, which includes multiple bands with his partner, Bob Johnson, and their decades of successful songwriting for Malaco Records. Billy Ray Charles has been singing

Gimme the Beat!

Living Blues #273 is the third in the history of LB that is dedicated to drummers—looking at the important roles played by blues drummers, including the first two female drummers ever covered by the magazine. The ten artists anchor the backbeat of the genre. Artists featured include Rodd Bland, Jamiesa Turner, Joe “Iceman” Williams, Greg Gordon,

Living Blues looks forward to next generation of the blues

Living Blues #269 (November /December 2020) concludes the 50th Anniversary celebration with a look forward at the future of the blues with the “Next Generation of the Blues” special issue. At age 38 multi-instrumentalist Dom Flemons has spent the last 15 years taking a deep dive into the roots of African American music eager to

Thacker Mountain Radio celebrates 50 Years of Living Blues magazine

    Written by Martha Grace Mize Event Details When: Saturday, Sept. 12, broadcast at 7 p.m. on Mississippi Public Broadcasting and 9 p.m. on Alabama Public Radio; rebroadcast Thursday, Sept. 17 on local station WUMS 92.1 Author: Diane Williams, author of “The Life and Legacy of B.B. King: A Mississippi Blues Icon” Guest Musicians: John Wilkins

Living Blues continues 50th anniversary celebration

Living Blues #267 (July/August 2020) continues our 50th Anniversary Celebration. South Dallas bluesman Tutu Jones burst onto the scene as a hot, fresh young guitarist in the 1990s. Things didn’t necessarily work out as planned over the next two decades, but Jones has never given up. A little older and a lot wiser, now he