Jimmy Witherspoon › Similar Artists

Lowell Fulson - 100% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

31 March 1921, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, d. 6 March 1999, Los Angeles, California, USA. Blues guitarist Lowell Fulson (whose surname was often mistakenly misspelled Fulsom) recorded steadily from 1946 onwards, and performed regularly on the US and European club circuits into the 90s. One of the founding fathers of West Coast blues, Fulson blended the rural blues of his home stat Read more

Roosevelt Sykes - 87% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

31 January 1906, Elmar, Arkansas, USA, d. 17 July 1983, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. Sykes learned piano at the age of 12 and by the early 20s was playing in local barrelhouses. He moved to St. Louis in 1928 and his first recordings for OKeh Records and Victor Records were made from 1929-31. During the 30s, Sykes recorded for Decca Records and acted as a talent scout for the Read more

J.B. Hutto - 86% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

Joseph Benjamin Hutto, 26 April 1926, Elko, near Blackville, South Carolina, USA, d. 12 June 1983, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Hutto’s family moved to Augusta, Georgia when he was three years old, and he later sang in the Golden Crowns Gospel Singers, before moving to Chicago in 1949. While in Chicago he began to play drums and sing blues with Johnny Ferguson’s Twister Read more

Jimmy Rogers - 82% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

Otis Spann - 81% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

21 March 1930, Jackson, Mississippi, USA, d. 24 April 1970, Chicago, Illinois, USA. One of the finest pianists of post-war blues, Spann learned the instrument as a child. He initially played in his stepfather’s church, but by the age of 14 was a member of a small local group. Having pursued careers in football and boxing, Spann moved to Chicago where he returned to musi Read more

Magic Sam - 76% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

Samuel Gene Maghett, 14 February 1937, Grenada County, Mississippi, USA, d. 1 December 1969, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Although Maghett’s immediate family were not musical, he received encouragement from his uncle, Shakey Jake, a popular blues singer on Chicago’s west side. Maghett arrived in the city in 1950 and by the age of 20 had secured a recording contract with Read more

Frank Frost - 75% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

15 April 1936, Auvergne, Arkansas, USA, d. 12 October 1999, Helena, Arkansas, USA. Frost’s skills encompassed keyboards and guitar, but like many other blues artists, he started with the harmonica. After moving to St. Louis as a teenager, he took up playing with Sonny Boy ‘Rice Miller’ Williamson in the mid-50s, appearing regularly with him on the famous radio Read more

Tampa Red - 72% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

Hudson Woodbridge aka Whittaker, 8 January 1904, Smithville, Georgia, USA, d. 19 March 1981, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Tampa Red was raised in Tampa, Florida, by his grandmother Whittaker’s family, hence his nickname. By the time of his 1928 recording debut for Vocalion Records, he had developed the clear, precise bottleneck blues guitar style that earned him his billing, Read more

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - 70% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

18 April 1924, Vinton, Louisiana, USA, some sources give Orange, Texas, where he was raised from the age of three weeks, d. 10 September 2005, Orange, Texas, USA. Brown’s father was a musician who taught him to play guitar and fiddle, and during his youth he heard the music of Tampa Red, Bob Wills, Count Basie, and others. He toured the south as a drummer with a travell Read more

Phillip Walker - 69% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

11 February, 1937, Welsh, Louisiana, USA. Originating from the Port Arthur area of Louisiana, Walker worked in many bands building a reputation as a performer of note. Moving to Los Angeles, he recorded for the small Elko label before finally having an album made up from tracks recorded for producer Bruce Bromberg during 1969-72. These were released on Hugh Hefner’s Pla Read more

Lonnie Brooks - 68% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

Lee Baker Junior, 18 December 1933, Dubuisson, Louisiana, USA. Brooks took up the electric guitar while living in Port Arthur, Texas, playing as Guitar Junior with Clifton Chenier and Lonesome Sundown. His first solo record was the local hit ‘Family Rules’, made for Eddie Shuler’s Goldband label in 1957. At this time, he also wrote and recorded ‘Pick Me U Read more

Memphis Slim - 68% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup - 67% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

24 August 1905, Forest, Mississippi, USA, d. 28 March 1976, Nassawadox, Virginia, USA (1974 is also cited). During the 40s and early 50s Crudup was an important name in the blues field, his records selling particularly well in the south. For much of his early life Crudup worked in various rural occupations, not learning to play the guitar until he was 32. His teacher was one Read more

Jimmy McCracklin - 64% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

James David Walker, 13 August 1921, St. Louis, Missouri, USA. A former professional boxer, McCracklin began his singing career in 1945 when he recorded some demos with J. D. Nicholson on piano. Four years later he formed his own band, the Blues Blasters, in San Francisco and recorded for Modern Records. These recordings from 1948-1950 are magnificent slices of pure R&B, Read more

Johnny Copeland - 64% match to Jimmy Witherspoon

27 March 1937, Haynesville, Louisiana, USA, d. 4 July 1997, New York, USA. A former boxer, Johnny ‘Clyde’ Copeland was active as a guitarist and singer on the Houston blues scene during the late 50s and 60s. While there is no doubt as to Copeland’s blues credentials, throughout the 60s in particular, he recorded a wide body of genuinely top-drawer soul. Althou Read more