Magic Sam › Similar Artists

Jimmy Rogers - 100% match to Magic Sam

Otis Rush - 93% match to Magic Sam

29 April 1934, Philadelphia, Mississippi, USA. A left-handed blues guitarist, Rush moved to Chicago where his impassioned singing and playing on ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby’ brought a Top 10 R&B hit in 1956. He became one of the ‘young turks’ of the Chicago scene together with Buddy Guy, Freddie King and Magic Sam. ‘I Can’t Quit You Baby Read more

Lowell Fulson - 90% match to Magic Sam

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

Otis Spann - 72% match to Magic Sam

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

Junior Wells - 65% match to Magic Sam

Amos Blakemore, 9 December 1934, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, d. 15 January 1998, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Having eschewed parental pressure to pursue a career in gospel music, Wells began playing harmonica on the streets of west Memphis, inspired by local heroes Howlin’ Wolf and Junior Parker. Having followed his mother to Chicago in 1946, the young musician won the respect Read more

Memphis Slim - 63% match to Magic Sam

Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown - 62% match to Magic Sam

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

J.B. Hutto - 61% match to Magic Sam

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

Lonnie Brooks - 61% match to Magic Sam

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

Earl Hooker - 59% match to Magic Sam

Earl Zebedee Hooker, 15 January 1930, Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA, d. 21 April 1970. Hooker’s interest in music was kindled at an early age. A self-taught guitarist, he began his itinerant career as a teenager, and having toured America’s southern states in the company of Robert Nighthawk, Ike Turner and many others, Earl made his first, rudimentary recordings in Read more

Jimmy Reed - 59% match to Magic Sam

Mathis James Reed, 6 September 1925, Leland, Mississippi, USA, d. 29 August 1976, Oakland, California, USA. Jimmy Reed was a true original: he sang in a lazy mush-mouthed ramble, played limited, if instantly recognizable, harmonica, and even more minimal guitar. He produced a series of hits in the 50s that made him the most successful blues singer of the era.

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Jimmy Witherspoon - 57% match to Magic Sam

James Witherspoon, 8 August 1923, Gurdon, Arkansas, USA, d. 18 September 1997, Los Angeles, California, USA. Witherspoon crossed over into rock, jazz and R&B territory, but his deep and mellow voice placed him ultimately as a fine blues singer. He sang in his local Baptist church from the age of seven. From 1941-43 he was in the Merchant Marines and, during stopovers in Read more

Big Joe Williams - 56% match to Magic Sam

Joe Lee Williams, 16 October 1903, Crawford, Mississippi, USA, d. 17 December 1982, Macon, Mississippi, USA. Big Joe Williams was one of the most important blues singers to have recorded and also one whose life conforms almost exactly to the stereotyped pattern of how a ‘country’ blues singer should live. He was of partial Red Indian stock, his father being ‘R Read more

J.B. Lenoir - 56% match to Magic Sam

5 March 1929, Monticello, Mississippi, USA, d. 29 April 1967, Champaign, Illinois, USA. Christened with initials, Lenoir was taught to play the guitar by his father, Dewitt. Other acknowledged influences were Blind Lemon Jefferson, Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup and Lightnin’ Hopkins, with the latter’s single-string runs and verse tags becoming an integral part Read more

Sleepy John Estes - 54% match to Magic Sam

John Adams Estes, 25 January 1899, Ripley, Tennessee, USA, d. 5 June 1977, Brownsville, Tennessee, USA. This influential blues singer first performed at local house-parties while in his early teens. In 1916 he began working with mandolin player Yank Rachell, a partnership that was revived several times throughout their respective careers. It was also during this formative pe Read more