Blues Artists
Gus Cannon
1883-1979
Played on Beale Street in the 1930's. His band the Cannon Jug Stompers influenced bands like the Grateful Dead and the Rooftop Singers made his song “Walk Right In” a #1 hit in 1963. Gus is driving a 1959 Chevy 1/2 Ton.
25" x 10"
$200
Ray Charles
1930-2004
He could sing country to blues to jazz to R&B and even funk. His ascent took off in 1955, when he released "I Got a Woman." Charles remains an American cultural icon. He is riding in a 1958 Ford Galaxy along with his famous back up singers, "The Raelettes."
27" x 8"
$200
Little Laura Dukes
Sang in the Elk's Club on Beale in the 1930's. Played with Ma Rainey at Blues Alley in the 1980's Worked with Robert Nighthawk She is smoking and riding in a 1955 Ford Sunliner.
27" x 9"
$200
Sleepy John Estes
1904-1977
Estes was a singer with a distinctive "crying" vocal style. He recorded this song, "Broken Hearted, Ragged and Dirty too," in Memphis,1929. He is driving a 1950's Chevy truck
25" x 10"
$200
For more on Sleepy John Estes read The Blues Makers
Isaac Hayes
1942-2008
He helped transform popular music through the Memphis Sound at Stax. He co-wrote some 200 compositions with David Porter, many became hits. Here he drives a 1969 Pontiac GTO, the same year of his big hit “Hot Buttered Soul.”
22" x 9.5"
$200
Jesse Mae Hemphill
1923-2006
Born in Senatobia to a musical family. She began playing guitar at age seven and played drum in her grandfather's fife and drum band. Jesse shot her first gun at age 9. In 1981 she released her first album, She-Wolf. She is driving a 1968 Plymouth Fury 3.
26" x 7"
$200
Son House
1902-1988
Son was determined to become a Baptist preacher, and at age fifteen began his preaching career. Ironically he spent time on Parchman Farm in 1928 and 1929 for killing a man in self defense. He developed a powerful and innovative style featuring very strong, repetitive rhythms, often played with the aid of a bottleneck, coupled with singing that resembled the hollers of the chain gangs. In this piece he is driving and smoking in a 1967 Chevy Impala.
22.5" x 8.5"
$200
Hurt and James
Mississippi John Hurt
1892-1966
He was isolated from other Delta Blues artists, and therefore, cultivated his own style without being influenced by popular trends. He recorded “Avalon Blues” in 1928.
Skip James
1902-1969
His trademark sound came from his E minor tuning and falsetto singing voice. He recorded “20-20 Blues” in 1931. He was influenced by Robert Johnson. Hurt and James were rediscovered at the Newport Blues Festival in 1963. These two share the ride in a 1964 Ford F100.
20.5" x 8"
$200
Cordell Jackson
1923-2004
Known as the "Rock 'n Roll Granny," she played a Hagstrom guitar. Her biggest hit was "Dateless Night." She is driving
a 1970 Camaro.
28" x 10.5"
$200
Albert King
1923-1992
He was the first blues singer to sign with Stax in 1966. Albert King released a song on his 1967 album Born Under a Bad Sign titled "Crosscut Saw." He is driving a 1967 Dodge Dart.
23" x 8.5"
$200
Martin Luther King
1929-1968
Although he wasn't a musician or singer his death took the momentum out of the music industry. Stax closed shortly after his assassination and many artist left Memphis. He is riding in a 1959 Dodge Custom Royal Lancer. This car is parked outside the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee.
24" x 9"
$200
Furry Lewis
1893-1981
One of Memphis' most-favored musical sons. He was given a Martin guitar at an early age by W.C. Handy on Beale Street and often played with his band. He was also a sanitation worker and swept the streets around Beale for 40 years on an artificial leg. He's driving a 1950s Chevy pickup.
19" x 9.5"
$200
R. L. Burnside (November 23, 1926 – September 1, 2005), born Robert Lee Burnside, was a North Mississippi hill country blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist who lived much of his life in and around Holly Springs, Mississippi. He played music for much of his life, but did not receive much attention until the early 1990s. In the latter half of the 1990s, Burnside repeatedly recorded with Jon Spencer, garnering crossover appeal and introducing his music to a new fanbase within the underground punk blues music scene.
Memphis Minnie
1897-1973
She was one of the most influential and pioneering female blues musicians and guitarists of all time. A big strong woman, she was known to go fist to cuffs in bars. She once beat Howlin Wolf in a whiskey drink'in contest. He later stole the bottle from her. In this piece she is driving a 1950's Chevy truck with one of her quotes, "I drink anywhere I please."
25" x 10"
$200
Elvis Presley
1935-1977
The king of "Rock 'n Roll" cruises in a pink 1950s Cadillac.
22.5" x 7.5"
$200
Rufus Thomas
1917-2002
A Memphis legend and the world's oldest teenager Rufus first began performing in the mid-1930's dancing, singing and doing comedy in the traveling vaudeville show, "The Rabbit Foot Minstrels." Rufus was one of the nations most popular disc jockeys at WDIA. Among the songs that would reach prominence were favorites such as "Walking The Dog" (1964) and "Do The Funky Chicken" (1969).
22.5" x 7.5"
$200
Ike Turner
1931-
He was given credit for the first Rock ‘n Roll song, “Rocket 88.” He is driving a 1956 Rocket 88 in Clarksdale outside the Riverside Motel where he lived for 2 years.
21" x 8"
$200
Muddy and Buddy
Muddy Waters
1915-1983
Muddy mastered the bottleneck style and the jagged, pulsating rhythms of Delta guitar. He had learned to sing powerfully and expressively in the tightly constricted, pain-filled manner that characterized the best Delta singers.
Buddy Guy
1936-
Influenced countless guitarist including Hendrix, Clapton, Beck and Vaughan. When Buddy first went to Chicago he was starving and talking about going back home. Muddy picked him up in a red Chevy Station Wagon, threw a Bologna sandwich in his lap and said, "You ain't going no damn where." This piece depicts that story with a 1948 Red Chevy Station Wagon with a modern Chicago skyline. “Can't be Satisfied” was a big hit for Muddy in 1948.
27" x 9"
$200