Elvin Bishop And Eddy Clearwater To Be Inducted Into Blues Hall Of Fame

On Tuesday, February 16, The Blues Foundation announced musical legends Elvin Bishop and Eddy Clearwater will be inducted into the Blues Hall Of Fame on Wednesday, May 4. The ceremony will be held at the Sheraton Memphis Downtown in Memphis, Tennessee, the night before the 37th Blues Music Awards.

In 2015 Elvin Bishop was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the groundbreaking music he made with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Bishop's latest solo album, the Grammy-nominated Can't Even Do Wrong Right, has been hailed as the best of his long career. Bishop won three 2014 Blues Music Awards: Album Of The Year (for Can't Even Do Wrong Right), Song Of The Year (for the title track) and The Elvin Bishop Band took the award for Band Of The Year. Rolling Stone says the CD is "among Bishop’s very best...Impeccable playing by a legendary guitarist…engaging singing and most notably, good spirits…a great showing for a distinguished American player."

Between his slashing guitar work, his room-filling vocals, and his self-defined “rock-a-blues” style (a mix of blues, rock, rockabilly, country and gospel), Eddy Clearwater is among the very finest practitioners of the West Side Chicago blues. He won the Blues Music Award for Contemporary Blues – Male Artist of the Year in 2001. His 2003 CD, Rock ‘N’ Roll City (Bullseye Blues) was nominated for a Grammy Award. DownBeat says, "Left-hander Eddy Clearwater is a forceful six-stringer...He lays down some gritty West Side shuffles and belly-grinding slow blues that highlight his raw chops, soulful vocals, and earthy, humorous lyrics."

WEST SIDE STRUT, released on Alligator in 2008, is an energized mix of West Side blues and old school rock injected with a tough, up-to-the-minute contemporary edge. Featuring some of Eddy’s hottest playing ever recorded, the CD burns with his stinging guitar and rough-and-ready vocals. Guests include Eddy’s old friends Lonnie Brooks, Jimmy Johnson (who is also a member of this year's Blues Hall Of Fame class), Billy Branch and Otis Clay as well as Ronnie Baker Brooks (who also produced) playing some scintillating guitar parts.