Blues

Huey Meaux wound up in jail twice, but he sure had a knack for finding talent in unlikely places.

Before he became the guitarist for ZZ Top, Billy Gibbons was in a band called the Moving Sidewalks that just missed its shot at stardom. The album the Moving Sidewalks never released in the late 1960s was released in late 2012 and is very much a period piece, albeit a very well-made one.

Walter Jacobs, aka "Little Walter," was a harmonica virtuoso whose life was consumed by blues music. A new five-disc Hip-O Select re-release of Walter's complete recordings for the record label Chess is on shelves now.

Rock historian Ed Ward on the music of three blind bluesmen.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles Rufus Thomas.

Rock historian Ed Ward has part II of his look at Excello records. A Nashville based blues studio that between 1952 and 1975 released hundreds of records that influenced performers from Elvis Presley to the Rolling Stones.

Rock historian Ed Ward remembers the blues label Excello.

Critic Milo Miles tells us about the work of blues guitarist John Jackson whose latest album is "Front Porch Blues" (Alligator Records). He's also got two vintage collections: "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down" and "Country Blues and Ditties" (Arhoolie Records).

Rock historian Ed Ward begins his two part series on Black and White country music.

Rock historian Ed Ward profiles veteran bluesman Z.Z. Hill. Hill's career spanned decades, but took off in the 1980s, just when rap was becoming the dominant form of black music.