MEMPHIS, TN (CelebrityAccess) — The Blues Foundation announced the inductees for the 42nd class of the Blues Hall of Fame, including Lucille Bogan, Little Willie John, Johnnie Taylor, Otis Blackwell, and Mary Katherine Aldin.
The 2022 inductees encompass over more than 70 years of music, starting with Lucille Bogan in the 1920s & 1930s, Little Willie John in the 1950s & 1960s, and Johnnie Taylor who recorded for more than 40 years from the 1950s through the 1990s.
Bogan, who also recorded under the stage name Bessie Jackson, is regarded as one of the ‘big three’ of early female blues artists, along with Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. Her first recordings were Vaudeville standards for Okeh Records but later moved to Paramount where she began recording identifiable blues music, starting with “Sweet Petunia” in 1927. She quickly gained a reputation for the controversial subject matter of her music, with songs focused on topics such as alcohol, sex, and prostitution. Her music has been extensively covered by other blues greats, including B.B. King, “Sony Boy” Williamson, Memphis Minnie, Jimmy Rodgers, and others.
Little Willie John, a blues, soul, gospel, and R&B singer who rose to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s, charted with hits such as “All Around the World” (1955), “Need Your Love So Bad” (1956), “Talk to Me, Talk to Me” (1958), “Leave My Kitten Alone” (1960), “Sleep” (1960), and his number-one R&B hit “Fever” (1956). However, his career was cut short after he was sent to prison in 1964 for the fatal stabbing of Kendall Roundtree and died there of pneumonia 5 years later.
Songwriter, pianist, and singer Otis Blackwell recorded for RCA Victor but is best known today for his songwriting chops, penning some of the biggest hits recorded by Elvis Presley, including “Don’t Be Cruel,” “All Shook Up,” and “Return To Sender.” He’s also credited as writing “Breathless” and “Great Balls of Fire” for Jerry Lee Lewis as well as the Little Willie John/Peggy Lee hit, “Fever.
Johnnie Taylor was a recording artist who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco, recording his first hit in 1963 with “Baby, We’ve Got Love.” His other hits include, “Who’s Making Love,” “Disco Lady,” and “I Believe in You (You Believe in Me).” He was also a radio DJ, playing R&B and soul music on Dallas radio station KKDA, where he was billed as “The Wailer, Johnnie Taylor.”
Noted folk DJ and blues historian Mary Katherine Aldin began his career in public radio in 1976 hosting and engineering a Sunday night blues show, “Preaching the Blues,” on the Los Angeles radio station KPFK. She also hosted the folk and bluegrass focused “Alive and Picking,” on community radio station KCSN for many years, later migrating the shows to KPFK after KCSN transitioned to a classical format. In addition to her on-air advocacy, Aldin served as the compiler or annotator of blues and folk reissue albums for numerous labels, including Rhino, Vanguard, MCA/Chess, and Columbia, among others and earned a Grammy for the liner notes to The Chess Box by Muddy Waters. As well, she held editorial positions at Living Blues, Blues & Rhythm, and others and secured publishing rights for artists at Folklore Productions. She was inducted into the Folk DJ Hall of Fame in 2018 and is still broadcasting for KPFK’s “Roots Music & Beyond.”
The new inductees will be honored during a ceremony on May 4th at the Halloran Centre in Memphis, Tennessee. A cocktail reception honoring the BHOF Inductees and Blues Music Awards nominees will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the formal inductions commencing at 6:30 p.m. in the Halloran Theater.
The Blues Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place in Blues Music Awards and International Blues Challenge week, this year.
The Blues Foundation’s 2022 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees
Performers:
Lucille Bogan
Little Willie John
Johnnie Taylor
Individuals – Business, Production, Media, Academic:
Mary Katherine Aldin
Otis Blackwell
Classic of Blues Literature:
Red River Blues: The Blues Tradition in the Southeast by Bruce Bastin (University of Illinois Press, 1986)
Classic of Blues Recording – Album:
Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley (Chess/Checker Records, 1958)
Classics of Blues Recording – Single or Album Track:
“Eyesight to the Blind” – Sonny Boy Williamson II (Trumpet, 1951)
“Farther Up the Road” – Bobby “Blue” Bland (Duke, 1957)
“Good Rocking Tonight” – Roy Brown (DeLuxe, 1947)
“Rock Me Baby” B.B. King (Kent, c. 1964)
“Rollin’ and Tumblin’ “ – Baby Face Leroy Trio (Parkway, 1950)
