A Living Blues Encyclopedia

Ol' Mr. Read's CC Blues Archive

100 shows, 3,440 tracks, 1,336 artists, 187 song stories, and 52 influence chains gathered around the Copacetic Communion Blues Show. Find your seat and become a regular CC Rider.

100Shows
3440Tracks
1032Artist Pages
187Story Pages
Start Here
Browse All Shows100 themed episodes with tracklists and cover images Browse Artists1032 artist detail pages with bios and appearances Read Song Stories187 full song stories with recording context Archive IndexA complete route map of the site
Featured Shows
Show 1: The Unamplified Blues Tradition35 tracks | Required ListeningShow 2: The Amplified Blues Tradition34 tracks | Required ListeningShow 3: The Blues Bandleader Tradition39 tracks | Required ListeningShow 4: The Railroad Blues Tradition27 tracks | TopicalShow 5: Texas Blues Guitar Tradition33 tracks | GeographicShow 6: The Piedmont Blues Tradition38 tracks | GeographicShow 7: The Amplified Chicago Blues Tradition33 tracks | GeographicShow 8: The Dust Bowl's Legacy in Blues39 tracks | Hillbilly Blues
Top Artists
Big Bill Broonzy61 tracks | Pre-War/Postwar BridgeMuddy Waters53 tracks | Postwar ChicagoHowlin' Wolf53 tracks | Postwar ChicagoMemphis Slim41 tracks | Postwar Chicago/ExpatriateBob Dylan40 tracks | Folk Revival/RockWoody Guthrie39 tracks | Dust Bowl/Folk RevivalSonny Boy Williamson II36 tracks | Pre-War/Postwar BridgeLeroy Carr35 tracks | Pre-WarJohn Lee Hooker33 tracks | Postwar Detroit/ModernLouis Jordan & His Tympany Five30 tracks | Swing/Jump BluesBessie Smith30 tracks | Classic Blues/VaudevilleBlind Willie McTell29 tracks | Pre-War Piedmont
Story Spotlights
Cross Road Blues - Robert JohnsonARC producer Don Law set up a makeshift recording studio in Room 414 of the Gunter Hotel in San Antonio. On the...I Can't Be Satisfied - Muddy WatersLeonard Chess didn't fully understand the raw, unpolished sound Muddy Waters brought into the studio, but he...Down Hearted Blues - Bessie SmithIn 1923, Columbia Records was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy when talent scout Frank Walker brought a fierce,...Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground - Blind Willie JohnsonDuring a field recording trip to Dallas, Columbia Records captured a 30-year-old blind street preacher performing...Goodnight, Irene - Lead BellyJohn and Alan Lomax hauled a 315-pound aluminum disc recording machine into the brutal Angola prison camp, where...Death Letter Blues - Son HouseSon House had vanished from the music industry in the 1940s, retiring to a life of hard drinking and obscure...Devil Got My Woman - Skip JamesTraveling from Mississippi to a frigid Wisconsin studio during the depths of the Great Depression, Skip James...Hound Dog - Big Mama ThorntonTeenage songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller were invited by bandleader Johnny Otis to write a song for...