Jimmy Reed

Mathis James Reed was the most commercially successful blues artist of the late 1950s and early 1960s, scoring more Billboard hits than any other blues musician of his era. His deceptively simple style (a lazy, shuffling groove with simultaneous guitar and harmonica playing and slurred, behind-the-beat vocals) was inseparable from the guitar work of Eddie Taylor, whose rock-steady accompaniment was the rhythmic backbone of the Jimmy Reed sound. Together they created the most accessible sound in the blues, and his records crossed over to white audiences more consistently than any of his contemporaries. His wife, Mary Lee 'Mama' Reed, co-wrote many of his biggest hits, including 'Big Boss Man,' 'Bright Lights Big City,' 'Ain't That Lovin' You Baby,' 'Baby What You Want Me to Do,' and 'Honest I Do.' His recordings for Vee-Jay Records were a financial lifeline for the label. Chronic alcoholism and epilepsy plagued his career, and he died in 1976, but his songs remain among the most covered in the blues repertoire.