2024 REX FOUNDATION GRANTEE

The House of Blues Radio Hour, hosted by Dan Aykroyd in his “Elwood Blues” persona, ran for more than 20 years, presenting programs on artists and topics in the blues. Guests included the late legends BB King, Koko Taylor, John Lee Hooker, Brownie McGhee, Etta James, Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Ray Charles, James Brown, Jimmie Rogers, Jeff Healy, Otis Rush, Ruth Brown, Solomon Burke, James Cotton, Rufus Thomas, Junior Wells, Etta James, Bonnie Raitt, Johnny Copeland, Mose Allison, Bobby Blue Bland, Dr John, Eddie Van Halen, Johnny Otis, Allen Toussaint, Wilson Pickett, and Johnny Winter.  Not to mention many still-living blues-oriented musicians such as Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger, Bonnie Raitt, Buddy Guy, Bob Weir, Susan Tedeschi, Samantha Fish, Robert Plant, and members of ZZ Top and Aerosmith.

The collection consists of all of the programs in this series, as well as the unedited interviews and performances that were excerpted for them.

This highly successful series raised the profile and popularity of this vital musical style, which has reached people throughout the world, and is a compliment to the Library of Congress’s longstanding interest in and efforts on the behalf of this music.

Says Rex Board Member Rosalie Howarth, “The life stories of these legendary musicians provide a rich vein of American history to be mined by future writers and historians. The general public will be able to put on headphones and hear these legends share their experiences in their own distinctive voices. Those of us in the music biz know that blues musicians were among the most ruthlessly exploited artists in our history. Though this will not make them whole financially, it will allow their stories to be heard for generations to come. Perhaps their stories of survival and resilience will inform and inspire future songwriters, musicians, and historians.”

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