Johnny Shines

• Genre: Delta Blues
• Hometown: Chicago

About

Shines, who died in 1992 at the age of 77, was a literal living link to the Delta Blues tradition and a direct link to the legendary Robert Johnson. Johnson mentored Shines and they toured together throughout the South while Shines was still a teenager in the 1930s. Shines went on to have a recording career that lasted until his death, and his work bridged the gap between Delta and modern Chicago Blues. His high, keening voice is both haunting and expressive. His guitar playing -- slide or standard, acoustic or electric -- expounds on the Delta style he learned from Johnson. Shines recorded many records with singer/guitarist Robert Junior Lockwood, who is also connected to the Robert Johnson legacy.

- Tom Heyman