Blues Musician Tapestries
Description: Robert Johnson was an itinerant Delta blues singer and guitarist who lived from 1911 to 1938. He recorded 29 songs between '36 and ‘37 for the American Record Corporation, which released eleven 78rpm records on their Vocalion label during Johnson's lifetime, and one after his death. Like many bluesmen of his day, Johnson plied his craft on street corners and in juke joints, ever rambling and ever lonely, all while writing songs that romanticized that existence. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Johnson accomplished this with such an unprecedented intensity, marrying his starkly expressive vocals with a guitar mastery, that his music has endured beyond his short life.
Description: Original new illustration shows detailed line art by Art Gallery of Canada listed, award winner Canadian artist Lisa Rotenberg. One colour super detail of abstract smoking Blues Musician with acoustic guitar, bizarre smile, blue jeans and cowboy boots. Best companion is his guide dog wearing glasses too!
Description: A commanding portrait of Bukka White, the raw force of Delta blues guitar and voice. Capturing his intense gaze and signature slide technique, this piece embodies the fiery spirit of “Shake ’Em On Down” and “Parchman Farm Blues.” The illustration channels gritty street performance and deep Southern roots, celebrating a pioneer whose music still echoes through generations. Essential for blues aficionados and slide guitar enthusiasts who honor authentic American roots music.
Description: ChicagoFest was a Chicago music festival established in 1978 by Mayor Michael Bilandic. It was a two-week event held annually at Navy Pier that featured sixteen separate stages, each with a national retail brand and local media sponsor that broadcast live from the event. Stages included: Rock, Classic Rock, Country, Blues, Comedy, Roller Disco, Pin Ball Arcade, Jazz, Children's, Variety, Ethnic, as well as a Main stage seating 30,000. There were 600 performances by headline artists produced each year during the event. During the event's six-year run, Olympia sponsored the blues stage, which was extremely popular in the city that gave us the 'Chicago Blues' style that was greatly responsible for the future creation of rock and roll.
Description: Ray's Music Exchange is a fictional Chicago pawn shop that specialized in musical instruments in the 1980 film, The Blues Brothers. It's where the guys go to procure new instruments and equipment as they get the band back together, and end up in a performance of “Shake A Tail Feather” that spills into the streets filled with dancers. The actual location of the store was a pawn shop located in the Bronzeville neighborhood at 300 E. 47th St., though the interior shots were all done on a soundstage. The mural on the side of Ray's celebrating black musicians remained for 40 years until vandals set fire to the building in 2020.
