A Blues Hall of Fame a memphisi székhelyű Blues Foundation alapításával egyidőben, 1980-ban létrehozott Blues-hírességek Csarnoka, amelynek tagjai közé azokat az előadókat választják meg évről évre, akik nagy hatással voltak a blues zene műfajára. Az első évben összesen 20 előadót iktattak be a blues-hírességek közé. Kategóriák A Blues Hall of Fame négy kategóriában tartja nyilván a blues nagyjait: előadók (1980-tól), klasszikus blues felvételek (albumok 1982-től, dalok 1983-tól), klasszikus blues irodalom (1982-től), zeneipari szakemberek (hivatalosan nem-előadók, 1991-től).
2020-as évek A COVID-19 koronavírus-járvány miatt a 2020-as beiktatási ceremónia elmaradt, és a következő évben tervezték megtartani úgy, hogy 2021-ben nem neveznek meg újabb beiktatottakat.
ÉvKategóriákElőadókSzakemberekKlasszikus blues felvételekKlasszikus blues irodalom20252025 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Jessie Mae Hemphill Henry Townsend Blind Willie Johnson William Bell Bob Stroger Bob Geddins Album Early Recordings – Lightnin’ Hopkins, 1962 Dal "Why I Sing the Blues" – B.B. King, 1969 "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" – Blind Lemon Jefferson, 1927 "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" – Bessie Smith, 1923 "Guitar Rag" – Sylvester Weaver, 1923 "Don't Mess With Man" – Irma Thomas, 1959 Woman with Guitar: Memphis Minnie’s Blues, by Beth and Paul Garon (Da Capo Press, 1992)20242024 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Lil’ Ed and The Blues Imperials Lurrie Bell Sugar Pie DeSanto Scrapper Blackwell O.V. Wright Jimmy Rushing Odetta William R. Ferris Album Here’s the Man!!! – Bobby Bland, 1962 Dal "Why Don’t You Do Right?" – Lil Green, 1941 "Driving Wheel" – Junior Parker, 1961 "Key to the Highway" – Jazz Gillum, 1940 "Okie Dokie Stomp" – Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, 1954 "I Ain’t Got You" – Billy Boy Arnold, 1955 Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday, by Angela Davis (Pantheon, 1998)20232023 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Junior Kimbrough Fenton Robinson Carey Bell Snooky Pryor John Primer Josh White Esther Phillips David Evans Album The Complete Chess Masters (1950-1967) – Little Walter, 2009 Dal "The Red Rooster" – Howlin’ Wolf, 1961 "Mojo Hand" – Lightnin’ Hopkins, 1960 "My Black Mama" – Son House, 1930 "I’m Tore Down" – Freddy King, 1961 "Black Nights" – Lowell Fulson, 1965 The Original Blues: The Emergence of the Blues in African American Vaudeville 1899-1926, by Lynn Abbott & Doug Seroff (University Press of Mississippi, 2017)20222022 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Lucille Bogan Little Willie John Johnnie Taylor Mary Katherine Aldin Otis Blackwell Album Bo Diddley – Bo Diddley, 1958 Dal "Eyesight to the Blind" – Sonny Boy Williamson No. 2, 1951 "Farther Up the Road" – Bobby “Blue” Bland, 1957 "Good Rocking Tonight" – Roy Brown, 1947 "Rock Me Baby" – B.B. King, 1964 "Rollin’ and Tumblin" – Baby Face Leroy Trio, 1950 Red River Blues: The Blues Tradition in the Southeast by Bruce Bastin (University of Illinois Press, 1986)2020/20212020/2021 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Eddie Boyd Billy Branch Syl Johnson Bettye LaVette George “Harmonica” Smith Victoria Spivey Ralph Peer Album The Chess Box – Howlin’ Wolf, 1991 Dal "That’s All Right (Mama)" – Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup, 1946 "Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean" – Ruth Brown, 1952 "Trouble in Mind" – Bertha "Chippie" Hill, 1926 "Future Blues" – Willie Brown, 1930 "3 O’Clock Blues" – B.B. King, 1951 Earl Hooker – Blues Master by Sebastian Danchin (University Press of Mississippi, 2001)
2010-es évek
ÉvKategóriákElőadókSzakemberekKlasszikus blues felvételekKlasszikus blues irodalom20192019 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Aretha Franklin Booker T. & the M.G.'s Count Basie Ida Cox Pee Wee Crayton Moe Asch Album The Sky Is Crying – Elmore James, 1965 Dal "Everyday I Have The Blues" – B. B. King, 1954 "I Got A Woman" – Ray Charles, 1954 "Rollin’ Stone" – Muddy Waters, 1950 "Shake Your Moneymaker" – Elmore James, 1961 "The St. Louis Blues" – Bessie Smith, 1925 Lost Delta Found: Rediscovering the Fisk University-Library of Congress Coahoma County Study, 1941-1942 by John W. Work, Lewis Wade Jones, és Samuel C. Adams, Jr. (Vanderbilt University Press, 2005)20182018 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees The Aces Georgia Tom Dorsey Sam Lay Mamie Smith Roebuck "Pops" Staples Al Benson Album Blues Is King – B. B. King, 1967 Dal "Cross Cut Saw" – Albert King, 1966 "Green Onions" – Booker T. & the MG’s, 1962 "I’m a Man" – Bo Diddley, 1955 "Roll ’Em Pete" – Joe Turner, 1938 "See See Rider Blues" – Ma Rainey, 1924 I Feel So Good: The Life and Times of Big Bill Broonzy by Bob Riesman (University of Chicago Press, 2011)20172017 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Johnny Copeland Henry Gray Willie Johnson Latimore Magic Slim Mavis Staples Amy van Single Album The Real Folk Blues – John Lee Hooker, 1966 Dal "Bo Diddley" – Bo Diddley, 1955 "I’ll PLay the Blues for You" – Albert King, 1971 "Hi-Heel Sneakers" – Tommy Tucker, 1963 "Preachin’ the Blues" – Son House, 1930 "I Ain’t Superstitious" – Howlin’ Wolf, 1961 Father of the Blues by W.C. Handy (Macmillan, 1941)20162016 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Elvin Bishop Eddy Clearwater Jimmy Johnson John Mayall The Memphis Jug Band Tommy Couch, Sr. Wolf Stephenson Album Blues in the Mississippi Night – Alan Lomax gyűjtése, 1957 Dal "Crazy Hours" – Mamie Smith, 1920 "That’s All Right" – Jimmy Rogers, 1950 "I Wish You Would" – Billy Boy Arnold, 1955 "Merry Christmas Baby" – Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers feat. Charles Brown, 1947 "Blues Before Sunrise" – Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell, 1920 "Crazy Hours" – Mamie Smith, 1920 Early Downhome Blues: A Musical and Cultural Analysis by Jeff Todd Titon (University of Illinois Press, 1977)2015 Eric Clapton Little Richard Tommy Brown 20142014 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Big Jay McNeely Eddie Shaw Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson R. L. Burnside Robert Pete Williams Dick Shurman Don Robey Mike Kappus Album Hawk Squat – J.B. Hutto, 1969 Moanin’ in the Moonlight – Howlin’ Wolf, 1959 Dal "After Hours" – Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra, 1940 "Catfish Blues" – Robert Petway, 1941 "High Water Everywhere, Parts I & II" – Charley Patton, 1930 "It’s Tight Like That" – Tampa Red & Georgia Tom, 1928 "Milk Cow Blues" – Kokomo Arnold, 1934 Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke by Peter Guralnick (Little, Brown and Company, 2005)2013 Earl Hooker Jimmie Rodgers Jody Williams Joe Louis Walker Little Brother Montgomery Otis Clay Cosimo Matassa Dave Clark Henry Glover Album Texas Worried Blues: The Complete Recorded Works 1927-1929 – Henry "Ragtime Texas" Thomas, 1975 Louis Jordan's Greatest Hits – Louis Jordan, 1969 More Real Folk Blues – Howlin' Wolf, 1967 Dal "Canned Heat Blues" – Tommy Johnson, 1928 "How Many More Years" – Howlin' Wolf, 1951 "Let the Good Times Roll" – Louis Jordan, 1946 "Me and My Chauffeur Blues" – Memphis Minnie, 1941 "Mystery Train" – Little Junior's Blue Flames (Junior Parker), 1953 Soulsville, U.S.A.: The Story of Stax Records by Rob Bowman (Schirmer, 2003)2012 Billy Boy Arnold Mike Bloomfield Buddy Johnson & Ella Johnson Lazy Lester Furry Lewis Matt "Guitar" Murphy Frank Stokes Allen Toussaint Horst Lippmann & Fritz Rau Doc Pomus Pervis Spann Album Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues – Buddy Guy, 1991 Bad Influence – The Robert Cray Band, 1983 Dal "All Your Love" – Magic Sam, 1957 "It Hurts Me Too" – Tampa Red, 1940 "Pine Top’s Boogie Woogie" – Pine Top Smith, 1928 The Voice of the Blues: Classic Interviews from Living Blues Magazine, szerkesztette Jim O'Neal & Amy van Singel (Routledge, 2002)2011 Big Maybelle Robert Cray John Hammond, Jr. Alberta Hunter Denise LaSalle J. B. Lenoir Bruce Bromberg Vivian Carter & Jimmy Bracken Samuel Charters John W. Work III Album False Accusations – Robert Cray, 1985 Night Beat – Sam Cooke, 1963 The Real Folk Blues – Howlin' Wolf, 1965 Dal "Ain’t Nobody’s Business" – Jimmy Witherspoon, 1947 "Five Long Years" – Eddie Boyd, 1952 "Hard Time Killin’ Floor Blues" – Skip James, 1931 "Love in Vain" – Robert Johnson, 1937 Walking to New Orleans: The Story of New Orleans Rhythm & Blues by John Broven (Blues Unlimited, 1974)20102010 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Lonnie Brooks Gus Cannon W. C. Handy Amos Milburn Charlie Musselwhite Bonnie Raitt Peter Guralnick "Sunshine" Sonny Payne Album Hung Down Head – Lowell Fulson, 1970 I Hear Some Blues Downstairs – Fenton Robinson, 1977 Strong Persuader – Robert Cray, 1986 Dal "All Your Love (I Miss Loving)" – Otis Rush, 1958 "Fever" – Little Willie John, 1956 "Key to the Highway" – Big Bill Broonzy, 1941 "Match Box Blues" – Blind Lemon Jefferson, 1927 "Spoonful" – Howlin’ Wolf, 1960 The Bluesmen by Samuel Charters (Da Capo Press, 1991)
2000-es évek
ÉvKategóriákElőadókSzakemberekKlasszikus blues felvételekKlasszikus blues irodalom20092009 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Reverend Gary Davis Son Seals Taj Mahal Irma Thomas Clifford Antone Mike Leadbitter Bob Porter Album Amtrak Blues – Alberta Hunter, 1978 Blues With a Feeling Newport Folk Festival Classics – válogatás, 1993 T-Bone Blues – T-Bone Walker, 1959 Dal "Boom Boom" – John Lee Hooker, 1961 "Caldonia" – Louis Jordan, 1945 "Sitting on Top of the World" – Mississippi Sheiks, 1930 I Hear You Knockin: The Sound of New Orleans Rhythm and Blues by Jeff Hannusch (Swallow Publications, 1985)2008 Jimmy McCracklin Mississippi Sheiks Hubert Sumlin Johnny "Guitar" Watson Peetie Wheatstraw Jimmy Witherspoon John Hammond Paul Oliver Album Freddy King Sings – Freddy King, 1961 I’m Jimmy Reed – Jimmy Reed, 1958 Members Only – Bobby Bland, 1985 Piney Woods Blues – Big Joe Williams, 1958 Rocks the House – Etta James, 1964 Dal "Back-Water Blues" – Bessie Smith, 1927 "Double Trouble" – Otis Rush, 1958 "My Babe" – Little Walter, 1955 7 Guitars by August Wilson (Plume, 1997) Moanin’ at Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin’ Wolf by James Segrest & Mark Hoffman (Pantheon Books, 2004)2007 Dave Bartholomew Dr. John Eddie “Guitar Slim” Jones Sister Rosetta Tharpe Ahmet Ertegün Art Rupe Album Angola Prisoners’ Blues – Robert Pete Williams & others, 1959 Down and Out Blues – Sonny Boy Williamson II, 1960 Driving Wheel – Little Jr. Parker, 1962 Dal "Black Angel Blues" – Robert Nighthawk (The Nighthawks), 1949 "Death Letter" – Son House, 1965 "Hide Away (Hideaway)" – Freddie (Freddy) King, 1961 Blues With a Feeling: The Little Walter Story by Tony Glover, Scott Dirks & Ward Gaines (Routledge, 2002)2006 Paul Butterfield James Cotton Roy Milton Bobby Rush Bihari Brothers Bobby Robinson Jerry Wexler Album I Do Not Play No Rock ’n’ Roll – Mississippi Fred McDowell Screamin' and Hollerin’ the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton Tell Mama – Etta James Dal "Devil Got My Woman" – Skip James "Honky Tonk, Parts 1 & 2" – Bill Doggett "Hound Dog" – Big Mama Thornton Blues & Rhythm magazin, UK Chasin’ That Devil’s Music by Gayle Dean Wardlow; szerkesztette Edward Komara2005 Walter Davis Ike Turner H. C. Speir Album Down Home – Z.Z. Hill, 1982 Dal "Black Night" – Charles Brown, 1951 Blues People: Negro Music in White America by LeRoi Jones (William Morrow, 1963)20042004 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Bo Diddley Blind Boy Fuller J. Mayo Williams Album Raining in My Heart – Slim Harpo Dal "Baby What You Want Me To Do" – Jimmy Reed Juke Blues magazin, UK2003 Fats Domino Pinetop Perkins Sippie Wallace Dinah Washington Ralph Bass Album It’s My Life Baby! – Junior Wells, 1966 Dal "Part Time Love" – Little Johnny Taylor, 1963 Can't Be Satisfied: The Life and Times of Muddy Waters, by Robert Gordon (Little, Brown and Company, 2002)20022002 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees Ruth Brown Big Maceo Merriweather Jim O'Neal Album Live in Cook County Jail – B.B. King, 1971 Dal "Going Down Slow" – St. Louis Jimmy Oden, 1941 Spinning the Blues into Gold: The Chess Brothers and the Legendary Chess Records, by Nadine Cohodas (St. Martin's Griffin, 2000)20012001 Blues Hall of Fame Inductees