Tampa Red

Renowned for his expressive slide solos played on a single string--a blueprint later copied by guitarists from Elmore James to George Harrison--Tampa Red was a pivotal figure in the metamorphosis of blues from its rural roots to its postwar Chicago electrified roar. "The Guitar Wizard" moved to Chicago in the '20s and became a successful sideman (to famous names like Ma Rainey) and partner with Thomas Dorsey playing bawdy hokum tunes. A Victor records stalwart, Red wrote famous songs like "When Things Go Wrong With You (It Hurts Me Too)" and opened his home to budding blues artists on the Chicago scene. Red made a brief comeback in the 1960s and died after a long struggle with alcoholism in 1981.