Paul Geremia

Starting with his recording debut in 1968, Paul Geremia was one of the best acoustic bluesmen working, known both for his expressive singing and his dexterous playing. A native of Rhode Island, he originally came to blues by way of the '60s folk boom, but unlike a lot of other players on that scene, he never went electric. His influences from an early age include Woody Guthrie, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and King Oliver. As an acoustic blues specialist, he was enough of a purist that when he covered a Muddy Waters song on his debut album, it was "I Be Troubled," not the song's more familiar incarnation as "I Can't Be Satisfied."