This Week In The Blues: November 2 – November 8, 2025

HEY BLUES FANS - Here's the latest episode of "This Week In The Blues" for the week of November 2 – November 8, 2025

Some of the highlights include The blues standard “The Sky Is Crying”, Chicago guitar and harmonica player Studebaker John, and blues guitarist Bonnie Raitt.

Keep in mind that there's so much more that happened this week in the blues. If you want to know more about these artists or other things that happened this week in the blues, be sure to visit our website or follow our Facebook page:
https://bigtrainblues.com
https://www.facebook.com/BigTrainBlues

Photo credits (if known) and past episodes are posted on our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@BigTrainBlues

Here are links to a few of the artists or songs we've referenced in this week's episode:

Elmore James - "The Sky Is Crying" - https://youtu.be/S788gj9vdp0?si=mgp8JkjIaU8V0Ttz

Bonnie Raitt, Keb Mo - "No Gettin' Over You" - https://youtu.be/0iMadZk9o_U?si=DhDaMJDAYe6Wn75O

Join me every weekday from 12:15pm-12:45pm CT to watch a live stream on Facebook of the longest running blues radio show program. https://www.facebook.com/DeltaCulturalCenter

We’ll have a new episode next week – we’ll see you then!

ARE YOU A FAN OF BLUES HISTORY? US TOO!

If you want to know more about these artists or other things that happened this week in the blues, be sure to visit our website or follow our Facebook page:

https://bigtrainblues.com

https://www.facebook.com/BigTrainBlues

Transcript

The blues standard “The Sky Is Crying” was written and first recorded by Elmore James on either November 3rd or 4th of 1959. It became a Rhythm and Blues chart-hit and went on to be covered by countless artists. In 1969, Albert King recorded his version for the album Years Gone By. Stevie Ray Vaughan played the tune regularly. Fittingly, it became the title track of his 1991 posthumous release The Sky Is Crying.

Delta blues piano player Willie Love was born November 4, 1906. He spent most of his career in Greenville, Mississippi, where he met harmonica great Sonny Boy Williamson, the second one, in 1942. The two musicians became regular fixtures on Nelson Street, which was the heart of Greenville’s Black entertainment district. Williamson introduced Willie Love to Trumpet Records, in Jackson, Mississippi.

Memphis bluesman Willie B was born November 4, 1911. A guitar and harmonica player, he performed with Jack Kelly’s Jug Busters and the Memphis Jug Band. After serving in World War II, steady music work was hard to find, so he took on other jobs. But the 1960s blues revival brought him back into the spotlight for several years.

Singer and guitar player Delbert McClinton was born November 4, 1940. From his first stage gig in 1957 to his most recent tours and albums, McClinton has charted hits across the Billboard Hot 100, Mainstream Rock, and Country charts. Four of his albums reached number one on the Blues chart, and another climbed to number two. Not bad for a Texas boy with a harmonica and a soulful growl.

Chicago guitar and harmonica player Studebaker John was born November 5, 1952. His father played at the Maxwell Street Market, and John picked up the harmonica at age seven. By the 1970s, he formed his band, The Hawks, balancing music with construction work. In the ’90s, he recorded extensively with Blind Pig Records, cementing his place in the Chicago blues story.

An underappreciated but pivotal figure, “Blue Smitty,” was born November 6, 1924. A powerful singer and guitarist, he helped bridge the gap from acoustic to electric blues in postwar Chicago. After serving in the Army, he found himself gigging alongside a couple of young upstarts with the names Jimmy Rogers and Muddy Waters.

November 6 is also National Saxophone Day which celebrates Adolphe Sax, the man who invented the instrument back in 1841. The blues and Rhythm and Blues world wouldn’t be the same without the saxophone. Think of greats like Bull Moose Jackson, Louis Jordan, Grady Gaines, Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson, and Vanessa Collier.

Chicago blues guitar player and singer Boston Blackie was born November 6, 1943, in Panola, Alabama. He picked up the guitar at six, moved to Chicago in 1962, and joined his brothers’ band. He backed legends like Johnny B. Moore, Little Milton, Magic Sam, Otis Rush, Freddie King, and Hubert Sumlin, basically a who’s who of Chicago’s electric blues scene.

Singer and guitar player Rory Block was born November 6, 1949, in Princeton, New Jersey, and raised in Manhattan. At just 14, she met guitarist Stefan Grossman, who introduced her to the haunting beauty of the Delta blues. Over the years, Rory Block has won numerous awards, including “Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year,” “Acoustic Blues Album of the Year,” and “Acoustic Artist of the Year.”

Blues vocalist Dee Clark was born November 7, 1938. His career had dazzling highs and humbling lows, the story of many a pop star. Born Delectus Clark Jr. in Blytheville, Arkansas, he grew up in Chicago. It was here that his gospel-singing mother encouraged his musical dreams. By the early 1950s, Clark was already making records, first with the Hambone Kids, then with the Kool Gents, and later as a solo artist for Vee-Jay Records. His smooth voice and stage charisma made him a standout in Chicago’s Rhythm and Blues scene.

And finally, blues guitarist Bonnie Raitt was born November 8, 1949. She picked up the guitar at age 12 and was drawn immediately to the blues. Raitt dropped out of college to play Boston’s folk and blues circuit, soon sharing stages with Howlin’ Wolf, Sippie Wallace, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Over her remarkable career, she’s won 10 Grammys, been named one of Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Singers” and “100 Greatest Guitarists,” and has remained one of the most beloved figures in American music.

Well blues fans, we just covered some of the highlights here. If you want to know more about these artists or other things that happened this week in the blues, be sure to follow our social media pages or visit our website at Big Train Blues.com. We’ll have a new episode next week and we’ll cover blues powerhouse Susan Tedeschi and Delta blues legend Bukka White. It’s going to be a fantastic show, so we’ll see you then!