This Week In The Blues: January 11 - January 17, 2026

HEY BLUES FANS - Here's the latest episode of "This Week In The Blues" for the week of January 11 - January 17, 2026.

Some of the highlights include swamp blues guitarist Slim Harpo, Chicago  blues guitarist Earl Hooker, and the day Sonny Boy Williamson II stepped into the Chess Records studio and cut “Help Me”.

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:

Slim Harpo - "Shake Your Hips" - https://youtu.be/6HbgxVrn7tg?si=Ew3yby7wtn0B2pee

Sonny Boy Williamson II - "Help Me" - https://youtu.be/e_l6A7krjrQ?si=fGXHsrh5lsatdtNN

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

Slim Harpo was born January 11, 1924 near Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He blended swampy Louisiana grooves with Jimmy Reed-inspired cool. Before his music career took off, he worked at everything from construction to longshoreman. He turned to music under the name “Harmonica Slim,” backing Lightnin’ Slim before cutting his own classics. 

On January 11, 1963, Sonny Boy Williamson II stepped into the Chess Records studio and cut “Help Me,”. It was a track built around the pleading line, “You got to help me, I can’t do it all by myself.” The lyric struck listeners right in the gut, helping the single stay on the R&B charts for four weeks, and inspiring decades of covers from bands who couldn’t resist its hypnotic groove.

Mississippi Fred McDowell was born January 12, 1904 in Rossville, Tennessee and brought a bone-deep authenticity to hill country slide guitar. He learned on a slide carved from a steer bone, lost his parents young, and drifted through the 1920s playing Memphis street corners for tips before settling in Como, Mississippi. For more than 30 years he farmed by day and played by night, developing the raw, droning style that would influence generations of blues and rock players.

Louise Johnson adds another chapter to our Mississippi ghost stories. A fiery Delta blues singer and pianist active in the 1920s and ’30s, she lived in Clarksdale and traveled to Grafton, Wisconsin in 1930 to record for Paramount with Son House, Willie Brown, and her partner Charley Patton. She cut four powerful sides, singing with surprising force for her small frame—often dipping into delightfully dirty blues. On the long trip home, Johnson reportedly fell into a love triangle with Patton and House, a twist Patton later nodded to in “Joe Kirby Blues.” And that had to be one VERY uncomfortable ride home.

Earl Hooker was born January 15, 1930 in Clarksdale, Mississippi. He moved to Chicago as an infant and grew into one of the most electrifying slide guitarists of the electric blues era. A true “musician’s musician,” he played with Sonny Boy Williamson II, Junior Wells, and John Lee Hooker, while also leading his own bands. Hooker’s showmanship was legendary, playing with his teeth, behind his neck, or between his legs.

Lester “Mad Dog” Davenport was born January 16, 1932 in Tchula, Mississippi. He moved to Chicago at the age of 14 and soon made history blowing harp on Bo Diddley’s 1955 Chess session that produced “Pretty Thing” and “Bring It to Jerome.” He later joined the band the Kinsey Report and released several strong solo albums. His nickname came from prowling the stage and playing a few notes on every instrument within reach.

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 just go out and visit our website at Big Train Blues.com. We’ll have a new episode