In Memoriam: 2023 Blues Deaths

Friday Blues Fix pays tribute to those blues people who passed away in 2023.  It doesn't seem like we lost as many as in previous years, but there are some significant names here.  These are all the names I was able to come up with who passed away last year, but if anyone knows of any others, please let me know in the comments and I will add them to the list as we go.

Jeff Beck – British blues-rock guitarist

Huey “Piano” Smith – New Orleans R&B pioneer

Butch Mudbone – Native American bluesman

Thomasina Winslow – New York blues performer

Arthur Lee Williams – Chicago harmonica master

Barrett Strong - R&B singer/songwriter

Billy “The Kid” Emerson – Memphis blues/rockabilly performer

Peggy Scott-Adams – Soul-blues singer

Peter “Chuck” Badie – New Orleans blues/jazz bassist

Chris Johnson – Founder of Deep Blues Festival

Toussaint McCall - Louisiana R&B singer

Eddie Lee Rolling – Clarksdale, MS-based songwriter

Michael Rhodes - Session bassist (toured with Joe Bonamassa) 

Pete Whelen – Publisher/editor of 78 Quarterly magazine

Smilin’ Bobby Smith – Chicago-based singer/guitarist

Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry – Mississippi singer/guitarist

Tina Turner - Blues/rock/R&B/soul singer

Jean Knight - R&B/soul singer

Myles Goodwyn - Singer/guitarist/songwriter

Clarence Avant - Music executive "The Godfather of Black Music"

Chris Strachwitz – Arhoolie Records founder

James Yancy “Tail Dragger” Jones – Chicago bluesman

Willie "The Touch" Hays – Chicago drummer (B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Magic Sam)

D.C. Bellamy – Kansas City bluesman

R.L. Boyce – Mississippi Hill Country bluesman

Greg “Fingers” Taylor – Mississippi singer/harmonica/keyboard player

Tommy Talton - Guitarist (Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Allman Brothers Band, Clarence Carter)

Red Paden - Owner, Red's Lounge (Clarksdale, MS)

Nikki Armstrong - Singer/songwriter/dancer/actress/DJ