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<title>Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</title><link>http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link><description>Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</description><category>Acoustic Blues</category><language>en</language><ttl>720</ttl><pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:59:22 -0800</pubDate><image>
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<title>Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
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<title>Taj Mahal</title>
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<category>Soul Blues</category>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:31:21 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<description><![CDATA[Here is a man who has closely studied and preserved the roots music of African Americans since he began playing the Boston folk scene in the 1960s. He studied the history and formulas of Caribbean, West African, Zydeco, rock, jazz, and R&B. In fact, it was always the music of Country Blues that has influenced most of his own music. After learning how to play a multitude of instruments, Taj Mahal moved to Los Angeles and teamed up with Ry Cooder to form the Rising Sons, who split after one single was released (more songs from these sessions were released in the 1990s). Taj Mahal finally recorded his first solo album in 1968, shortly before playing an incredible performance of the Banks/Parker hit, "Ain't That a Lot of Love" on the Rolling Stones' <i>Rock & Roll Circus</i> with the late, great Jessie Ed Davis on lead guitar. Following what his fans believe to be his prime years, Taj Mahal went on to experiment with whatever music genre he was infatuated with at the time, and also wrote some scores for the stage as well as television and film. Those who know his music well can testify that when he played Country Blues, the Taj was at his best. His rich soulful singing has an ultra-deep dynamic range that fits perfectly with the driving shuffle-beats and bass bounce of this particular blues subgenre.
- Eric Shea]]></description>
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<title>Keb' Mo'</title>
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<category>Modern Blues</category>
<pubDate>Tue, 15 Dec 2009 10:31:00 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<description><![CDATA[Keb' Mo's unique style lies somewhere between the soul of Delta Blues and the melodic feel of contemporary folk, bundled in a story-like framework. Whether delivering a sparse solo song or fully arranged bluesy pop, Mo's rich vocals and earthy acoustic plucking attract both newer and older blues audiences, as evidenced on his stunning self-titled debut <I>Keb' Mo'</I>. His songwriting style occasionally disturbs purists; like Robert Cray, Keb' Mo' has found ways to write a blues tune without remaining in the traditional twelve-bar format. Nonetheless Keb' Mo' has made quite a niche for himself on many adult alternative radio stations, due in part to the polished, warm sound of his compositions.
- Jessy Terry]]></description>
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<title>Robert Johnson</title>
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<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 18 Dec 2009 12:08:01 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<description><![CDATA[The story of Robert Johnson meeting the devil at the crossroads has been told so many times that we are all in danger of becoming honorary Ralph Macchios. Luckily, this legend is backed up with incredible music. The truth is that Johnson became the undisputed master of Delta Blues so quickly after taking up the guitar that fellow musicians joked that ol' Scratch must have had something to do with it. Johnson was a deeply troubled man who poured his mental anguish into intoxicating music and vivid lyrics. His style, songs, tortured life and murder at the hands of a jealous woman have made him an American icon. Robert Johnson only recorded a handful of songs but has left a vast musical legacy.
- Jon Pruett]]></description>
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<title>Lightnin' Hopkins</title>
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<category>Texas Blues</category>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:31:23 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<description><![CDATA[Instantly recognizable with his wandering acoustic style and coarse, emotive singing, Lightnin' Hopkins remains one of the giants of country blues. His career as a bluesman started as far back as the 1920s, jamming with Blind Lemon Jefferson and eventually working as his personal guide, but it wasn't until the big folk blues boom of the '60s that he enjoyed any real recognition, cutting hundreds of songs for as many labels and selling-out college coffeehouses all over the country. A nimble craftsman with language, Lightnin's deeply personal lyrics could be both hilariously funny and starkly harrowing depending on his mood. He was famous for making words up on the spot to fit the occasion, making his live recordings unpredictable and of particular interest. With a staggering body of work that spans from the '60s right up to his death in the '80s and includes such classic narrative blues as "Bald Headed Woman" and the eerie "Black Ghost Blues," Lightnin' Hopkins is an essential figure in the history and appreciation of the blues.
- Mike McGuirk]]></description>
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<title>Leadbelly</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.68664&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:51:47 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<description><![CDATA[Leadbelly, born Huddie William Ledbetter, is one of the most influential voices in American music. Though widely thought of as a blues musician (which, in part, he was), a direct line can be drawn from him to the folk protest music of the '60s, and from there to Bruce Springsteen and Billy Bragg. In the '40s, Leadbelly brought obscure American folk songs to white, urban audiences and helped spread the word about injustices in America. Like Woody Guthrie, he could do love or comedic songs, and he had a real knack for children's songs. He died a decade before his true impact was felt. It's never to late to pay your respects.
- Nick Dedina]]></description>
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<title>Mississippi John Hurt</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.60981&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:51:18 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<description><![CDATA[Charm leaked out of Mississippi John Hurt like whiskey coming out of an old barrel. Hurt was a songwriting sharecropper and laborer who went to galvanize the early '60s Folk Revival movement. He performed throughout his first seven decades but it was the last stage of his life that propelled him to national prominence. While his handful of 1929 recordings showed that his easygoing style was always in place, he just improved with age. Filled with subtlety and nuance, Hurt's music shows the bond shared between sacred and secular music, black and white styles, and folk and popular idioms. While he was only the toast of the folk and blues scenes for three years before he died, his music will forever be treasured by fans of honest, heart-warming music.
- Nick Dedina]]></description>
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<title>Langhorne Slim</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.7071418&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sun, 13 Dec 2009 10:14:03 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<description><![CDATA[He's a carpetbagger, a dandy, a boy scout and a lady killer: He's Langhorne Slim, country folk troubadour of New York City. Taking his name from the Virginia town he grew up in, Slim (born Sean Scolnick) blends blues, bluegrass, gospel and a little rock 'n' roll into a rollicking tent revival soundtrack. Some have called his choirboy-in-heat vocals and creaky, jangly instrumentation a throwback, but they're missing the point. Langhorne Slim is a traditionalist, making vintage music with a distinctly modern gleam to it. It's all about persona ÃÂ either you like him or you don't. We do.]]></description>
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<title>Chris Smither</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.12803&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Sep 2009 09:49:02 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<description><![CDATA[Country Blues singer-songwriter and guitar player Smither got his start in the Cambridge, Mass., coffeehouses during the folk revival of the 1960s. He was an influential performer on the circuit, and Bonnie Raitt, who was also on the scene at the time, has covered a number of his songs. Smither recorded several records at that time but nothing much came of them, and he spent a good part of the '70s in an alcoholic haze. Since cleaning up, Smither has given his career a full throttle revival with a constant schedule of touring and critically praised releases. His style involves intricate guitar fingerpicking and percussive foot tapping that backs up his powerfully bluesy voice.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
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<title>Doug MacLeod</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.17172&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Thu, 30 Apr 2009 10:58:29 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<description><![CDATA[For blues purists, Doug MacLeod is one of the more palatable contemporary artists. With primarily acoustic arrangements and a peanut butter-thick voice, he performs gritty, B.B. King-derived blues with very little swing, flash or general cleanliness -- the main reasons why so much Modern Blues sounds like irrelevant, repetitive crap. Harmonica-heavy Folk-Blues songs and Mose Allison-esque Jazz Blues numbers are delivered with confidence and panache, but it's MacLeod's whiskeyed, generous voice that's the real attraction.
- Mike McGuirk]]></description>
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<title>Dave Van Ronk</title>
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<category>Folk Revival</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2009 11:49:43 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<description><![CDATA[Dave Van Ronk was one of the best Folk-Blues musicians of the 20th century. His retrospective, rustic, perfectionist performances and arrangements of classic Acoustic Blues songs go unmatched by anyone else obsessed with old time music. Most anyone who has ever played the Acoustic Blues in Van Ronk's native home of New York has been tutored by this talented singer-songwriter. Bob Dylan spent a lot of time with Van Ronk in 1961 shortly after making the move from Dinkytown, Minnesota. Van Ronk began recording professionally in 1959 when he released <i>Ballads, Blues and a Spiritual</i> on Moses Asch's Folkways label. When he was a merchant seaman, folk songstress Odetta encouraged Van Ronk to play the Classic Jazz that he was infatuated with at the time. Van Ronk was soon turned on to the energetic and enthusiastic Greenwich Village coffeehouse folk scene, where he learned how to draw a large crowd and fingerpick a guitar like the great Piedmont pickers. His deep, grumble and rasp-inflected singing -- as well as his obscure knowledge of hillbilly jug-band standards and swarthy drinking songs -- appealed to the folkies who were constantly searching for purists to teach them about the history of these rich American musical traditions. Van Ronk continued to record (for Alcazar Records) and play folk music festivals throughout the greater United States until his death in 2002 at age 65.
- Jessy Terry]]></description>
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<title>Mississippi Fred McDowell</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1721&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Delta Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:16:48 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<description><![CDATA[Mississippi Fred McDowell played acoustic slide blues with a resonance and intensity of feeling rarely matched in recorded music. A rich tone sets the slow-rollin' foundation for sharp, lyrical phrases and baying vocals. Although he's working solo, it often sounds like there are three different people playing the song. The few electric recordings McDowell made are supersonic: he slashes at the guitar with unrestrained power, emitting sparks and riffs that seem to buzz over your head and split off in a thousand directions. His material was often religiously tortured in a Robert Johnson vein, not quite as hopeless as Johnson's lamentations, but often just as haunted, with redemption seemingly paid for with lifelong agony. Songs "Jesus on the Mainline" and "When I Lay My Burden Down" sound less like the joyous praise songs they were meant to be, and more like desperate bids for salvation. The complex battle between one's desires and one's beliefs is a bottom-line issue for most of humanity, and to hear the struggle expressed with such passion and primal beauty is moving, if not scary as hell.
- Mike McGuirk]]></description>
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<title>Son House</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1426&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Delta Blues</category>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:31:28 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<title>Big Bill Broonzy</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.44073&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Early American Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:16:44 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Big Bill Broonzy</rhap:artist>
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<description><![CDATA[Chicago Blues artist Big Bill Broonzy, died in 1958, unfortunately missing the 1960s blues renaissance, which surely would have proved very lucrative. Broonzy was one of a wave of artists who migrated to Chicago from the deep South in the '20s and bridged the gap between Country and Urban Blues. His warm vocal style could soar and shout, or be smooth and controlled. Broonzy was a well rounded guitar player equally adept at propulsive Country Blues and swinging single note lines for small jazz combos. He recorded prolifically, hundreds of sides -- as a sideman and as a solo artist. Ironically, as time went on, Broonzy played a less sophisticated, more rural style of blues, which reflected the tastes of white, folk music fans. He was one of the first blues artists to tour Europe and consequently had an enormous influence on the first wave of English Bluesmen like Alexis Korner -- and by proxy, Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
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<title>Reverend Gary Davis</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.69036&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:31:38 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Reverend Gary Davis</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.69036&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[A figure as legendary for his influence on other musicians as for his musical output, Davis first became known as a guitar virtuoso in the 1920s, when he played frequently on the streets. Renowned for his sophisticated guitar technique and his synthesis of folk, blues, and jazz, he also possessed a deep, powerful voice that was gruff yet melodious. Religion played an important role in the life of this blind musician, exemplified by his experiences in the Carolinas as a traveling gospel preacher. He began recording in the '40s after moving to New York City (when he was already an ordained priest) and later had a profound impact on the bohemian folk music scene of the '50s. As a mentor to many folk revival musicians, Rev. Davis transmitted his style to a new generation that revered his guitar mastery and the profound simplicity of his lyrics about troubles and redemption.
- Robert Leaver]]></description>
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<title>Jorma Kaukonen</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.14558&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:07:25 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Jorma Kaukonen</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.14558&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Kaukonen is a founding member of San Francisco psychedelic rock band Jefferson Airplane. His stinging, blues-based lines formed the basis for many of the band's songs. Kaukonen and Airplane's bassist eventually left the band to form Hot Tuna, which started out as a vehicle for Kaukonen to show off his considerable Acoustic Blues fingerpicking skills. Songs by the Reverend Gary Davis as well as other Delta Blues players were a mainstay of their sound, though the band eventually morphed into an electric band that mixed blues with extended sonic explorations. He now runs a guitar school in rural Ohio.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
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<title>Charley Patton</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3248&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Delta Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:51:38 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Charley Patton</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3248&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Charley Patton is probably the most important and influential Delta Blues singer and guitarist next to Robert Johnson. His songs have an eerie power that derives from his rich, resonant vocals and a percussive acoustic guitar which he played both with and without a slide. He recorded prolifically in the 1920s and '30s, influencing a generation of Mississippi bluesmen -- including Robert Johnson. Like many singers from the Delta, his lyrics are very region-specific. Combined with a thick Mississippi accent, this makes some of his lyrics a bit hard to understand. He died young in 1934.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
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<title>Josh White</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2280&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Folk-Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:51:20 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Josh White</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2280&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2280&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Extremely well-versed in the countryside blues vocabulary, though perhaps better known as a quasi-Cabaret performer, Josh White came up in the Piedmont scene of the 1930s and '40s and apprenticed with the likes of Blind Joe Taggart and Blind Blake. With a refined voice that seemed more suited to Vocal Jazz than the more rugged blues of his native Mississippi, White made his way to the urban centers of the '40s, picking up on the fashionable trends in music as he went. While the latter half of his career is characterized by forays into Cabaret (as well as a sex-god Lounge act), White's early recordings are some of the finest in the Folk-Blues catalog.
- Mike McGuirk]]></description>
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<title>Blind Willie Johnson</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4048&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:16:41 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Blind Willie Johnson</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4048&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Much more than just a finalist in the "Greatest Musician Named 'Blind Willie'" sweepstakes, Johnson is a Gospel pioneer whose name is spoken in hushed tones by slide guitarists and early blues fans alike. Technically speaking he wasn't a blues man -- his lyrics spoke of salvation and the Bible, not booze and women, and his music avoided typical blues forms. Alternating between radiantly joyful major pentatonic melodies and equally haunting minor-key ones, he sang in a coarse, bass-dwelling croak that sometimes gave way to a more soothing mid-range tone. His performances sometimes featured a female vocalist, but were otherwise solo, and he backed himself with a mix of steady low-string fingerpicking and precise slide maneuvering. His recorded output clocks in at a mere ninety minutes or so, with all of it being waxed in the late 1920s, but what's there contains a sense of purity and humility capable of softening the most hardened cynic.
- Will York]]></description>
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<title>Blind Willie McTell</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4055&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Country Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:51:47 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Blind Willie McTell</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4055&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Although Blind Willie McTell went by a handful of other aliases, his singing and prodigious guitar playing are unmistakable staples of the blues. From the 1920s to the late 1950s, his songs offered excellent insight into the man who invented his own style of guitar playing. McTell could read music as well as write it in Braille, and from listening to his songs, it's evident his twelve-string improvisations were not only brilliant, but revolutionary. In the studio, McTell almost always played the twelve-string acoustic guitar. Unlike many of his contemporaries who utilized resonators and dobros, McTell leaned on his instrument's ability to sound like two guitars by picking and sliding all over the neck. His early recordings were hypnotic narratives full of exquisite guitar lines and extraordinary vocal performances that set a powerful and moody backdrop for his stories. The man's style effortlessly traversed from knee-slapping Ragtime to more dissonant and spacious Acoustic Blues. McTell died in 1959 of a brain hemorrhage.
- Eric Shea]]></description>
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<title>Charlie Parr</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.9162253&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Country-Folk</category>
<pubDate>Thu, 17 Dec 2009 10:44:18 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Charlie Parr</rhap:artist>
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<description />
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<title>Alvin Youngblood Hart</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3576&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Modern Blues</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:56:11 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Alvin Youngblood Hart</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3576&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Alvin Youngblood Hart is an Acoustic Blues musician from Oakland, Calif., who (musically) grew up in Carrollton, Miss. His is the classic musician's tale of a boy who was blessed with a well-rounded, hand-me-down record collection from his parents. He was also fortunate enough to have an uncle who played the guitar, not to mention a piano-banging grandma who turned him on to many old blues greats. Hart's music is a warm melting pot of rootsy influences shot through his unpredictably deviceful approach to covering Classic Rock songs as well as old blues standards. His renditions of Rolling Stones ballads rivals Alejandro Escovedo's in passion and performance.
- Eric Shea]]></description>
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<title>Stefan Grossman</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.15510&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:31:49 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Stefan Grossman</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.15510&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Brooklyn-born guitarist Stefan Grossman spent his teens and early twenties hanging out with the Reverend Gary Davis, an acoustic blues guitarist and singer with a deserved reputation as a master of the form. Grossman developed an encyclopedic knowledge of early Acoustic Blues, and has since put out a series of highly influential <i>How to Play Blues Guitar</i> records on his own Kicking Mule label. Along the way, he's also released a large number of records -- on his own and with artists such as John Renbourn and Mike Cooper -- that display his pristine fingerpicking and all-around wonderful playing.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
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<title>Blind Lemon Jefferson</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.6021&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:16:48 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Blind Lemon Jefferson</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.6021&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[One of the most famous masters of the blues, Blind Lemon Jefferson recorded a number of highly revered race records (78s) in the Charleston-soaked 1920s. Jefferson's Texas Blues songs were touched by his two octave vocal range and guitar playing that accompanied his crooning melodies like a third harmonic voice. He poured his hard times and fast living into his playing and songs. His recorded music was popular coast-to-coast (no small feat in the Â20s), and contributed to the awareness of racial equality. His well thought-out arrangements and random, sporadic, improvised guitar solos have influenced most every blues musician.
- Eric Shea]]></description>
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<title>Memphis Minnie</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2058&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Classic Female Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:42:35 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2058&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2058&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Arguably the most important of the female blues artists, Memphis Minnie performed for over 40 years, recorded over 100 sides, pioneered the use of electric guitar and sketched out the blueprint for urban/Chicago blues with her personalized style of songwriting. Minnie was born Lizzie Douglas in the Algiers district of New Orleans in 1897, and by the time she was 13, she had run away from home and was playing guitar and performing her own music on the streets and in the juke joints of Memphis, Tenn. Her first singles appeared in 1929, and soon Minnie became the biggest name among female blues musicians thanks to constant performing throughout the Depression and World War II. Her 1930 move to Chicago is often cited as influencing rising stars like Muddy Waters, Little Walter and Jimmy Rogers. Minnie remained active until the 1950s, when she retired from performing due to health issues. She died of a stroke in 1973.
- Mike McGuirk]]></description>
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<title>Sonny Boy Williamson I</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.33253&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Harmonica Blues</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:25:08 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Sonny Boy Williamson I</rhap:artist>
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<description />
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<title>Furry Lewis</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2654&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Memphis Blues</category>
<pubDate>Thu, 26 Nov 2009 11:27:18 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2654&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2654&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Furry Lewis' recordings stand as an important link from the traditional early blues and Ragtime of the late 19th century to the music of the following century. Though mostly overlooked until the 1960s, Lewis recorded amazing songs in the '20s that still stand the test of time, and he picked up his guitar to make more when he gained appreciation years after he began. He was a great Memphis storyteller, singing tales with earthy moans and the hint of a lisp. His guitar playing was top-notch, mixing slide guitar with altered tunings and fingers that seemed to have minds of their own. Lewis' playing is intricate and ever-changing; he never played a song the same way twice. Altering the steady bass and treble lines of his deft fingerpicking (and even the lyrics to original and traditional songs), Lewis brought it all together in loosely set structures. His versions of "Kassie Jones" and "John Henry" are some of the best blues recordings in history.
- Jessy Terry]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>John Hammond, Jr.</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.63593&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2009 09:11:14 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">John Hammond, Jr.</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.63593</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.63593&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.63593&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Hammond's pedigree may have gotten him through the door (he's the son of legendary Columbia Records A&R man John Hammond, Sr.), but his uncommon talent as a blues player has sustained his career for nearly forty years. Hammond seems to channel the spirit of Mississippi Delta bluesmen Robert Johnson and Skip James through his singing and guitar and harmonica playing. He doesn't do this by playing their music note for note, but rather by capturing some part of their rhythmic intensity and hard-edged urgency. He started recording in the mid-1960s and was a leading light of the folk/blues revival, making highly acclaimed records with the folks who would become known as the Band and composing the evocative soundtrack for the film <i>Little Big Man</i>. He has recorded more than twenty-five albums and is a staple on the international blues concert and festival circuit.]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Louisiana Red</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2453&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Electric Blues</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:55:33 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Louisiana Red</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.2453</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2453&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2453&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Louisiana Red's gravelly vocal delivery and deeply personal blues first came to prominence in the revival boom of the '60s, but he had been on the scene since just after WWII, jamming with the likes of John Lee Hooker. His rolling, full band blues is a direct descendant of the Muddy Waters style: a solid unit of guitar, bass, and drums with harmonica acting as both rhythm and lead instrument.
- Mike McGuirk]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Guy Davis</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3588&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Modern Blues</category>
<pubDate>Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:23:55 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
<guid isPermaLink="false">art.3588</guid>
<rhap:rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.3588</rhap:rcid>
<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Guy Davis</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.3588</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3588&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3588&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description />
</item><item>
<title>Ted Hawkins</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1800&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Singer-Songwriter</category>
<pubDate>Sun, 7 Jun 2009 07:59:57 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
<guid isPermaLink="false">art.1800</guid>
<rhap:rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.1800</rhap:rcid>
<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Ted Hawkins</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.1800</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1800&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1800&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Ted Hawkins was a truly original Singer-Songwriter with a voice like Sam Cooke and a slightly skewed lyrical sense. His most memorable songs mirror the upheaval and disappointment of his turbulent life; at the same time, he was capable of gentle emotion and touching revelations -- he could express the most intimate of sentiments without sounding mawkish. The music is equal parts soul and folk with dashes of country in the intricate picking and sometimes forlorn vocals. Hawkins' songs are haunting in their honesty and reveal a deep well of pain in poetic, complex lyrics. A sadly unrecognized Venice Beach street performer for most of his career, Hawkins' big break came way too late and he died of a stroke on the eve of his success. His recordings are undeniably essential -- the only testament to this unique and gifted performer.
- Mike McGuirk]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>J.B. Lenoir</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8949&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Chicago Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 31 Oct 2009 11:43:09 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
<guid isPermaLink="false">art.8949</guid>
<rhap:rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.8949</rhap:rcid>
<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">J.B. Lenoir</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.8949</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8949&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8949&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Early recordings by this enigmatic and patently unusual Chicago bluesman of the 1950s and 1960s. Lenoir has a high, almost womanly voice that swings and breaks over jazzy, sax- and piano-driven blues that form a clear pre-cursor to the impending rock 'n' roll explosion.
- Sarah Bardeen]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Corey Harris</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3023&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Modern Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sun, 20 Sep 2009 09:10:49 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Corey Harris</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.3023</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3023&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3023&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description />
</item><item>
<title>Rory Block</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.68436&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Folk-Blues</category>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:31:48 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
<guid isPermaLink="false">art.68436</guid>
<rhap:rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.68436</rhap:rcid>
<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Rory Block</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.68436</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.68436&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.68436&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Singer-guitarist Rory Block, a long time fixture on the folk and blues scene, interprets the music of Delta and Country Blues masters such as Robert Johnson, Charlie Patton, and Son House with an uncanny intensity and rare originality. She plays her acoustic guitar with a slashing, thumping style that recreates, rather than copies, the spirit of the original. Similarly, Block sings with clear, unaffected fervor, establishing her own identity.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Blind Blake</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4046&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Country Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sun, 27 Sep 2009 09:56:06 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
<guid isPermaLink="false">art.4046</guid>
<rhap:rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.4046</rhap:rcid>
<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Blind Blake</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.4046</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4046&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4046&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description />
</item><item>
<title>Cephas &amp; Wiggins</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.58832&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 4 Apr 2009 20:15:33 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
<guid isPermaLink="false">art.58832</guid>
<rhap:rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.58832</rhap:rcid>
<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Cephas &amp; Wiggins</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.58832</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.58832&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.58832&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[This award-winning Acoustic Blues duo combines lively Mississippi John Hurt-style guitar playing and engagingly warm singing with down-home, Country Blues harmonica playing. They have recorded numerous records and are very popular on the club, coffeehouse, and blues festival circuits.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Skip James</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4407&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Delta Blues</category>
<pubDate>Wed, 23 Dec 2009 13:31:34 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
<guid isPermaLink="false">art.4407</guid>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Skip James</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.4407</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4407&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4407&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[One of the first Delta bluesmen to be recorded, Skip James was an artist with a highly individual sound and a forceful, idiosyncratic personality that shone through his music. At the heart of his sound is the combination of his keening, mournful tenor voice and his complex guitar and piano playing. Like many Delta Blues artists, James played his guitar in an open tuning, and he matched contrapuntal moving lines to droning open strings in a manner that has not been imitated since his death. Even though James benefited from the blues revival of the 1960s, he was by all accounts a distrustful and slightly bitter artist who rightly felt that he was an unrecognized genius who'd spent his life getting ripped off by the vagaries of the corrupt music business. His slightly odd, nonstandard tunes have been reverently recorded by artists ranging from Cream to Fred Frith.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Bukka White</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3673&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Delta Blues</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:51:29 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Bukka White</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.3673</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3673&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3673&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Not even Keith Richards could play an open G tuning like Bukka White. Not only did he slide up and down the neck with the grace, finesse, and dexterity of a clock maker, but he also infused a rhythmic style to his playing that has yet to be duplicated. White's career had two lives. From the 1930s to '40s, he played Delta Blues with open wounds bleeding from his songs. His eerie narratives of hard living crept into his warble-mouthed musings, as his hands pulled otherworldly tones and slap-knock rhythms from an old National steel guitar. When the blues revival hit hard in the '60s, White's music resurfaced after a ten-year hiatus -- this time more song-driven and accessible to younger crowds. He became well-known as a driving live performer, creating myths of dance floors being broken by his hypnotized audiences worked up into berserk dancing frenzies.
- Eric Shea]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Tampa Red</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1749&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Chicago Blues</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:39:53 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Tampa Red</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.1749</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1749&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1749&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[A singer and guitarist of enormous influence, Tampa Red's thirty-year recording career yielded hundreds of recordings. Primarily known as a blues guitarist, Red played hokum, Swing, Ragtime, pop, jazz and just about anything else that was popular from the 1920s to the '50s. He was a slide guitarist with an uncommonly precise and linear touch whose playing couldn't have been further removed from the slashing Delta styles of people like Charlie Patton or Bukka White. His articulated phrasing and singing, melodic lines are closer to that of a horn player than any guitar player performing at the time. He is probably most famous for his work with pianist Georgia Tom Dorsey. In the 1930s the two cut a number of sides of outrageously risquÃ© songs, many of which have become cult classics.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Kelly Joe Phelps</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8936&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Wed, 9 Dec 2009 10:54:29 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
<guid isPermaLink="false">art.8936</guid>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Kelly Joe Phelps</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.8936</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8936&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.8936&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[After spending a long time as a jazz player, this singer-songwriter/guitarist made a sharp turn towards his own evolving vision of Delta Blues-style slide guitar playing. Playing an acoustic guitar on his lap and fretting the notes with a steel bar, he plays dazzlingly fluid lines, full of cascading hammered notes and funky syncopation. Add to this Phelps' warm, low vocals and you have one of the more unique stylists playing today. He began his recording career reinterpreting songs from the blues canon, such as "See That My Grave is Kept Clean," but he has since grown into a challenging, idiosyncratic songwriter in his own right.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Brownie McGhee</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3779&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sun, 20 Dec 2009 09:42:31 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Brownie McGhee</rhap:artist>
<rhap:artist-rcid xmlns:rhap="rhap">art.3779</rhap:artist-rcid>
<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3779&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.3779&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Brownie McGhee experimented with his Folk-Blues sound when he got away from his partner Sonny Terry. Solo, McGhee's guitar could lay out any kind of blues -- swamp or urban; acoustic or electric. He helped lay the foundation for blues, folk and country music.
- Nick Dedina]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Robert Belfour</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.53411&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Blues</category>
<pubDate>Wed, 10 Jun 2009 08:08:48 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Robert Belfour</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.53411&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Raised in the hills of Northern Mississippi, the aged Robert Belfour was steeped in Country Blues traditions. A self-taught guitarist, Belfour plays acoustic guitar that flows and twangs under his seasoned voice.
- Robert Leaver]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Sonny Terry &amp; Brownie McGee</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.11050826&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Country Blues</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:25:30 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Sonny Terry &amp; Brownie McGee</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.11050826&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description />
</item><item>
<title>Snooks Eaglin</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1564&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>New Orleans Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 6 Jun 2009 08:29:34 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Snooks Eaglin</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1564&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1564&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[A certified New Orleans classic, blessed with serious blues guitar skills. After losing his sight as a youngster, Eaglin put his efforts into developing the ability to play in many styles, earning a spot in Allen Toussaint's first band, and later gigs with artists such as Professor Longhair. Eaglin began by playing acoustic, finger-picked blues on the streets of New Orleans, accompanied by washboard and blues harp, before he got himself an R&B-flavored Soul band and lit up the town with his ripping electric guitar solos. His acoustic playing is earthy with dexterous picking, while his electric tone is meaty and thick without relying on distortion. Vocally, Eaglin has a Ray Charles-influenced style that's fortified with a bit of a bayou accent.
- Jessy Terry]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Blind Boy Fuller</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.14380&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Country Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:51:47 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Blind Boy Fuller</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.14380&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.14380&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[North Carolina bluesman Blind Boy Fuller was an extremely influential and popular performer in the 1930s whose legacy might be even larger today had he not died at the age of 34. He was an acoustic guitarist of uncommon stylistic skill, at home with slide, fingerstyle, and Ragtime. Like many entertainers of the day, he knew and recorded popular songs as well as blues. He was also known for a series of openly suggestive hokum blues songs, full of raunchy double entendres that no doubt contributed to his popularity. He was such an influential figure for Brownie McGhee that McGhee began his career under the moniker Blind Boy Fuller No. 2.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Tommy Johnson</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.328&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Delta Blues</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:51:04 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Tommy Johnson</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.328&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.328&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description />
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<title>Jessie Mae Hemphill</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2513&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Delta Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 10 Oct 2009 10:13:34 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Jessie Mae Hemphill</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2513&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.2513&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description />
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<title>Robert Pete Williams</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.68947&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Country Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sun, 3 May 2009 08:33:37 -0700</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Robert Pete Williams</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.68947&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.68947&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Robert Pete Williams' unusual melodies and maverick tunings made him one of the most appreciated folk-blues performers of the post-war period in America. Discovered in a Louisiana prison by intrepid folk aficionados, Williams eventually gained his freedom and went on to wow audiences around the country with the down-home, authentic blues sound that was all the rage in the early 1960s. While he definitely cashed in on a folk trend, Williams' playing had been with him since he first strung up a cigar box as a teenager. Even today the blues man's guitar playing sounds fresh and unusual, while his voice seems to arise from some elemental place that's as timeless as it is fundamentally human.
- Sarah Bardeen]]></description>
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<title>Toby Walker</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.15749071&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sun, 22 Nov 2009 10:09:36 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Toby Walker</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.15749071&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description />
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<title>Bo Carter</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4676&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Acoustic Blues</category>
<pubDate>Fri, 11 Dec 2009 11:40:30 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Bo Carter</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4676&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.4676&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[Armenter "Bo Carter" Chatmon's lyrics proved him the master of the double entendre, from "Banana in Your Fruit Basket" to "Let Me Roll Your Lemon" to "My Pencil Won't Write No More." His solo work from the late 1920s to the early '40s is stunning, with Robert Johnson-influenced guitar work weaving multiple bass and treble parts simultaneously. This finger-picking wizard -- the half-brother of blues legend Charlie Patton -- was also a singer, with a high, sweet voice touched with a slight vibrato. Carter spent a good deal of time playing in his brother Lonnie's band, the Mississippi Sheiks, which showcased his multi-instrumental skills on guitar, banjo, clarinet and more for string/jug-band classics.
- Jessy Terry]]></description>
</item><item>
<title>Mississippi Sheiks</title>
<link>http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1723&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</link>
<category>Country Blues</category>
<pubDate>Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:16:15 -0800</pubDate>
<source url="http://www.rhapsody.com/charts?cat=artist&amp;category=genre&amp;genreId=293&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss">Top Acoustic Blues Artists on Rhapsody Online</source>
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<rhap:artist xmlns:rhap="rhap">Mississippi Sheiks</rhap:artist>
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<rhap:play-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1723&amp;variant=play&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:play-href>
<rhap:data-href xmlns:rhap="rhap">http://www.rhapsody.com/goto?rcid=art.1723&amp;variant=data&amp;rws=%2Fblues%2Facoustic-blues%2Fartist-chart.rss</rhap:data-href>
<description><![CDATA[This influential duo consisted of Walter Vincson on acoustic guitar and vocals and Lonnie Chatmon on fiddle and vocals. The Sheiks played a type of blues that incorporated elements of country, vaudeville, Ragtime and jazz, and they performed and recorded prolifically in the South throughout the 1930s. Chatmon came from a musical family -- his brothers Bo and Sam, both recording artists in their own right, sometimes joined the Sheiks. The duo's most famous song, "Sitting On Top of the World", has been covered by Cream and Howlin' Wolf among others.
- Tom Heyman]]></description>
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