The blues, first recorded as early as 1920, has influenced many areas of 20th-century popular music. From major figures such as Leadbelly, Muddy Waters, B.B. King and Eric Clapton, to the less-well-known but important Mississippi John Hurt or Big Bill Broonzy, this is a guide to the blues on CD. The author is a music critic who has written for Oz, New Musical Express, Q and The Daily Telegraph, and winner of a Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award.