The Delta stretches across northwestern Mississippi like a big fallen leaf, tucked between two rivers. It spans 220 miles north to south and, at its widest, 87 miles east to west.

How can so many great musical artists come from so small a place? As historian Ted Gioia observed, the Delta’s influence on American music “is so pervasive today that it is almost impossible to take full measure of its impact.”

Here are 16 great Delta blues artists. All are Black. Fifteen are men.

Many of America’s greatest blues artists are women, including Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey and Sister Rosetta Tharpe – but they weren’t from the Delta. The royal lineage that stretches from Charley Patton through Robert Johnson to B.B. King is largely a procession of men with guitars.

W.C. Handy : Bandleader William Chr

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