Chicago is loaded with the blues

摘要

The Chicago Blues Archives is a unique collection dedicated to preserving the city's outstanding contribution to musical history. Located on the eighth floor of the Chicago Public Library's Harold Washington Library Center at 400 S. State St., the archives houses a huge number of audio and visual recordings, books, magazines, mementos, photographs, and information on past and present blues performers. It all began in 1981 when local radio station WXRT-FM donated to the library a portion of the sales from its Blues Deluxe LP, released on the Alligator Records label. A live recording from the blues stage at the 1980 Chicagofest (Chicago's former summer festival), the record featured performances by Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, Koko Taylor, and Lonnie Brooks's version of "Sweet Home Chicago," the city's blues anthem. The station's donation served as the seed money for the blues collection. The archives owns many commercial recordings ranging from Eddie Boyd's original 78-rpm Chess Records pressing of "Nothing but Trouble" in 1955 to the latest releases by today's artists. Also included in the collection is a set of recordings from WXRT's Blues Breaker Specials, featuring such Chicago veterans as Willie Dixon, Buddy Guy, and Lonnie Brooks performing in local clubs; and a video library that contains tapes of WTTW-TV's Soundstage program, documentary films, and commercial videos.