Living blues
Living Blues is an American music magazine that deals with the history and musicians of the blues .
Living Blues was founded in 1970 in Chicago by seven blues fans and is the oldest and most important blues magazine in the USA. One of them was Bruce Iglauer , who later became the founder of Alligator Records . In 1971 it was owned by Jim O'Neil and Amy van Singel, also two founders, who also worked as publishers. The authors of the magazine include important blues journalists such as Jim O'Neal, one of the founders of the magazine, Barry Lee Pearson, David Whiteis or Scott Barretta. Each issue brings news from the world of blues, a "breaking out" section on emerging artists and an extensive review section on new CDs, DVDs and books from the world of blues.
In 1983 the journal was acquired by the University of Mississippi and has since been published every two months by the Center for the Study of Southern Culture. Since 2003, the magazine has sponsored the BluesToday! Symposium , which is held on the university campus in spring. The speakers included the leading blues authors Paul Oliver, Samuel Charters and Bill Ferris, but also concerts by z. B. David Honeyboy Edwards , Little Milton and BB King are part of the event. In 2009, the Mississippi State honored the magazine with a plaque on the Mississippi Blues Trail. In addition, she received the "Keeping the Blues Alive Award" from the Bluesfoundation , which honors non- musicians for services to the blues. They were also inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame (Category: Classics of Blues Literature) in 1982.
Since 1993, the newspaper has also been awarding the " Living Blues Award ", a music prize whose winners are determined on the one hand by audience votes and on the other hand by critics. In the forty years of its existence, the magazine has grown from a thin black and white magazine to a 128-page magazine in four-color printing that sets the standards for blues magazines worldwide.
- Absolutely the best blues publication available, and in fact one of the best specialized music magazines of any kind. " - All Music Guide
- “Living Blues was the first magazine to notice me and they've done the same for other artists. If it wasn't for the magazine, we wouldn't be near as visible. " - Bobby Rush
- “A true blues addict needs a blues fix, and I'm one of these people. I get my news from Living Blues. " - Eddy Clearwater