Her name is synonymous with Chicago blues, and her voice was growling, thunderous and full of soul.

NPR: Blues Queen Koko Taylor Dies At 80

Music, another southern African-American staple, hitched a ride and eventually evolved into its own form (Chicago blues).

FORBES: Magazine Article

Magic Slim, the American blues guitarist and leading figure in the Chicago blues scene, has died aged 75.

BBC: Magic Slim, American blues musician, dies aged 75

Guy, at 74 is one of the last remaining Chicago blues guitarists walking the planet, let alone touring, and has influenced everyone from Clapton to Hendrix to Stevie Ray Vaughn.

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Slim cut his first single, Scufflin, in 1966 and became a Chicago blues fixture in his own right, developing a guitar style that blended a distinct vibrato with a slide-guitar-like sound formed with his bare fingers against the strings.

BBC: Magic Slim, American blues musician, dies aged 75

Honorees this year included actor Dustin Hoffman, late night host David Letterman, Russian ballerina Natalia Makarova, Chicago blues musician Buddy Guy, and the three surviving members of Led Zeppelin, Robert Plant, Jimmy Page and John Paul Jones.

FORBES: Heart's Ann Wilson Kills Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway To Heaven' At Kennedy Center Honors

Chicago's Buddy Guy, a blues legend in his own right, gave an electrifying performance.

NPR: The Thrill Is Strong for 80-Year-Old B.B. King

Catering to the big blues and gospel market in nearby Chicago was a wise choice.

NPR: The Rise and Fall of Vee-Jay Records

Set in a Chicago recording studio in 1927, it explores the fraught relations among the members of the great blues singer's band and her white producer and agent.

ECONOMIST: August Wilson

There is just one guaranteed two-day rest, enjoyed by Chicago and Minnesota between their first two games, and one more potential two-day break if the Blues and Kings go to a Game 7.

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