On April 1, for their #266. (April/May 2020), Living Blues published their special 50th Anniversary issue. For their 50th anniversary they revisit 21 of their past cover artists and seeing where life and the blues have led them. The artists featured include Bobby Rush, Irma Thomas, Jimmy Johnson, Bette LaVette, Robert Cray, Lil’ Ed Williams, Shemekia Copeland, Michael Hill and many more.
Issue #266 also includes “In The Beginning,” the story of the early years of Living Blues as told by co-founding editor Jim O’Neal. Other special features include Thirty of the Very Best Blues Albums of the 2010s and Thirty You May Have Missed and People, Places, and Things, a list of 50 blues songs dealing with particular people, places, and things, both real and mythical, both from Jim DeKoster; and Fifty Fabulous Sessions – The Pre-war Era, from Jas Obrecht. the Let It Roll column highlights Barbecue Bob’s recording session for Columbia Records in Atlanta on April 13, 1928, a session that helped define the sound of Atlanta Blues.
Other highlights are Artist to Artist with Joseph “Mojo” Morganfield, the Breaking Out column spotlighting King Solomon Hicks, the latest Living Blues Radio Charts, and festival listings. Record reviews include new releases from Dom Flemons, John Primer and Bob Corritore, and Frank Bey, and reissues by Mel Brown, Fats Domino, and Gus Jenkins.
