Henry Townsend

As a master of both blues guitar and piano, Henry Townsend helped define the St. Louis sound from the 1920s on, though he spent more time as a coveted session player than on his own work. Rediscovered during the folk boom of the '60s, Townsend put out a slew of new albums showcasing his ability to slap, pick, pluck and slide his guitar into more emotional states than a mime in a train station. His clipped howl of a voice doesn't hurt either, as it leaps and melts like butter on a hot biscuit, gently caressing lyrics about love, women and the blues.