Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown

Brown had a long and storied career, but it's these recordings from the 1950s that comprise his peak as guitarist, singer, songwriter, fiddler and mouth harpist. Pay special attention to the Texan's six string on tracks like "Ain't That Dandy," "Okie Dokie Stomp" and "Dirty Work at the Crossroads"; his mastery of distortion and feedback allowed him to make the instrument yelp and squeal in ways that few have been able to match. Overall, Brown's is a raw yet extremely versatile version of the blues.