Johnny Shines

Delta bluesman Johnny Shines is most famous for having traveled and performed with Robert Johnson in the '30s, but his career extended several decades beyond Johnson's. He eventually wound up in Chicago, where he recorded for Job Records, but like many blues players of his generation Shines drifted out of music. In the late '60s he was among those whose careers were given a fresh start via "rediscovery" by the folk-revival generation. Shines began recording and performing again with a vengeance, his gritty voice and slide guitar still powerful. Failing health slowed him down in the early '80s, but even then he continued to play until his death in 1992.