Bee Houston

Edward Wilson "Bee" Houston, a guitarist and vocalist, delivers electrifying shows that fuse Texas shuffle blues with Southern gospel-tinged soul. As a youngster in San Antonio he marched in his high school drum and bugle corps, then spent the late ’50s and early ’60s in the touring ensembles behind Little Willie John, Junior Parker, Bobby "Blue" Bland and other headliners. After completing a two-year army enlistment, he settled on the West Coast. There he joined Big Mama Thornton for frequent tours and recording sessions throughout the 1960s while also backing an array of blues artists who passed through the region. Arhoolie issued his own recordings in the 1960s and 1970s, and he maintained a steady schedule of festival and club engagements.