Carey Bell

Carey Bell earned his enduring spot among Chicago's premier blues harpists years earlier, yet he fully emerged as a bandleader during the 1990s through standout releases on Alligator and Blind Pig. His distinctive harmonica phrases came from the city's finest players—Little Walter, Big Walter, and Sonny Boy Williamson II—while he layered in personal flourishes, notably an ethereal moan that distinguishes many of his strongest harp passages. Born Carey Bell Harrington in blues-rich Mississippi, he took up the harp at age eight and began working professionally at thirteen with his godfather, pianist Lovie Lee. The more seasoned Lee escorted him to Chicago in 1956 in pursuit of reliable musical work. When steady gigs proved elusive, Bell turned to electric bass, backing Robert Nighthawk, Johnny Young, and his mentor Big Walter Horton. His harp debut arrived in 1969 on Delmark, launching his recording path. Early in the 1970s Bell held key roles in the bands of Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon, touring widely and cutting sessions with both icons. Alligator Records issued much of his strongest leader material, beginning with a 1972 collaboration alongside Horton. Four tracks by Bell appeared on Alligator's opening Living Chicago Blues anthologies in 1978, preceding his place in the 1990 harmonica summit Harp Attack!, where he recorded with James Cotton, Junior Wells, and Billy Branch. His solo Alligator album Deep Down ranks as his finest. Bell raised several blues-performing offspring, the best-known being mercurial guitarist Lurrie Bell.