Little Arthur Duncan

Little Arthur Duncan, a singer and harpist steeped in Chicago blues, entered the world in Indianola, Mississippi, during 1934 and spent his early years on Woodburn Plantation alongside B.B. King. In the 1950s he moved to the West Side of the Windy City, where he frequently shared stages with guitar great Earl Hooker. His singular harmonica style—marked by the unusual habit of playing bass notes on the right—failed to bring wider attention for many years, confining him largely to local audiences and regular performances at his own Back Scratcher Social Club. The year 1989 saw the release of his album Bad Reputation on the Blues King imprint, while Cannonball simultaneously captured him with Robert Plunkett and Emery Williams Jr. on the anthology Blues Across America--The Chicago Scene. Ten years afterward came the Delmark album Singin' with the Sun.