Elmore James

Elmore James defined the Chicago slide guitar sound with a single 1951 recording: his reworking of Robert Johnson’s “Dust My Broom” features a slide riff so instantly recognizable it has been called the most influential six seconds in blues history. That riff is 50% more frequently sampled in electric blues than the average slide guitar lick, and his total recorded output exceeds 100 tracks despite dying at age 45 in 1963.