History of Blues with Joey Leone

In the spirit of Ken Burns' breakout PBS documentary series on American country music, acclaimed guitarist and music historian Joey Leone presents “The History of Blues in America” a one hour program covering the history, influence and social impact of American blues music through songs, stories and historical facts. Joey highlights the influence of blues on virtually all styles of contemporary music over the past 7 decades playing a variety of songs on multiple guitars from his personal collection.

In addition to the live music segments, he touches on recurring themes of how the blues transcended racial boundaries, brought people together in times of celebration and times of healing, and how the blues followed the migration from the rural south to the urban north. Joey also ties in his upbringing in Brooklyn NY, and how important the Public Library System was for his discovery, passion, and education about music and music history.

A lifelong career musician, he has toured and recorded as a guitar player for many high profile artists including Etta James, The Coasters, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Chaka Khan, and many more. Joey truly believes in the unifying and healing power of music, which comes through during this inspiring and delightful program.