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Colin James journeys on the Blue Highways
Q

Colin James journeys on the Blue Highways

On Colin James' latest album, Blue Highways, the Canadian musician pays tribute to some of the blues greats, from Howlin' Wolf to William Bell.
CBC Radio ·
Musician Colin James joins host Tom Power in the q studios in Toronto, Ont. (Cathy Irving/CBC)

As you will hear in today's interview, Colin James is a bit of a blues aficionado. 

The Canadian musician grew up in a household, in Regina, Sask., that educated him on the likes of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Elizabeth Cotten and more. Later on, he would get his big break opening for Stevie Ray Vaughan.  

All these years later, he's paying tribute to some of the biggest blues names in history on his new covers album, Blue Highways. Taking on Freddie King, William Bell and Howlin' Wolf, James joins host Tom Power in the studio to discuss his latest project and do a deep dive into blues. You'll want to scroll down to keep up with the lengthy list of musicians mentioned in the interview.

Blue Highways is out now. For all of James' upcoming tour dates, head over to his website.

As mentioned on air, here's your chance to crank up your speakers and dig deep in the Who's Who of blues with Colin James' playlist.

Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee                   
Elizabeth Cotten                                          
Mississippi John Hurt​
Roosevelt Sykes                                         
Robert Johnson
Johnny Shines                                           
​Howlin' Wolf                                      
Big Dave McLean                                               
Bob Dylan
Colin Linden                                               
The Byrds
T-Bone Walker                                             
Gary Clark Jr.​
Little Big Band                                           
Charles Brown
Freddie King                                               
Bobby Bland
Albert King                                                 
Otis Rush
Albert Collins                                             
Little Walter
Muddy Waters                                             
Eric Clapton
​​Robert Plant
Chuck Berry                                                
​Ronnie Baker Brooks
Magic Sam                                                  
Brian Jones
Earl Hooker                                                 
The Rolling Stones
Buddy Guy                                                  
Long John Baldry
Junior Wells                                             
George Thorogood     
John Paul Hammond                               
Bonnie Raitt
Beth Hart
John Lee Hooker

— Produced by Mitch Pollock

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