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22nd Annual W.C. Handy Blues Awards B.B. King was named Blues Entertainer of the Year and his Riding With the King CD with Eric Clapton was selected as best Contemporary Blues Album at the 22nd Annual W.C. Handy Blues Awards in Memphis May 24th. Etta James was honored as Soul Female Artist of the Year and inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame along with Rufus Thomas. Shemekia Copeland was given a Handy as Best Contemporary Female Artist, and her Wicked CD was named Blues Album of the Year. Other Handy Award winners were Eddy Clearwater, Contemporary Male Artist; Little Milton, Soul Male Artist of the Year; James Cotton, Traditional Male Artist; Koko Taylor, Traditional Female Artist; Taj Mahal & the Phantom Blues Band, Blues Band of the Year; and Keb' Mo', Acoustic Blues Artist. In the album category, Robert Lockwood, Jr., was awarded Acoustic Blues Album of the Year for Delta Crossroads; Son Seals won Best Traditional Blues Album for Letting Go; Historical Album of the Year was Otis Spann, Last Call; Irma Thomas' My Heart's in Memphis was Soul Blues Album of the Year; Mel Brown won the Comeback Blues Album award for Neck Bones & Caviar; and the Best New Artist Debut Album was Shake Hands With Shorty by the North Mississippi Allstars. In the Blues Instrumentalist balloting, winners were Pinetop Perkins (keyboards); Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, (fiddle); Duke Robillard (guitar); Charlie Musselwhite (harmonica); Willie Kent (bass); Chris Layton (drums); and the Roomful Of Blues Horns (horns). Named in honor of W.C. Handy, "Father of the Blues," the awards ceremony traditionally opens the Handy Weekend. Concert. A panel of international blues industry professionals makes the initial nominations, and 30,000 blues fans choose the winners. For up-to-date information on the Handy Awards® and Handy Weekend, visit www.handyawards.com or www.blues.org. |
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