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Visitors to the Blues Hall of Fame will enjoy 10 individualized galleries with interactive touchscreen displays along with three master databases where they can hear the music, watch videos, and read the learn the complete stories of each of our inductees. Click for 2025 Inductee Bios

Click for the Blues Hall of Fame Website

 At 94, Bob Stroger remains a force in blues music, still actively touring and receiving long-overdue recognition. No performer has ever been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame at an older age. He was also the 2024 recipient of the Blues Music Award for Instrumentalist – Bass, the fifth time he had earned the honor. 

 William Bell, a key figure in the Stax Records legacy, has built a remarkable career as a singer, songwriter, producer, and label owner. His music spans gospel, doo-wop, jazz, R&B, blues, reggae, funk, and disco, and in recent years, he has been a top contender in the soul blues categories of the Blues Music Awards.

 Though Blind Willie Johnson never recorded the blues, his powerful gospel-infused music has captivated blues fans and musicians for nearly a century. His style, often called "holy blues," featured intense vocals and masterful slide guitar.  In 1977, his haunting instrumental Dark Was the Night—Cold Was the Ground was included on NASA’s The Sounds of Earth recording, sent into space aboard the Voyager probes.

 Henry Townsend was a foundational figure in the St. Louis blues scene, with a career spanning over eight decades. Recording in every decade from the 1920s to the 2000s, he remained active until his passing on September 24, 2006, at age 96. Shortly after, he posthumously shared a GRAMMY Award for Last of the Great Mississippi Delta Bluesmen: Live in Dallas, alongside Robert Lockwood, Honeyboy Edwards, and Pinetop Perkins.

 Jessie Mae Hemphill was a vibrant and influential figure in North Mississippi Hill Country blues. A three-time winner of the W.C. Handy Blues Awards (1987, 1988, and 1994), she carried on a deep family musical tradition tracing back to her great-grandfather Dock Hemphill and grandfather Sid Hemphill, who recorded for Alan Lomax in 1942. Known for her raw, rhythmic blues style, her sound contrasted sharply with her bold, sequined outfits, cowboy hats, and wigs.