Sugar Blue
(Born December 16, 1949)
Born James Whiting in Harlem, New York, is a Grammy Award winning blues harmonist, singer and songwriter. In the mid-1970s, Blue played as a session musician on Johnny Shines' Too Wet to Plow (1975) and with Roosevelt Sykes. Whilst in the company of the latter, Blue met Louisiana Red and the twosome toured and recorded in 1978. Taking advice from Memphis Slim, in the late 1970s Blue traveled to Paris, France. This led to him playing on several The Rolling Stones tracks ("Some Girls", "Send It to Me" and "Miss You"). Trombonist Mike Zwerin backed Blue on his solo debut album, Crossroads (1979). Following the release of his From Chicago to Paris (1982), he joined Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All Stars. In 1984, Blue's track "Another Man Done Gone," appeared on the compilation album, Blues Explosion, for which work he won a Grammy in 1985 for Best Traditional Blues Album. He has played and recorded with musicians ranging from Willie Dixon to Stan Getz and Frank Zappa to Bob Dylan. He is perhaps best known for his signature riff and solo on the Rolling Stones' hit “Miss You” from their Some Girls album. Blue performed his own version of the song on his 1993 Alligator debut Blue Blazes. With his second release, In Your Eyes, Sugar Blue emerged as a singular, profound songwriter as well as a harmonica wizard.