The 28th annual Chicago Blues Fest on June 10-12 in Grant Park will feature a 100th birthday tribute to blues patriarch Robert Johnson and a 40th anniversary celebration of local institution Alligator Records.

The Johnson tribute June 10 will include performances by David “Honey Boy” Edwards, Rick Sherry, Rocky Lawrence and Hubert Sumlin, the city announced Monday. The Alligator party will cap the festival June 12 with Lonnie Brooks joined by Michael Burks, Rick Estrin, Ann Rabson and Eddy Clearwater. Brooks will be preceded on stage by singer Shemekia Copeland, who began her career on Alligator.

Here is the complete lineup for the free festival, presented by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events:
    

    Bruce Iglauer started Alligator Records in 1971 because Hound Dog Taylor’s music gave him no other choice. If he didn’t do it, who would?

    That imperative – the sense that the world must hear this, right now – guides Iglauer to this day. He has put out more than 250 albums by some of the pivotal blues artists of the last 40 years, including Koko Taylor, Albert Collins, Lonnie Brooks, Johnny Winter, Son Seals, Luther Allison, Corey Harris, Mavis Staples and Shemekia Copeland (some of Alligator's classic albums listed HERE).

        At his office in the three-story Alligator building on the North Side, he remains undeterred by a business that has dealt him his share of heartache: several of his closest friends, most recently the great blues singer Koko Taylor, have died; the record business has been in a decade-long economic decline; and the blues is a mere sliver of the U.S. music market, representing less than 1 percent of its sales. 

    Yet Iglauer remains an enthusiast, a vigorous advocate for the blues who runs his label with an energy that can verge on manic. He puts in long days, doing everything from producing records and listening to demos to assisting artists who need help paying bills and drumming up overseas business. He is currently exploring a licensing deal with a Shanghai media conglomerate to bring Alligator recordings to China. With a staff of 15, Iglauer’s Alligator Records remains a blues cornerstone, a $2 million a year business that dispenses $500,000 in royalty checks to artists annually.

On the 40th anniversary of Alligator Records and in conjunction with our interview with label founder Bruce Iglauer HERE, some classic Alligator recordings (listed chronologically):

“Hound Dog Taylor and the Houserockers” (1971): The album that started it all, a blast of unrivaled, grit-coated South Side boogie.

Koko Taylor, “The Earthshaker” (1978): A voice robust enough to knock down walls at any gin joint in town.

Albert Collins, “Ice Pickin’ ” (1978): A master class in guitar tone brimming with shiver-inducing accents.

Lonnie Brooks, “Bayou Lightning” (1979): Expressive blues guitar streaked with Louisiana soul.

Luther Allison, “Soul Fixin’ Man” (1994): The first domestic release by the guitar great in 20 years ignited his late-career rise.

Corey Harris, “Greens from the Garden” (1999): Among the most adventurous albums Alligator ever released, with convincing forays into funk, Cajun, reggae and folk.

Holmes Brothers, “Speaking in Tongues” (2001): Sublime harmonies steeped in the church, underlined by soul grooves.

Mavis Staples, “Have a Little Faith” (2004): The legendary gospel vocalist launched her comeback with this profoundly spiritual plea.

Charlie Musselwhite, “The Well” (2010): Starkly personal songs from the gentlemanly harp virtuoso.

Various artists, “Alligator Records: 40th Anniversary Collection” (2011): Fine two-disc overview of the label’s history, complete with liner notes by founder Bruce Iglauer.

greg@gregkot.com