Vintage Phoenix Blues Photos

Here are some classic photos of the Phoenix Blues scene of the 1950s and 1960s.

Duke Draper Blues Band (Photo Courtesy of Sherry Draper)

Duke Draper at the Drums (Photo Courtesy of Sherry Draper)

Duke Draper & His Wife Sherry (Photo Courtesy of Sherry Draper)

From the Arizona Republic newspaper of November 9, 1956. Clipping courtesy Joe Baker.

Louis Jordan & Friends in South Phoenix. Louis Bought a House and Retired in Phoenix During the Late 1950s.
The Man Standing is Bob Tate Senior, Owner of Bob’s Rose Room & Father of Bob Tate, Sax Player. (Photo Courtesy of Doris Tate)

The Morocco Lounge in the 1960s (Photo Courtesy of John Dixon)

Al Reed & The Pipers Promo Card (Photo Courtesy of John Dixon)

Stan Devereaux 1960s promotional photo.

Tommy Dukes And His Flames Early Promo Poster

The Calderon Ballroom was the place to see the big names back in the day!

Dennis Binder, Bob Prindell, AC Reed, and possibly Vincent “Guitar Red” Duling from an Arizona Tribune mention from 1960. Dennis would record the songs Love Call and Don’t Want Nobody Messin’ Around With Me on this stop in Phoenix! Thanks Scott Dirks and Jim O’Neal.

Small Paul in 1966. Photo courtesy of Tony Flores who is the bass player in this image.

Audio Recorders on 7th Street in Central Phoenix was where many great recordings of all musical genres were made.

Recorded at Audio Recorders in Phoenix in 1959, Texan Ray Sharpe utilized the Phoenix sound for his hit record!

Texas bluesman Ray Sharpe recorded his hit record Linda Lu in Phoenix in 1959.

Little Walter advertisement for a 1959 club engagement in Phoenix.

The Lone Wolf – Phoenix down-home bluesman.

The Rev. Louis Overstreet album, released on the famous Arhoolie label, was recorded in Phoenix, Arizona, with home sessions and live sermons from 1962 and 1963.

Reverend Louis Overstreet and his sons. Photo Chris Strachwitz.

Reverend Louis Overstreet singing his blues-based, down-home gospel with his sons on the streets of Tucson, early 1960s! Reverend Overstreet was based in Phoenix but was known for his portable street sermons. Photo by Chris Strachwitz. Checkout the album on Arhoolie, recorded in Phoenix to hear the raw power of his music.

Reverend Louis Overstreet and his sons sing in their store-front congregation. Photo Chris Strachwitz.

The Phoenix soul partnership of Eddie & Ernie.

Maxine Johnson in a “Lew King Rangers Show” program. Photo courtesy John Dixon.

A picture of Louis Jordan and a very young Maxine Johnson from a “Lew King Rangers Show” program. Photo courtesy John Dixon.

Dyke & The Blazers publicity photo. They recorded the original version of Funky Broadway in Phoenix, AZ. That’s Dyke on the vocals and to the left Bernard Williams on sax.