Living Blues #304 (September/October 2026)

WHAT'S INSIDE:

Lil Ray Neal

Classic Cars, Vintage Guitars, and a Lifetime of the Blues

By Gene Tomko

Lil Ray Neal, the third son of Baton Rouge blues legend Raful Neal, was born in the blues. By age 15 he had formed the first Neal Brothers Band. In 1983 Little Milton hired him to play guitar in his band. Over the next 20 years Neal played guitar for Milton, Bobby Rush, and spent six years with Bobby Bland. After Bland died, Neal returned to Baton Rouge where he continues to gig and spends much of his time restoring classic cars.

Russ Green

Pushing the Boundaries of Blues

By Bill Kopp

Chicago harp player Russ Green came to the blues after finishing film school. Mentored by Sugar Blue, Green employs an improvisational style that make his sound highly personal. On the heels of his second solo release, Stone Cold, Green’s horizons are expanding as he pushes the boundaries of blues harp.

Vick Allen

The Velvet Voice of Soul

By Christopher Klug

Velvet–voiced Vick Allen was 100 percent church when he was young. He has deep roots in two of Jackson, Mississippi’s legendary gospel bands, the Williams Brothers and the hard–rocking Canton Spirituals. But it was friendships with Mel Waiters and Willie Clayton that encouraged him to cross into the world of southern soul blues.

Let It Roll!

Tommy Johnson, Victor Records, Memphis, February 3–4, 1928

By Jas Obrecht

Tommy Johnson was one of the most distinctive bluesmen of the pre-war era. We look at his first recording session for Victor in 1928 that yielded Big Road Blues, Maggie Campbell Blues, and the idiosyncratic Canned Heat Blues. With only a dozen issued sides, Johnson’s legacy still touches the blues music of today.

Record Reviews

• New Releases: John Primer, Johnny Rawls and Dave Keller, and Terry “Harmonica” Bean
• Reissues: Ma Rainey, Eddie “Blues Man” Kirkland, and Bukka White

Editorial

Blues News

LB Talks To Keith Johnson

Obituaries

Radio Charts

Cover photo by Gene Tomko: Lil Ray Neal with Little Milton’s former guitar “Betsy” at Spooner’s Playhouse historical recreation, Port Allen, Louisiana, July 9, 2026.