. . . ceremony took place Thursday, May 1, 1997, in Memphis, Tennessee. Presented to the world's greatest bluesmakers, the W.C. Handy Awards have become the industry's equivalent to the Grammy's, with the nominees and recipients determined by the collective membership of The Blues Foundation.
For more information about this year's awards and The Blues Foundation, phone (901) 527-2583, fax (901) 529-4030, or write The Blues Foundation, 49 Union Avenue, Memphis, TN 38103.
The nominees follow. The recipients are in bold italic. Congratulations, and thank you to the bluesmakers everywhere!
Blues Entertainer of the Year
Luther Allison, Charles Brown, R.L. Burnside, B.B. King, Taj Mahal, Coco Montoya, Bobby Rush
Blues Band of the Year
The B.B. King Orchestra, Luther Allison and the James Solberg Band, Magic Slim and the Teardrops, Rod Piazza and the Mighty Flyers, Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, Roomful of Blues
Contemporary Blues -- Male Artist of the Year
Luther Allison, Big Jack Johnson, Keb' Mo', Coco Montoya, Joe Louis Walker
Contemporary Blues -- Female Artist of the Year
Marcia Ball, Debbie Davies, Etta James, Koko Taylor, Toni Lynn Washington
Soul/Blues -- Male Artist of the Year
Johnny Adams, Bobby Bland, Solomon Burke, Mighty Sam McClain, Little Milton
Soul/Blues -- Female Artist of the Year
Denise LaSalle, Ann Peebles, Francine Reed, Irma Thomas, Lavelle White
Traditional Blues -- Male Artist of the Year
R.L. Burnside, James Cotton, David "Honeyboy" Edwards, Frank Frost and Sam Carr, Alvin Youngblood Hart
Traditional Blues -- Female Artist of the Year
Rory Block, Bonnie Lee, Annie Raines, Saffire -- The Uppity Blues Women, Katie Webster
Country/Acoustic Blues -- Artist of the Year
John Hammond, Corey Harris, Alvin Youngblood Hart, Keb' Mo', Paul Rishell and Annie Raines
Best New Blues Artist of the Year
Alvin Youngblood Hart, Mike Henderson and the Bluebloods, Clarence Spady, Carl Weathersby, Rusty Zinn
Blues Instrumentalist -- Guitar
Luther Allison, Ronnie Earl, Anson Funderburgh, Matt Guitar Murphy, Joe Louis Walker
Blues Instrumentalist -- Harmonica
William Clarke, James Cotton, Charlie Musselwhite, Rod Piazza, Kim Wilson
Blues Instrumentalist -- Keyboards
Marcia Ball, Charles Brown, Floyd Dixon, Pinetop Perkins, Miss Honey Alexander Piazza
Blues Instrumentalist -- Bass
Sister Sarah Brown, Aron Burton, Johnny B. Gayden, Willie Kent, Bob Stroger
Blues Instrumentalist -- Drums
Ray "Killer" Allison, Sam Carr, Sam Lay, George Raines, Willie "Big Eyes" Smith
Blues Instrumentalist -- Other
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown (violin), C.J. Chenier (accordian), Porky Cohen (trombone), Kaz Kazanof (saxophone), Sonny Rhodes (lap steel), Roomful of Blues (horns)
Contemporary Blues Album of the Year
Where Have You Been: Live in Montreux -- Luther Allison
The Hard Way -- William Clarke
Border Town Legend -- Long John Hunter
Ya Think I'd Know Better -- Coco Montoya
Live: Spontaneous Combustion -- Son Seals
Soul/Blues Album of the Year
One Foot in the Blues -- Johnny Adams
Texas Soul -- W.C. Clark
Blues Texas Soul -- Tutu Jones
Sledgehammer Soul & Downhome Blues -- Mighty Sam McClain
Good Love -- Johnny Taylor
Traditional Blues Album of the Year
Deep in the Blues -- James Cotton
Big Mama's Door -- Alvin Youngblood Hart
The Real Deal -- John Primer
I Want You To Know -- Paul Rishell and Annie Raines
Come on in This House -- Junior Wells
Comeback Album of the Year
I Ain't Lyin' -- Little Sammy Davis
Wake Up and Live -- Floyd Dixon
Blessed Blues -- Johnny Jenkins
Knockin' on the Devil's Door -- Paul Oscher
Homebrew -- Brewer Phillips
Acoustic Blues Album of the Year
Cool Down -- Cephas & Wiggins
Deep in the Blues -- James Cotton
Blow, Fat Daddy, Blow -- Harmonica Fats and Bernie Pearl
Big Mama's Door -- Alvin Youngblood Hart
I Want You To Know -- Paul Rishell and Annie Raines
Reissue Blues Album of the Year
That Did It! The Duke Recordings Vol. 3 -- Bobby Bland
The Scratch -- Slim Harpo
Avalon Blues, The Complete 1928 OKeh Recordings -- Mississippi John Hurt
How Blue Can You Get, Classic Blues Performances 1964-1994 -- B.B. King
Live at the Electric Ballroom, 1974 -- Freddie King
Blues Song of the Year
Been There Done That - Marvin and Donna Taylor (Francine Reed, Can't Make it on My Own)
Fishing Blues - William Clarke (William Clarke, The Hard Way)
One Foot in the Blues - Dan Penn, Jonnie Barnett, Carson Whitsett (Johnny Adams, One Foot in the Blues)
One Monkey Don't Stop No Show - Bobby Rush (Bobby Rush, One Monkey Don't Stop No Show)
We Got to Stop This Killin' - Big Jack Johnson (Big Jack Johnson, We Got to Stop This Killin')
