Junior Kimbrough

Although he didn't record until he was in his 60s, Junior Kimbrough is one of the most important blues guitarists of the latter half of the 20th century. In addition to performing his incredibly influential brand of rhythmic hill-country blues--a style that placed the musical focus on the groove rather than on six-string pyrotechnics--Kimbrough also owned one of the last true juke joints, which provided a venue for, among others, the great R.L. Burnside. Kimbrough (whose impact on young 1990s garage rockers is comparable to B.B. King's on '60s British blues boom guitarists like Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page) passed away in 1998.