Grant Britt

To hell, with snakes, could be David Childers' mantra. Since his 1994 debut, Godzilla, He Done Broke Out, he's been a hellish tour guide, leading a series of bands from the Mount Holly Hellcats to the Modern Don Juans to the Serpents of Reformation, now doing business

Eric Bibb has built a career as Mr. Mellow with his soft-spoken, bluesy folk meanderings since his 1972 debut, Ain't It Grand. For his latest, Ridin', the global griot, soulful troubadour, street preacher, and mellow bluesman continues down the same trail, but never wears it out. His

Harlan Howard's definition of country music as three chords and the truth is almost as famous as the songs he wrote to back up that quote he made in the 1950s. The prolific country songwriter turned out more than 4,000 tunes covered by a who's-who

Joe Louis Walker has been to church and back. Roommate Mike Bloomfield's 1981 death from an accidental overdose shook Walker so thoroughly that the young guitarist went from wallowing with heathens including Muddy Waters and Jimi Hendrix to soaring to lofty heights with the Spiritual Corinthians Gospel Quartet.

Dubbed king of the honky-tonk piano players, Aubrey “Moon” Mullican's output was an eclectic mix of styles and genres. The rowdy pianist called his sound East Texas rock, but it's a bit more complicated than that, a jumbled-up collection encompassing Western swing, rockabilly, blues, big band,

Eddie 9V is a soulful minister, delivering the goods like a man who's seen his musical calling writ large and is broadcasting it loud and clear. But even though he's looking skyward, don't be sidetracked by the title of his latest record. Capricorn ain&