Since 2004 Plastic Crimewave (aka Steve Krakow) has used the Secret History of Chicago Music to shine a light on worthy artists with Chicago ties who’ve been forgotten, underrated, or never noticed in the first place.
In 1946, Kinsey married Christine McNeal, and for a few years he put music on the back burner while they started a family. By the late 50s he was gigging in Gary and Chicago alongside Windy City legends such as Jimmy Reed, Albert King, and his idol and muse Muddy Waters. Kinsey also played live in those days with guitarist Lonnie Brooks, who’d moved to Chicago in 1960 but was still many years from becoming a blues legend in his own right.
Big Daddy Kinsey & the Kinsey Report got a huge boost from the participation of beyond-legendary Chicago pianist Pinetop Perkins, who’d played with basically every famous bluesman who’d ever lived. The band signed to Rooster Blues for the lauded 1985 LP Bad Situation, Kinsey’s debut album, and they toured internationally to support it.
The radio version of the Secret History of Chicago Music airs on Outside the Loop on WGN Radio 720 AM, Saturdays at 5 AM with host Mike Stephen. Past shows are archived here.
