When I was 19, the first LP by The Paul Butterfield Band came out. Before that I had been listening to blues by Muddy Waters, Willy Dixon, Rolling Stones etc. But when I put this LP on my turntable it came in like a bomb. It was Chicago blues that was just a little different, blues with energy, passion, tight and straight ahead. That wasn’t surprising in the end because Chicago-born Paul Butterfield was one of the most innovative singers/mouth harmonica players in Chicago blues. In 1963 Paul formed the band with Mike Bloomfield, Elvin Bishop, Jerome Arnold and Sam Lay and they made 5 albums, the first of which is still the best for me and impressed me the most. Listen to ‘Mellow Down Easy’ (Willy Dixon) and ‘Blues With A Feeling’ (Little Walter) and you will break down. But also the songs ‘Born in Chicago’ and ‘Shake your Money Maker’ are gems. The band disbanded after 8 years (1971) and Paul Butterfield died on May 4, 1987. The LP I have is no longer playable, it went from black to gray, so I just bought the CD some time ago.