Mose Allison

From Eric Clapton to the Rolling Stones and Van Morrison to The Who, few rock bands enthused by the blues in the 1960s didn't take inspiration from the great Mose Allison. Raised in the Mississippi Delta, he worked the cotton fields, claiming "blues was in the air", learning to play piano and trumpet at school and joining R&B bands in Memphis while still in his teens. In 1956 - after a spell in the Army - he moved to New York and became immersed in the city's emergent jazz scene and evolved his own style, mixing the raw blues of his youth with jazz piano and powerful vocals. Allison made his first album Back Country Suite, a collection evoking the sounds and senses of the Mississippi Delta, in 1957 and went on to form his own trio, playing with many of the jazz greats, including Stan Getz, Al Cohn and Gerry Mulligan. Also influenced by classical composers, Allison toured Europe regularly and became a major influence on British rock music.