Kenny Wayne Shepherd

Before he could read a note of music, Kenny Wayne Shepherd was teaching himself blues rock in Shreveport, Louisiana. Working by ear on a cheap plywood-bodied Stratocaster copy, he learned one note at a time, rewinding cassettes to catch each phrase. His father, a local radio personality and concert promoter, kept a large record collection, and that became his curriculum. A 1984 Labor Day show, one of his father's promotions, introduced him to Stevie Ray Vaughan.

Bryan Lee invited the 13-year-old onstage, and a video of his Red River Revel Arts Festival debut reached Giant Records chief Irving Azoff, who signed him to a multi-album deal. From 1995 he took seven singles into the Top 10, and Trouble Is... holds the Billboard Blues chart record for longest run. His 2011 album How I Go was released on Roadrunner Records, and Lay It On Down debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Blues chart in 2017. Dirt on My Diamonds Vol. 1 followed in 2023, also debuting at No. 1 on the Blues charts.