Big Daddy Kinsey

Who was Big Daddy Kinsey?

Big Daddy Kinsey was an American Chicago blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player.

Born Lester Kinsey in Pleasant Grove, Mississippi, United States, he was a slide guitarist and harp blower with roots in both the Mississippi Delta and post-war Chicago Blues styles. Kinsey worked with local bands only long enough for his sons to mature into top-flight musicians, and since 1984 the family act has become one of the hottest attractions in contemporary blues. Kinsey's material ranged from deep blues in the Muddy Waters vein to hard-rocking blues with touches of funk and reggae, courtesy of sons Donald and Ralph. In the early 1990s Kinsey released one of the most successful albums of his career, I Am the Blues which featured contributions from Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Sugar Blue and Pinetop Perkins.

His three sons Donald, Ralph and Kenneth formed the contemporary blues band, The Kinsey Report, along with Ron Prince, in 1984. The Kinsey Report recorded and toured as his backing band until April 2001 when in Gary, Indiana, he succumbed to prostate cancer, and died at the age of 74.