Booba Barnes

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Roosevelt Melvin "Booba" Barnes (September 25, 1936 – April 2, 1996) was an American Delta blues guitarist and singer known for a raw, electrified sound. He was born in Longwood, Mississippi, and started his career in 1960 with the Swinging Gold Coasters. He moved to Chicago in 1964 to play in clubs, then returned to Mississippi in 1971 and performed there into the early 1980s. In 1984 he teamed with Lil' Dave Thompson, who was only 15 at the time, and the duo played on Mississippi’s juke-joint circuit. Barnes opened the Playboy Club in 1985, backing it with the Playboys; they became regional favorites and eventually signed with Rooster Blues. Their debut album, released in 1990, was praised by critics as a modern classic and as a striking performance by a distinctive guitarist and vocalist. He toured the United States and Europe after the release. His career was interrupted by lung cancer diagnosed in the mid-1990s, and he died in Chicago in 1996 at age 59. In 2003, critics described him as part of a wave of edgier, electrified Delta blues alongside other noted players.