0
Champion Jack Dupree
Champion Jack Dupree
American blues pianist
1
Fats Domino
Fats Domino
American R&B musician
2
Dave Bartholomew
Dave Bartholomew
American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer
3
Guitar Slim
Guitar Slim
American blues musician
4
Chris Kenner
Chris Kenner
American musician
5
Lee Dorsey
Lee Dorsey
American pop/R&B singer
6
Huey "Piano" Smith
Huey "Piano" Smith
American musician
7
Lee Allen
Lee Allen
American saxophonist
8
Dr. John
Dr. John
American singer-songwriter (1941-2019)
9
Chuck Willis
Chuck Willis
American blues, rhythm and blues, and rock and roll singer and songwriter
10
Little Sonny Jones
Little Sonny Jones
American New Orleans blues singer and songwriter
11
Earl Palmer
Earl Palmer
American drummer
12
King Curtis
King Curtis
American saxophonist (1934-1971)
13
Lloyd Price
Lloyd Price
American singer, songwriter
14
Professor Longhair
Professor Longhair
African-American blues musician
15
Little Richard
Little Richard
American pianist, singer and songwriter
16
Shirley & Lee
Shirley & Lee
17
Allen Toussaint
Allen Toussaint
American musician
18
Johnny Vincent
Johnny Vincent
American record producer
19
Big Joe Turner
Big Joe Turner
American blues shouter
20
Art Rupe
Art Rupe
American music industry executive
21
Rod Bernard
Rod Bernard
American singer
22
Doug Sahm
Doug Sahm
American country music and blues rock musician
23
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, film producer, and boxer (1929-2000)
24
Freddie King
Freddie King
American blues guitarist and singer
25
Cosimo Matassa
Cosimo Matassa
American recording engineer and studio owner
26
Amos Milburn
Amos Milburn
American rhythm and blues singer, and pianist
27
Boogie Bill Webb
Boogie Bill Webb
American Louisiana blues and R&B guitarist, singer and songwriter
28
Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton
American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader and composer
29
Dinah Washington
Dinah Washington
American singer, songwriter, pianist
30
Frank Fields
Frank Fields
American musician
31
Elmore James
Elmore James
American blues guitarist, singer, songwriter and bandleader
32
Polka Dot Slim
Polka Dot Slim
American musician
33
Irma Thomas
Irma Thomas
American soul and rhythm and blues singer
34
Derek and the Dominos
Derek and the Dominos
band
35
Bukka White
Bukka White
American Delta blues guitarist and singer
36
Robert Lockwood Jr.
Robert Lockwood Jr.
American Delta blues guitarist
37
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong
American jazz trumpeter, composer and singer
38
Larry Williams
Larry Williams
American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist
39
Don Robey
Don Robey
American record producer and songwriter
40
The Folk Implosion
The Folk Implosion
American band
Intro
American musician
Music

Willie Hall (died 1930), best known by his nickname Drive 'Em Down, was a New Orleans blues and boogie woogie piano player. He never recorded, but has had a great influence on blues and rock and roll.

According to Champion Jack Dupree, who called Drive 'Em Down his "father" and cited him as "teaching me his style", Hall played in barrelhouses. His earthy song, "Junker's Blues", with its stories about needles and reefer and the Angola prison farm was recorded by Dupree in 1940. In 1949 Fats Domino reworked the song as "The Fat Man", the first of his 35 Top 40 hits. The melody was used by Professor Longhair for "Tipitina" and by Lloyd Price for "Lawdy Miss Clawdy." Willy DeVille recorded the song in 1990 on his Victory Mixture album. The song also directly inspired the song "Junco Partner", first recorded in 1951 by James Waynes and later also widely covered by other musicians.