Buddy Guy, B.B. King & Others Win At W.C. Handy Blues Awards

05/24/2002 1:00 PM, Yahoo! Music
Mark Armstrong

(5/24/02, 1 p.m. ET) -- Veteran performers Buddy Guy and B.B. King were the big winners at the 23rd Annual W.C. Handy Blues Awards Thursday night (May 23) in Memphis. King, who performed at the show with Ike Turner, Little Milton, and Rosco Gordon, received the entertainer of the year award. Guy took home three Handys: contemporary artist of the year, best instrumentalist of the year, and contemporary blues album of the year for Sweet Tea.

Other multiple winners included R.L. Burnside (best traditional male artist and best traditional blues album of the year for Burnside On Burnside), Little Milton (best soul blues artist and soul blues album of the year for Feel It), and Charlie Musselwhite (best blues song of the year for "Charlie's Old Highway 51 Blues" and traditional blues instrumentalist of the year).

Marcia Ball received the coveted blues album of the year for her Presumed Innocent.

Sun Records founder Sam Phillips received this year's lifetime achievement award.

-- Gary Graff, Detroit

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