Bryan Lee and the Blues Power Band

For Lee, the blues has been a fickle lover. Born with a skin color not common amongst bluesmen and living without eyesight since the age of eight, the music that he loved didn't always have a place for him. Born in northern Wisconsin, Lee grew up listening to the blues on AM radio, began playing at 13 and eventually took his guitar down to Chicago. Despite his abilities, Lee wasn't welcomed.

"I wanted to be in Chicago. My first idols were Muddy and [Howlin'] Wolf," explained Lee with a degree of hurt in his voice. "But the problem wasn't so much the musicians, it was the promoters. For the most part, there weren't too many white guys. I used to get that story all the time. 'Well, y'know man, you're really good, but you're white. And that's unfortunate. We don't hire white artists that play the blues.'"

"I'm a blind person, I don't see any color. I got drawn to this music by the feeling, not by the color of somebody's skin," said Lee. "It's funny, as time has gone on and things have changed, and they respect it and there are less black artists playing the blues - but the market's still there -the attitudes of promoters have changed. Now I go up to Chicago ... and I pack the house. And it's a good feeling."