Annie Raines (born July 3, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American musician, best known as a

harmonicist The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica includ ...

. She grew up in Newton, Massachusetts. She is Jewish. Raines took up the harmonica at the age of 17. As a freshman, she left

Antioch College Antioch College is a private liberal arts college in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Founded in 1850 by the Christian Connection, the college began operating in 1852 as a non-sectarian institution; politician and education reformer Horace Mann was its f ...

to pursue a musical career. Fascinated by the sounds of

Muddy Waters McKinley Morganfield (April 4, 1913 April 30, 1983), known professionally as Muddy Waters, was an American blues singer and musician who was an important figure in the post-war blues scene, and is often cited as the "father of modern Chicago b ...

Little Walter Jacobs Marion Walter Jacobs (May 1, 1930 – February 15, 1968), known as Little Walter, was an American blues musician, singer, and songwriter, whose revolutionary approach to the harmonica had a strong impact on succeeding generations, earning him ...

, and Sonny Boy Williamson, she spent time absorbing the music of the

Chicago blues Chicago blues is a form of blues music developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of the first half of the twentieth cent ...

masters. She began to busk locally and played gigs at local Boston

clubs Club may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Club'' (magazine) * Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character * Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards * Club music * "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea'' Brands and enterprises ...

, and later traveled to Chicago where she met and played with

Pinetop Perkins Joe Willie "Pinetop" Perkins (July 7, 1913 – March 21, 2011) was an American blues pianist. He played with some of the most influential blues and rock-and-roll performers of his time and received numerous honors, including a Grammy Life ...

, and

James Cotton James Henry Cotton (July 1, 1935 – March 16, 2017) was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter, who performed and recorded with many fellow blues artists and with his own band. He also played drums early in his career. ...

. While working regularly on the regional blues circuit, Raines taught harmonica and began developing her own style within the blues tradition. She met and began working with Paul Rishell, who lent musical support to her harmonica, piano, singing and songwriting skills. This gave her the opportunity to study

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

innovators such as

Noah Lewis Noah Lewis (September 3, 1891 – February 7, 1961)Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. p. 238. . Previously, his birth year was also reported as 1890 or 1895. 1891 is general ...

and

Sonny Terry Saunders Terrell (October 24, 1911 – March 11, 1986), known as Sonny Terry, was an American Piedmont blues and folk musician, who was known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers and oc ...

, and, more recently, to take up the

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

.The Lookout: Eye on local wildlife for Joppa Flats show
Newbury Port News, April 9, 2009.

References

External links

Paul Rishell and Annie Raines' website

Annie Raines bio and sound sample
on Hohner website {{DEFAULTSORT:Raines, Annie 1969 births Living people American street performers American blues harmonica players Harmonica blues musicians Musicians from Boston