Alexis Korner
1928–1984
Paris-born, London-raised guitarist called the “father of British blues” — his Blues Incorporated was the band nearly every British blues musician passed through.
was born in Paris in 1928 and moved to London as a teenager. He played in 's band, then teamed with harmonica player Cyril Davies to run the London Blues and Barrelhouse Club, and in 1961 the pair formed Blues Incorporated — the first amplified rhythm-and-blues band in Britain, with a deliberately fluid line-up. Their Rhythm and Blues Night, opened at the Ealing Jazz Club on 17 March 1962, is generally treated as the moment British blues became its own scene; Korner introduced Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to Brian Jones there. He was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024, alongside , under the Musical Influence Award.