Man, Memphis Minnie was terrifying! Hard as nails, Minnie could play guitar just about better than anyone and was no pushover in the tough juke joints and blues clubs. As legendary slide guitarist Johnny Shines once recalled: Any men fool with her she’d go for them right away. She didn’t take no foolishness off them…

She didn’t show her fellow guitarists any mercy either. Cuttin’ heads with blues guitar legends Big Bill Broonzy and Tampa Red at a club in Chicago, Minnie tore them both a new one, earning their respect in the process. Her prowess on guitar is legendary and she could sing up a storm, but she was also a great songwriter. She co-wrote When The Levee Breaks with her then husband Kansas Joe McCoy in 1929. The song was later re-worked by… Well, you know the rest - and if you don't, click here!

If you’re keen to find out more about this female blues icon, Paul and Beth Garon’s book Woman with Guitar: Memphis Minnie's Blues is a great place to go next.

Listen: Lizzie 'Memphis Minnie' Douglas - I'd Rather See Him Dead (1938)