Jim O'Neal (born November 25, 1948, Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States) is an American blues expert, writer, record producer, and record company executive. He co-founded America's first blues magazine, Living Blues, in Chicago in 1970, and wrote the column "BluEsoterica". O'Neal also co-founded Rooster Blues Records and, as of 2007, operated the Stackhouse record label, with bases in Clarksdale, Mississippi, and Kansas City.
O'Neal produced Lonnie Shields' debut album, Portrait, on Rooster Blues in 1993, which achieved notable critical acclaim, being cited as one of the best debut albums of that year. In addition, Portrait won the Living Blues Critics' Poll as Best Album.
He is co-editor with Amy van Singel of the book, The Voice of the Blues: Classic Interviews from Living Blues Magazine (Routledge, 2002, ISBN 978-0415936545).
O'Neal was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2002.
References
- Steve Cushing (2014). Pioneers of the Blues Revival. University of Illinois Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-252-03833-4.
- Ulrich Adelt (2007). Black, White and Blue: Racial Politics of Blues Music in the 1960s. Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. p. 171. ISBN 9780549341963.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - "Lonnie Shields". Soulbluesmusic.com. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- Edward Komara, ed. (April 17, 1956). The Blues Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 877. ISBN 978-0415926997. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
- "Portrait - Lonnie Shields | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved December 14, 2015.