Hall of Fame

2023 Inductees

Frank Dupree, born and raised in Knoxville, TN, left home at 17 to join the military. Music was always at the forefront of his life even when there wasn’t anything to be found on the radio.
 
Frank played piano in the church and learned all he could by his own means – records provided his music education, Jimmy Smith in particular. While stationed in Honolulu, Frank had access to an organ at the YWCA, still self-taught, and went on to earn an AA degree in music theory and composition. While in Hawaii, he drew from the local talent – Don Ho, Arthur Lyman, and Boby Lester.
 
Upon being discharged from the military in Mather Air Base, Frank decided to stay in Sacramento and established his first band there, a trio called The Operators, which got him through a two-year course in Nursing School. Many players would come and go in this trio but the main players were Rich Yarison, drums and James Olsen (deceased) guitar and sax, playing at the Tia Maria, Crow’s Nest, Los Robles, Ramada Inn and other places Following this trio, Frank formed another band called the Mid-day Moon, again with many players coming and going, but John Lamiell on sax and JJ Funderburk (deceased) were key players, continuing to play at various Sacramento locations that no longer exist. 
 
Frank states “My sincerest appreciation of the blues happened as I migrated to the band playing with John Heartsman (HOF 2008). There was a pulse to my music I had not explored yet and thanks to John, I was able to do this.”  Several years accrued with their playing together at venues like the Monterey Blues Festival, Harrah’s Tahoe, the San Francisco Blues Festival, and the infamous Sam’s Hof Brau…and the list goes on.

Born and raised in Santa Barbara, and influenced by her family’s love of the blues, Beth Reid-Grigsby had her first singing appearance on stage at the Bluebird Café in Santa Barbara in 1977.
 
She and husband RW Grigsby, bass player and HOF inductee 2018, moved to Sacramento in 1992, where Beth photographed several local artists, including The Hucklebucks and Screaming Dave Wright and Serious Trouble, creating album covers for both in the mid to late 90’s. She photographed every one of Mark Hummel’s Blues Harmonica Blowouts from 2007 forward as well as two Blues Cruises and many road shows.
 
Beth started singing locally in 2002, mostly sitting in with such bands as The Hucklebucks and Johnny Guitar Knox, including performing with Johnny at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee and various others. She sang in, booked, and managed the Keri Carr band for three years, singing backup and performing in the Sacramento region.
 
Beth started her band Red’s Blues in 2012 with the idea of featuring a special guest artist at each show. Their first show featured Aki Kumar at the legendary Torch Club in Sacramento. Red’s Blues has performed at the Sacramento Music Festival, the Cajun & Blues Festival, and continues to perform at the Torch Club and the Blues & Bourbon series at the Starlet in Sacramento, along with many others in the region as one of the most popular local bands. Red’s Blues has been nominated twice for the Sammies Awards, an awards program in Sacramento that recognizes local talent, and they have produced three successful CDs.
 
As a teacher and performer, Beth has given her talents to the SBS Blues In The Schools (BITS) program in 2022-2023 and has become a regular. According to the program director “the kids love her”.
 
As songwriter, lead singer, front woman, manager and booking agent for Red’s Blues, Beth contributes significantly to our local Blues community.

Angel Reyes was born and raised in Sacramento, California. His maternal grandfather and uncle both played guitars, singing and playing Mexican Folk songs. Angel said, “As far back as I can remember, there has always been a guitar”. His early influences were the three Kings, B.B., Albert, and Freddy in addition to Earl King, Jr.

Angel is mostly self-taught with lessons early on in his development from Tiny Moore’s music teacher Skip Majora and later Mark Peirson from “The Working Class”.
Angel was the featured guitarist with R&B singer Sylvester in the early seventies in San Francisco, first with his group "Sylvester and the Hot Band " later forming another musical troupe which added vocalist Bianca Thorton, aka “Lady Bianca”. This band became very popular, having sell-out crowds every night at their regular gig at the Caberet Club, played the Whiskey A Go Go in December of 1974 in Los Angeles and the California Hall on Polk St. in San Francisco, headlining over Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks.
 
Angel has a long list of playing Blues with some of the greatest. He toured extensively throughout the Midwest, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest Regions with recording artists the Francisco Bros. Angel has played with blues singer and Hammond organist “Glenn Lane and the Soul of the Blues”. For twelve years ending in December 2016, he played with Willie G and has played the Monterey Blues Festival backing up Delta guitar player Guitar Mac. With Mac he also has played the Mount Shasta Blues Festival and the California State Fair. Angel was featured in Vol. 3, Issue 6, Jan/Feb 2000 of the Official Jimi Hendrix magazine, “Experience Hendrix”. He has also played at Eli's in Oakland, benefiting Sonny Rhodes, the Texas slide guitarist whose touring van caught fire while on tour in Florida.

Angel is currently doing session work and live performances with his own band “The Angel Reyes Band” with members guitarist Tim Barnes, Dwayne O'Neal on Bass, and Ratta Tat Pat Balcom on Drums.

A stalwart of the Sacramento music scene for many years, Jeff Hughson is recognized for his role in creating the Sacramento Blues Society along with Mick Martin and Phil Givant. It was in 1979 at the Sacramento Blues Festival that producer Phil Givant, Mick Martin & Jeff asked the attendees who would be interested in establishing a Blues Society. Many signed up and the first meeting was held shortly after, at which time Jeff was elected President.
 
Long before this, he was a record collector for many years, and his extensive collection of LPs includes the likes of Little Jimmy Reed, Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker, and many more well-known Blues artists. He recounts how he would go to Tower Records and buy these now collector’s items for only a few dollars! This led to new experiences of being a DJ on the radio.
 
He was a sixteen-year-old high school student doing the 2 am -6 am show on KXRQ (FM) weekdays, in addition to his Sunday morning Blues show. Later, when he heard the station was being sold, he interviewed with the new owner and became a co-founder (his record collection became much of the station library!) and the first Music Director of the new station, now called KZAP. “I graduated from (Sacramento) High School in June of 1968, and I went to work at the end of July.” One of the first free-form radio stations in America, the now-legendary KZAP is the central touchstone in an upcoming film documentary, “Free-Form, Baby!”. Jeff is the Executive Producer of this film.
 
Collecting, learning, and research continued, and his knowledge and production skills expanded.
 
Many of the Blues shows in Sacramento were produced by Jeff on behalf of the SBS, including outdoor events in William Land Park and at various venues around town. Tootsie’s in Old Sacramento was a favorite where admission was only three dollars most times and featured local bands along with big name Blues artists like the Robert Cray Band with Curtis Salgado, Charlie Musselwhite, Luther Tucker, and others. Shows were held there two times a week and in all Jeff’s tenure more than 40 concerts were produced.

Pinkie Rideau, known as the “Wailin’ Lil’ Cajun” by many, was born in San Francisco and relocated to the Sacramento area from Brown’s Valley. She credits her late parents Joseph and Adele Rideau with instilling the love of music in her. Since 1982, her musical efforts have centered around Sacramento and Northern California, subsequently becoming a major female voice in the Sacramento Blues Music scene. In 2005, she began hosting local Blues jams with her band and in 2008 she traveled to Memphis with guitarist Ron Cook to represent the Sacramento Blues Society in the International Blues Challenge, a Blues Foundation event open to the best musicians world-wide. Pinkie also gives her talent and time to the SBS Blues in the Schools program, where she has become a favorite with students and teachers alike at school assemblies.
 
Pinkie is not only a talented Blues musician/vocalist but a writer, producer, and philanthropist. Having dealt bravely with her own personal medical issues, she is a constant voice in the effort to help those that need a hand. One of Pinkie’s rules for performing in her band is the willingness to perform at benefit and charity gigs. Because, with a grin, Pinkie said “It keeps ya legal!”
​
Over the past two decades, Pinkie has performed with and opened for numerous artists, a few of which include Bobby Bland, Mavis Staples, Betty LaVette, Bonnie Raitt, Dave Mason, Kim Wilson, Bruce Willis, Ronnie Montrose, Christ Cain, and others. She most recently joined the Mick Martin Big Blues Band, where they performed, along with other local musicians, a History of the Blues stage production written by Nan Mahon.