Blues Hall of Fame Museum
The world-renowned organization whose mission is preserving and celebrating the Blues.
The Blues Foundation was founded in Memphis, Tennessee, “The Home of the Blues,” in 1980 by its first executive director, Joe Savarin. Over the past 40 years, The Blues Foundation has grown from a small base of Memphis supporters that presented the first National Blues Awards at the Orpheum Theatre on November 16, 1980, to an international membership of over 4,000 individuals and organizations. Balloting for the awards (renamed the W. C. Handy Blues Awards in 1995 and then the Blues Music Awards in 2006) was initially conducted by Living Blues magazine, which polled a worldwide group of blues authorities, deejays, musicians, folklorists, record dealers, and producers. The Blues Music Awards are now managed by The Blues Foundation staff, with close to 100 blues experts from across the blues industry acting as nominators to choose the final five nominees in each of 25 categories. Winners are determined by a vote of The Blues Foundation membership.
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