Music Maker Relief Foundation & The Heroes of the Blues

We here at Keep on Truckin' Apparel are so excited and thrilled to be donating a portion of the proceeds from sales of our "Heroes of the Blues" T-Shirt Collection to Music Maker Relief Foundation. Music Maker is based out of North Carolina, their mission to "keep the bluest of the blues alive", through offering support to musicians living in poverty, and launching careers with a hand up, not a hand out. As well they preserve and present American musical traditions for the benefit of local communities, worldwide education and future generations.

Their mission seems to go hand in hand with the spirit of the "Heroes of the Blues" series. These color portraits where commissioned by Yazoo Records founder Nick Perls. Nick spent time traveling through the South, visiting second hand shops and knocking on doors to track down old blues records in the 1960's. He then remastered and preserved these old 78-rpm. His work was part of the revival of the Blues in the 60's, and brought attention to these unsung heroes.

For the "Heroes of the Blues" artwork he turned to Robert Crumb, musician and cartoonist, and for the historical text Stephen Calt, author and blues historian. The 36 card trading card set first appeared in 1980, and includes:
Charley Patton, Son House, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Mississippi John Hurt, Memphis Minnie, Blind Blake, Willie McTell, Big Bill Broonzy, Gary Davis, Skip James, Roosevelt Sykes, Cannon's Jug Stompers, Blind Willie Johnson, Tommy Johnson, Sleepy John Estes, Peetie Wheatstraw, Bo Carter, Ed Bell, Barbecue Bob, Buddy Boy Hawkins, Papa Charlie Jackson, Memphis Jug Band, Ramblin' Thomas, Sam Collins, Furry Lewis, Bo-Weavil Jackson, Rube Lacey, Mississippi Sheiks, Whistler & His Jug Band, Curley Weaver & Fred McMullen, Leroy Carr & Scrapper Blackwell, Jaybird Coleman, Frank Stokes, Clifford Gibson, Peg Leg Howell, and William Morris.