Butterfield, Paul

Butterfield, Paul (1942–87) musician; born in Chicago. A white singer-harmonica player, he began as a teenager to master the blues style of his hometown through performances with Muddy Waters and Little Walter. He attended the Universeity of Chicago in 1959–61, then formed the racially integrated Butterfield Blues Band, which pioneered blues-rock, introduced the electric guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Elvin Bishop, and backed Bob Dylan's controversial non-acoustic appearance at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965. Butterfield recorded and toured extensively as a bandleader between 1965–75, appearing at the Monterey Pop (1967) and Woodstock (1969) Festivals. He was featured with Muddy Waters at The Band's farewell concert in 1976, which was filmed as "The Last Waltz," and performed sporadically thereafter until his death at age 44.