Cover photo © 2025 Bob Kieser

Chicago has always been known as perhaps the premiere city for blues music in the country. Legends like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Walter, Otis Spann, Sunnyland Slim, Big Walter Horton, Magic Sam, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Otis Rush and many others honed their skills while building their careers in the numerous blues clubs throughout the city. To this day, you can hear world-class blues any night of the week.

We all remember the stars, the legends who brought lasting international acclaim. Often overlooked are the musicians who play in the bands backing the artists in the spotlight. For every Hubert Sumlin, there have been thousands of players who made meaningful contributions without receiving much more than an occasional round of applause at a live show.

Guitarist Carlos Showers is one of those musicians. By his own admission, over the course of his career spanning decades, he has played with just about every blues artist in Chicago. A favorite of the female blues singers, Showers has managed to stay busy without attracting much attention to himself.

Born in 1956 and raised in Chicago, his first musical instrument was the cornet, which he started playing in fifth grade.

“I started playing guitar when I was 12 years. It only took me about about a year before I kind of knew what I was doing on the guitar, and I was playing in a band when I was 14 years old. I made the switch to guitar because of this guy on my block that played professionally with somebody like Otis Clay or Little Milton. It was somebody like that. I can’t remember exactly who it was. But anyway, I was fascinated by this guy, and immediately wanted to grab the guitar. So I went out and got one, because I had to learn how to play it.

“I didn’t know what I was doing, but I got up every morning and played the guitar. I mean, my family is in the kitchen eating breakfast. I got straight out bed of and played that guitar. The guy lived on my block, but he was always on the road. I didn’t really get a chance to see him play with the bands. But I knew he played and was influenced by that. It wasn’t about girls or anything, I just wanted to try the guitar.”

Showers was still playing a horn in high school, having moved to the baritone horn, a smaller version of the tuba.

“Yeah. I played that all through high school. It was fun, man. But I didn’t want to do that. Once I started playing that guitar,  when I came home, I played the guitar, I didn’t want to think about that horn.”

While he was listening to a wide range of music during his teenage years, there were three guitar players that created the biggest impressions on him as he developed his own style of playing.

“I tell you, it was a little bit of everything, but it was mostly Jimi Hendrix, Carlos Santana, and B.B. King. So it was a combination of them. When I heard just about anybody that played guitar, I was like, wow! I was influenced. But those were the main three for me.

“With Hendrix, it was the power of what he was doing, and, and it was so original, so aggressive. That’s what drew me in. I mean, it was the power in the songs, just him playing guitar, period. He was so fascinating to me. For Santana, it was the Woodstock thing. I was like, that was it. That was it. Then B.B. King, my mother used to listen to him. She had a lot of blues records,  had music just going all through the house. That’s what drew me in, him playing guitar.”

When he was about 17 years old, a friend told Showers he should check out a local blues guitar player. When he did, it was one of those special moments that life sometimes serves up when we least expect it.

“I met this guy named Smilin’ Bobby Smith. He played guitar and sang. My friend, Kenny Pryor, told me about Bobby. He said, man, you ought to come see this guy play. I said, I’m playing R&B right now. I don’t want to play no blues. But when I seen this guy, it blew me away. The power that the man had! He was my first blues influence.

“And ever since then, I wanted to play blues. I had to do it. I used to go to Bobby’s shows. Then I started sitting in on his shows. A couple years later when I was about 18 years old, I ended up joining his band. I played with him maybe about four or five years. We played a lot of the small spots on the south side in Chicago

“Then in 1988, this guy named Buster Benton and Bobby did a European tour, my first one, which lasted a month. Man, them people would love the blues over in Europe. I could not believe it. I mean from playing here in Chicago to playing in Europe, they loved the blues more than the people here. It was fantastic. The only thing that was crazy to me in 1988 was the food. You had to get used to the food over there. But other than that, they treated us good. It was a great experience.”

“At one point we also hooked up with this comedian named Emmanuel Arrington. Buster and Bobby were playing, doing shows with him in a lot of clubs on the south side. We were one of the hottest bands out there. And like I said, we didn’t make a lot of money, but we was working, and what we made seemed like a lot of money, but it wasn’t really. It was a lot of fun though!

When his tenure with Smilin’ Bobby ended, Showers quickly found work backing one of the baddest bass players in Chicago at that time.

“Willie Kent hired me for his band. I played with him about two, two and a half years. I had the time of my life. We went to Europe twice in 1995 and in 1996, for a month at a time. Oh man, they treated Willie Kent like a king. I felt almost the same, like Michael Jackson. I didn’t have to carry nothing. Soon as we get off the plane, they were right there helping us. We didn’t have to do nothing. Yeah, it was fun. I recorded a CD with him too, done in France, called Blues And Trouble, released in 1995 on the Isabel Records label. Willie was great. I learned a lot about the traveling and all the stuff like that. He was a really fun guy to play with.”

“After that I went with Big Time Sarah (Streeter). I played with her the longest, maybe 25, 27 years, something like that. I went all the over the world with her. She was great too. It was crazy, man. We worked a lot, maybe three to four days a week, and then sometimes five days a week. She was a powerful singer.”

It should already be obvious that Showers’ talents as a guitar picker did not go unnoticed in Chicago. And there is still more to consider in his impressive career.

“Trust me, I done played with so many people. I played with Big Time Sarah, singer Nellie Tiger Travis, and I also played with guitarist Linsey Alexander. Matter of fact, I was playing with all three of them at the same time. That went on for maybe about 20 something years. It was whoever called me first for a particular date. But at the time when I was playing with Big Time Sarah, she was my main priority. So it wasn’t too much.

“Sometime it was whoever called me first, but if Sarah came up with a gig and it kind of paid decent, I would’ve had to cancel on another person. I would rarely do it to Nellie or Linsey or somebody like that. If Sarah came up with something late, then I wouldn’t do it. She would have to get somebody else take my place. But a lot of the musicians that are in Chicago are able to fill in because we don’t all play the same, but we basically know the same music. So it wasn’t that hard to replace somebody.

“The main secret to staying employed is learning everybody’s music and following the singer. See, a lot of musicians kind of ego trip. They don’t make the singer comfortable. I don’t overplay, I don’t underplay. I play to make the singer comfortable. I think it’s my attitude too. I get along with everybody. You know, I’m not just bragging on myself, but I think I’m a nice person. I have played with all the female singers in Chicago, and ain’t none of ’em can say anything bad about me.”

Showers also did a lengthy stint of more than a decade in the band backing vocalist Grana Louise, appearing on five tracks on Gettin’ Kinda Rough, her album from 2011 album on Delmark Records.

“She has a lot of energy, man. It was fun playing with her, learned a lot. All the musicians that were with her at the time was friends of mine, so it was a great time.. We did a lot of traveling with her, so I got to see a lot of things with her.”

Currently, his talents are put to good use backing another dynamic singer, Demetria Taylor. Showers was part of the band that recorded Taylor’s critically acclaimed 2023 album, Doin’ What I’m Supposed To Do, again on the legendary Delmark label.

Asked if he had a favorite among the multitude of female blues singers, Showers took a moment before sharing his thoughts.

“Each one of them is different. They all had great music. The only difference was their attitudes. Now, you know, women be having different attitudes. I have fun playing with all of them. But when it comes down to them attitudes, sometimes I ignore it, but sometimes, you know, it kind of drives you crazy for a little bit. But yeah, Big Time Sarah had her thing, Grana had her thing, and Nellie had her thing. Demetria’s got her thing. And also I played with Peaches Staten, too. They all had their own thing, it’s just the attitudes that they can have sometimes. But other than that, I enjoyed playing with all of them. I think Big Time Sarah was my favorite, though.”

Showers appears on a number of cuts on a more recent Delmark recording, Soul In Blue, by the outstanding soulful vocalist Tad Robinson.

“Julia Miller, the head of Delmark, she called me and wanted me to do it because I had been recording for them for quite a while. They just wanted something different on Tad’s album and asked me to record with him. It was part of what they called the Delmark All-Stars, with Mike Wheeler also on guitar, Pooky Styx on drums, Larry Williams on bass, and Roosevelt Purifoy Jr. on organ. We recorded three tracks. Mike and I have known each other 35 – 40 years. We kind of grew up together. He’s one of my best friends.”

Having been a part of the Chicago blues community for most of his adult life, Showers has experienced some changes, especially in the last few years.

“The music has been great. When that pandemic hit, man, that changed everything. Now we are kind of getting back to normal, but it still ain’t quite normal yet. The clubs are not open as much as they were before the pandemic. That cuts down the amount of gig that you can get because a lot of the clubs were open seven days a week, but now, some of them open four days a week, and some open just five days a week. And then some of them closed completely. So that’s basically the change in music scene now as far as Chicago goes. At least the money seems to be a little bit better.”

Supported by Big Time Sarah’s band, the BTS Express, Showers has done some live shows under his own name. The decision was to keep the band going after the singer passed away in 2015.

“I play at Legends, Buddy Guy’s club, a lot. I also play at Blue Chicago quite a bit with the BTS Express. We played together so long, it’s a tribute to Big Time Sarah. It’s basically my band. The bass player, Bill Hargrave, he’s the leader of the band. But when I get my show, then I use the same band. When Bill gets a a gig, we use the same band. Bill played with Sarah, and as a matter of fact, he played with Albert King for about three or four years.”

Looking to the future, the guitarist has reached the point in his career where he realizes it is time for him to step into the spotlight, to show the world the scope of his talents.

“Everybody has been getting on me to record my own CD. I’ve got my own songs, and when I do my own show, usually 90% of the songs I do are ones I wrote. So the only thing now is for me to record my own album. A lot of people been pushing me to do it. So I really want do it for them.

“I done played with so many people. The only thing left is to put my own music out there because people been waiting on it. I was just talking to this guy yesterday, guitarist Nate Manos. He said, “We got to get you in the studio.” I think it’s time for me to do it. I’ve been recording other people’s stuff. It’s time for me now. That’s what I think!”