Junior Wells, James Cotton, Carey Bell, Billy Branch - Harp Attack! (1990)

Four of the world's finest blues harmonica players playing together!

Originally released in 1990, Harp Attack! brought four of the finest blues harmonica players in the world together in the studio for the first and only time. James Cotton, Junior Wells, Carey Bell and Billy Branch had been friends for years. Cotton, Wells and Bell all previously held the coveted harmonica slot in blues icon Muddy Waters' band. The younger Billy Branch, a veteran of Willie Dixon's band, was "the new kid," giving the older artists a run for their money.

Alligator president and album producer Bruce Iglauer told DownBeat magazine that Harp Attack! is "the summit meeting of Chicago's four best blues harmonica players, close friends who loved each other and also loved to 'cut heads' (try to outplay each other).

"We created different combinations of players on different tracks, with the harps sometimes soloing, sometimes playing together like a horn section, sometimes trading licks, always challenging each other."

Since its 1990 release, Harp Attack! has sold more than 90,000 units worldwide.