Honeyboy Edwards officially announces his retirement. - Bob Corritore correspondent

Honeyboy Edwards, now 96 years old, is perhaps the last of the great Delta bluesmen who made pre-WWII recordings. Honeyboy has missed most of this year's scheduled performances. Michael Frank of Earwig Music (Honeyboy's mainstay record label) has recently made it official and announced “Honeyboy Edwards has retired, due to ongoing health issues. Send him a get well note to mfrank@earwigmusic.com.” Honeyboy's wonderful recording career started in 1942 when famed folklorist Alan Lomax recorded him in Clarksdale Mississippi for the Library Of Congress. Since those first recordings, Honeyboy has continued to record regularly, cutting many sides over the years for ARC, Sun Records, Chess, Folkways, Trix, Testament, Evidence, Roots, Blue Suit, Blue Horizon, Genes, Blue Shoe, APO, Wolf, and of course the Earwig Record Label. He has received 2 Grammy Awards, 2 BMAs (Blues Music Awards), has been inducted in the Blues Hall Of Fame, received a fellowship from The National Endowment for the Arts, and won a KBA (Keeping The Blues Alive Award) in the literature category for his brilliant biography The World Don't Owe Me Nothing. His performances and recollections have provided us a window into the past. Since he is still with us, this is not a goodbye, it is just a reflection of this great bluesman and his wonderful contributions.