Elmore James (Elmore Brooks, Richland, Mississippi, 27th January 1918 – Chicago, Illinois, 24th May 1963) was an American blues singer and guitarist. He was known as "The King of the Slide Guitar". James was born fifty miles north of Jackson (not to be confused with another Richland just south of Jackson). He began playing as a teen, under the names "Cleanhead" and "Joe Willie James", alongside musicians such as the first Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, and Robert Johnson.