Mel Brown was an American-born guitarist born in 1939, and raised in Mississippi by his musical family. His grandfather played the fiddle in the early 1900s, and his father was described as a “natural musician”. After recovering from meningitis, Brown began studying the work of B.B. King, which expanded his musical interest. He would go on to join the Duke Juniors, a younger version of The Duke Huddleston Orchestra. Later on, he travelled from the south to L.A to check out the music, and after much practice he signed with the west coast artist Jimmy Beasley. He would play with Johnny Otis’ Band for two years, recording and touring together, but he left briefly to join The Olympics at the time of their chart success. Around this time, he also played with the celebrated Etta James. After recording with T-Bone Walker, he recorded his debut LP Chicken Fat with major label ABC/Impulse/Bluesway. During his career he’s played with or appears on recordings for Billy Preston, Pee Wee Crayton, Sam Cooke, Lightning Hopkins, Albert Collins, John Lee Hooker, The Bobby Blue Bland, Roy Brown, Buddy Guy, and B.B. King himself among others. After being booked to play in Kitchener, Ontario, Brown would decide to settle down there and explore Canadian life. He would take lead of Mel Brown and the Homewreckers which were based in Kitchener. The band was nominated for a Juno Award in both 2001 and 2002. Brown passed away in March 2009 in Kitchener Ontario after complications from emphysema, and he is remembered as a brilliant and talented bluesman, who brought life to southern Ontario blues.