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Carey Bell (born November 14, 1936) is a musician who plays the harmonica in the musical style of Chicago blues.

Bell was born Carey Bell Harrington in Macon, Mississippi. As a child, Bell was intrigued by the music of Louis Jordan. Bell wanted a saxophone in order to be like his hero Jordan; however, Bell's family could not afford a saxophone. Bell had to settle for the "Mississippi saxophone", a harmonica. Soon Bell was mystified by the Blues harmonica greats: DeFord Bailey, Big Walter Horton, Marion "Little Walter" Jacobs, and Sonny Boy Williamson (I and II). Bell taught himself to play, and by the time he was eight he was quite proficient on the instrument. When he was thirteen, Bell joined his godfather Lovie Lee's Blues band.

In 1956, Lovie Lee convinced Bell to go with him to Chicago, a city then electrified by its own Blues scene and sound (a scene and sound that carried on the tradition of the Delta Bluesmen, unto the precursor foundations of the soon-to-be heard rock n' roll). Lee and Bell arrived in Chicago in September of that year. Not long after arriving, Bell went to the Club Zanzibar to see a Little Walter show. Bell became a student of Little Walter's, learning from the master his tricks of the Blues harp. Bell learned how to play the electric bass (from Hound Dog Taylor) at this time to better his chances for employment. Bell was then fortunate to meet and learn directly from Sonny Boy Williamson II and Big Walter Horton. Horton eventually hired Bell to work with him. Bell learned the inner workings of great Blues musicianship and was about to embark upon an often unrecognized and under-appreciated musical career.

Despite Bell's mentorships with some of the greatest Blues harp players the genre has ever known, he came into Chicago at an unfortunate time. The demand for harp players was decreasing on the Chicago scene as bands were on the lookout for hot electric guitarists (the element that would become the signature of Chicago Blues and rock n' roll). To pay the bills, Bell continued to play bass and joined several bands as a bassist. Bell scored a gig as Big Walter's bassist, during the time of which he furthered his passionate study of the Mississippi saxophone with Big Walter himself. Soon after, Bell cased up his bass and polished his harp, returning to the scene with his beloved instrument. In 1969, Delmark Records in Chicago released Bell's debut LP, "Carey Bell's Blues Harp". Bell later played with Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All-Stars. In 1972, Bell teamed up with Big Walter and released Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell for Alligator Records. A year later he released a solo project for ABC Bluesway. Bell continued to play with Dixon and in 1978 Bell was featured on the Grammy-nominated Living Chicago Blues. Bell played harp and bass for other blues icons for decades, including Earl Hooker, Robert Nighthawk, Lowell Fulsom, Eddie Taylor and Jimmy Dawkins.

During the 1980s Bell continued to record, but he was mostly preoccupied with live performances. In 1990 Bell teamed up with fellow harpists Junior Wells, James Cotton and Billy Branch to record Harp Attack! A modern Blues classic, Harp Attack! became one of Alligator Records's best selling albums. Despite years in the business and work with Alligator, Bell's first full-length solo album for the label was released in 1995. On Deep Down, Bell's signature harp style is on prominent display. A seminal piece of modern Blues, Deep Down gave Bell much deserved recognition outside of the Blues circles in which he was already legendary.

After Deep Down, Bell released Good Luck Man, an album less raw than its predecessor but nonetheless highly listenable. After that, Bell released Second Nature, a duet album with his guitarist son, Lurrie Bell (who shared the guitar duties with Carl Weathersby on Deep Down). The overall appeal of this album - if not being father and son jammin' together - is that the entire album is a single take. No overdubs.

Carey Bell continues to tour, with a full schedule planned right into 2006.