Ask Chris Thomas King where the blues was born, and you'll get a firm answer: Louisiana, not the Mississippi Delta.

That argument is the heart of the Blues Origin Institute, a Louisiana nonprofit King founded in March 2023. Its stated mission is to preserve the authentic history of the blues through research, education and performance, and to win recognition for Louisiana as the place where the music took shape in the 1890s.

King comes by the cause honestly. He's the son of the late Tabby Thomas, the juke joint icon behind Tabby's Blues Box, and the About page of his website shows the two of them sharing a stage.

According to King's site, a Smithsonian folklorist discovered him in Louisiana in 1979, and the folk label Arhoolie introduced him to listeners. His early records came out under the name Chris Thomas, starting with a 1984 single, before he began recording as Chris Thomas King in 1997.

Moviegoers know him from the screen. The Coen brothers cast him as bluesman Tommy Johnson opposite George Clooney in O Brother, Where Art Thou? in 2000, and he played Lowell Fulson in Ray and Blind Willie Johnson in The Soul of a Man. His site lists album of the year honors from both the Grammys and the Country Music Association.

He's also an author. His book, The Blues: The Authentic Narrative of My Music and Culture, was published by Chicago Review Press, and he took it on a lecture tour that included a 2022 talk at LSU's Coates Hall.

Closer to home, King has built blues programs for Baton Rouge students. For three years he led one hosted by PreSonus Studios with support from the Tipitina's Foundation, teaching recording, songwriting and live performance. He's also mentored the Blues After School students at the West Baton Rouge Museum.

He still writes new music, releasing the single Gravedigger Gonna Cut You Down on July 4, 2025. For news and dates, visit christhomasking.com.

Photo courtesy of Chris Thomas King.