The Ryan Coogler-directed and Michael B. Jordan-starring film Sinners has been lighting up both reviews and the box office since it came out in mid-April. The suspenseful horror flick set in the early '30s certainly has plenty of supernatural undertones, but is also deft at character development, action, music, and overall heartfelt connection. Though ultimately, music is the true star when it comes to Sinners, especially as it heavily centers around the blues.

The time period of the movie makes for a perfect basis for this, given that so much of the origins of the blues began in the early 1900s and branched out into so much more iconic detailing in the following decades. Blues has had mysticism, myth, virtuosity, and raw depth that's run the emotional spectrum from its very early days all the way up to its current foundations. The roots of the genre run deep in a way that'll hopefully always stand the test of time.

15 Robert Johnson

A Devilish Delta Blues Originator

There may be no greater mythical legend in blues music (or in music altogether) fit for a film like Sinners than the tale of Mississippi-born guitar-slinger Robert Johnson. Initially brought up playing the harmonica, Johnson aspired to play the guitar, but according to fellow blues contemporary Son House, he was reportedly quite terrible at it. Johnson would later disappear from Mississippi, only to suddenly return six months later playing guitar and singing better than anyone else around.

This would start a rumor that Johnson made a deal with the Devil at the Clarksdale, Mississippi crossroads to become this talented. The more likely truth was that Johnson had become the dedicated student of another blues guitarist named Ike Zimmerman, whose family Johnson lived with for a time. But Johnson leaned fully into the Devil speculation, writing songs like "Hellhound on My Trail" and "Me and the Devil Blues" to add fuel to that fire.

In the end, Johnson was able to make enough of a name for himself to record 29 songs for vinyl, but the darkness that followed Johnson in life would lead to his death as well. In 1938, the musician died under murky circumstances, ranging from the speculation of syphilis to alcohol that was poisoned (allegedly by a husband of one of the many women Johnson was seeing).

Either way, it'd make Johnson the first member of the group of actors and musicians in the 27 Club, famous individuals who all ed away at age 27. Much like many of the people in that group, Johnson's legend has stayed steadily large all these years later.

14 Geeshie Wiley

A Phantom Of The Blues

Geeshie Wiley and her version of the song "Pick Poor Robin Clean" was an inspired choice by Coogler for his film; short of Robert Johnson himself, there may not be a musician of any genre with more of a beguiling and almost-mystical background. Though unlike Johnson and his legend featuring the Devil, Wiley's spark of mystery primarily burns because of her enduring obscurity.

Between 1930 and '31, Wiley and fellow musician Elvie Thomas (also referred to as L.V. Thomas) recorded six country-blues-tinged songs for Paramount Records. They are frequently haunting/endearing compositions, simple but gorgeously magnetic.

There may not be a musician of any genre with more of a beguiling and almost-mystical background.

Following these recordings, Wiley and Thomas more or less vanished. Other than an interview that Thomas gave in the '60s that clarified a few details, very little is known with certainty about either of their lives. Wiley's real name was Lillie May, while "Geeshie" was a nickname, but it's unknown where she was from or exactly what happened to her life after these recordings.

It's highly fortunate that the records of these few songs even managed to survive the age of time, given how poorly they were preserved, but perhaps for a reason, they're here to enjoy still. It's even more evidence of how early blues music took shape.

13 Buddy Guy

A Bluesman Still Traveling

George "Buddy" Guy is a Louisiana-born, Chicago-made blues guitarist and musician who came to his initial rise in the genre in the late '50s and '60s, with his first albums coming alongside blues harpist Junior Wells before Guy struck out solo. His confident, intense playing style and bulldog-like stage persona not only influenced the next generation of guitarists, including Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, and Stevie Ray Vaughan, but has also led to a creative and touring longevity stretching into Guy's late 80s.

As one of the last of the older honor guards of blues music, Guy's connection to the Sinners film is just icing on the cake for the movie's sense of authenticity. Guy traces back to blues figures like Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, and Sonny Boy Williamson, and his overarching personality and spirit make it feel like his overall impact on the blues will persist for all eternity - especially given Guy's mission to keep the blues alive for as long as he can.

12 BB King

The Mold-Breaking Bluesman

One of Guy's older contemporaries in the realm of blues guitar, Riley "B.B." King, came up in the Mississippi Delta, loving the genre of the blues, and had begun making his own solo records by the late '50s. King proved to be as much of an influence on the next generation of blues players as Guy, leading the way with his unique style of guitar solo technique based on string bending, vibrato, and picking that had its own way of mimicking slide playing without the slide.

King was also a live touring machine throughout his career, appearing at over 200 shows a year until he was well into his 70s, and continuing to play gigs until shortly prior to his ing in 2015 in his late 80s. King is also a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, won 15 Grammy Awards during his career, and will forever be known as "The King of the Blues", with his signature guitar dubbed Lucille on his hip and a song in his heart.

11 Etta James

A Sultry All-Time Blues Vocalist

Just hearing the name Etta James brings to mind the highest visions of blues-singing, slinging royalty, though James' skills didn't stop with only that one single genre. From her very beginnings in the '50s until well into the 2000s, James hopped the boundaries into R&B, soul, jazz, rock and roll, gospel, and back into the blues with the greatest of ease. James not only could croon beautifully, but she always managed to summon the vulnerability of emotion required by the bluest of blues.

James' skills didn't stop with only that one single genre.

Her career accolades include seventeen Blues Music Awards and three Grammys, as well as induction into the Rock and Roll, Blues, and Grammy Halls of Fame. Her deep and pitch-perfectly smooth vocals will forever set the standard for how the beauty of blues music should always sound, and she went on to influence countless performers and creators that came after her.

10 Bo Diddley

A Square-Guitar Stunner

At the crossroads of uptempo blues and the formation of sharp-tongued rock and roll lies the innovative musical foundation created by the timeless Bo Diddley. The Mississippi-born singer and guitarist known for his signature "cigar box" square guitar and his pioneering endeavors with differing types of beats and rhythms was influential on musical artists ranging from the Rolling Stones to the Clash, as well as the overall sounds of hip-hop, pop, and rock.

Diddley was also a wizard on the technical side of his music, being among the first artists to use effects like tremolo and reverb to further pick up and shape the unique sounds of his guitar-playing. From his first album in 1958 to his last in 1996, Diddley was a presence who helped shape the blues and other genres with more of a brawny, electric-minded edge.

9 John Lee Hooker

The Boom Boom Bluesman

John Lee Hooker (known as "The King of the Boogie") began his recording career in 1948 on the electric side of the blues, though he also strayed into more acoustic territory in the '60s as well as work in rock and roll in the '70s and '80s. He notably found his way into the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, which put the star of "The Hook" and his reputation back on the rise as it would be many times over the course of his extensive career.

In often typical bluesman fashion, Hooker kept on performing almost up to the point of his ing in 2001. He also collaborated with many different artists who took influence from his style and talents, including Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, and Los Lobos. His signature talking blues and driving rhythm boogie style continue to live on in the lifeblood of the blues to this day, mixing into the paint of what makes this genre so powerful and essential.

8 Muddy Waters

The Chicago Blues Icon

Another vital branch of the tree of musical artists to emerge from the bountiful bluesy lands of Mississippi easily has to be Muddy Waters, who not only helped to formulate the backbone of the blues scene in Chicago, but also began to reintroduce the popular nature of the musical style overseas when he took to England in the late '50s. Waters was also another critical link in introducing the blues into the growing style of rock and roll.

Major rock and roll figures like the Rolling Stones, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, and Canned Heat all looked to Waters as some type of influence in their growing styles and structure. Muddy was yet another major link in the chain of blues artists that took the genre from the humble beginnings depicted in a film like Sinners all the way to the big, vital, electric full-band heartbeat that it evolved into over time.

7 Howlin' Wolf

Another Lightning Rod Of Blues

Yet another Mississippi magician of the blues who wound up making his way to Chicago and helping to define the link between blues and rock and roll is easily Chester Arthur Burnett, also known as Howlin' Wolf. His trademark rasp built around his skillful abilities on the guitar and harmonica and his large-built frame were another factor in revving up the sound of the blues from those acoustic roots all the way into an electric freight train.

Wolf began studying the blues at a young age from another early pioneer of the sound in musician Charley Patton, and would later find himself working with the likes of Sam Phillips, pre-Sun Records, and Chess Records in Chicago. When it came to Wolf and his style, he always led with his soul when it came to breaking down his often aggressive-leaning playing technique and approach. He was yet another member of the early blues world that eternally defined the importance of the genre.

6 Big Mama Thornton

An Underappreciated Vocal Presence

Sadly, there are some amazing innovators of the blues that never got their deserved dues when they were alive, and are still slow to receive the flowers that they deserve. Big Mama Thornton is one of those names on the list. Not only did she have the soul needed by any iconic blues player, she had the type of booming, commanding voice that should have earned her the attention of other rag and bone types of singers, such as Janis Joplin.

She had the type of booming, commanding voice that should have earned her the attention of other rag and bone types of singers.

In fact, Joplin made a song Thornton had written called "Ball and Chain" famous in the '60s. Thornton also had her biggest hit, recording the song "Hound Dog" several years before Elvis Presley would do so. But many of her successful songs didn't earn Thornton anything because she didn't maintain publishing rights, and she died penniless at 54, buried in a pauper's grave. With a movie like Sinners growing so popular highlighting the blues, it's time more than ever to give blues creators like Thornton more spotlight.