They called him the The Ice Man and The Master of the Telecaster, but above all else, Albert Collins was a consummate Texas bluesman. Ice Man or not, Albert was on fire the night of his taping on October 28, 1991. His performance was a wild ride, and the ACL stage proved too small for his antics, so with his long guitar chord in tow he took off into the audience during his ten-minute-plus finale of Frosty. He was first and foremost an entertainer, but nonetheless belongs up front in the pantheon of great blues guitarists.

• Albert Collins