Jazz and blues legends were honored with the eight 29-cent stamps in Legends of American Music Stamp Series issued on September 17, 1994, in Greenville, Mississippi, at the Delta Blues Festival. The stamps feature Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Jimmy Rushing, Mildred Bailey, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, "Ma" Rainey, and Howlin' Wolf.
Robert Johnson (1911-1938), born in Mississippi, represented the ultimate flowering of the Mississippi blues style. Johnson was discovered while working in juke joints. Johnson recorded just twenty-nine songs before dying at age 27.
Howard Koslow designed the images for Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, Jimmy Rushing, Mildred Bailey, and Julian Allen designed the images for Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, "Ma" Rainey, and Howlin' Wolf. Ashton-Potter (USA), Ltd., printed The stamps using offset lithography.
