Chris Thomas King, born into the blues in 1962, was discovered in Louisiana in 1979 by a folklorist from the Smithsonian Institute and introduced to the world by folk label Arhoolie Records as an authentic folk-blues successor to Huddie "Leadbelly" Ledbetter, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, and Jelly Roll Morton. King played the itinerant bluesman Tommy Johnson in the movie O Brother Where Art Thou, and he has earned numerous awards, including an Album of the Year Grammy and an Album of the Year Country Music (CMA) Award. King has inspired a new generation of musicians such as Hozier, Mumford & Sons, and Gary Clark Jr., and his songs "Hard Time Killing Floor Blues" and "John Law Burned Down the Liquor Sto'," among others, have been covered by many artists including blues legend Buddy Guy.