Koko Taylor was discovered by Willie Dixon in 1962, after years spent paying dues in Chicago blues clubs. This 1969 album, her debut for Chess Records, was produced by Dixon and makes abundantly clear why he was so enamored with her. Taylor belts out these cuts with the urgency of a woman on fire, as if singing for her life. Her version of “Wang Dang Doodle” is spine-tingling, but the rest of the tracks are just as powerful.