Before becoming one of Chicago's hottest electric blues guitarists, Michael Coleman began his career playing alongside James Cotton for nearly a decade. The guitarist joined Cotton's band in 1979 at the age of 23. For the next seven years, he remained by Cotton's side before eventually going on to work with Eddy Clearwater and Syl Johnson, among others. Later, Coleman embarked on a solo career. He recorded his American debut release, Do Your Thing!, for Delmark Records, who released the album in 2000. Do Your Thing! featured Coleman performing mostly covers -- Jimmy Reed's "You Don't Have to Go," Otis Redding's "Dock of the Bay," Isaac Hayes' "Do Your Thing," Robert Geddins' "Tin Pan Alley," and more -- along with a couple of Coleman's own compositions. In addition to playing guitar on the album, Coleman also sang. The result was an album very much his own, a testament to his talents and abilities as a blues guitarist of the highest order. ~ Jason Birchmeier