Blues harpist Snooky Pryor perfected the amplified harmonica technique that has become de rigueur for modern players. He got his start in the mid-1940s with the Maxwell Street group of blues singers alongside Johnny Young, Floyd Jones, and Moody Jones. Their records were harbingers of the amped-up, down-home sound of post-war Chicago blues. Pryor recorded singles for all the great blues/R&B labels, and had a hit with the dance novelty "Boogie Twist." He briefly retired from the business in '63, but returned in the early '70s, and in the '90s benefited from the revived interest in blues. he passed away in 2006.