Vocalist and harmonica player Paul Butterfield formed his self-named blues band in Chicago with guitarists Elvin Bishop and later Mike Bloomfield. They performed as Bob Dylan's controversial first electric backup band at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival (but without Butterfield), and released their first record that year. Their second album, East-West, came out the following year and featured eastern influences such as raga alongside blues-rock and electric blues songs, fueled by Butterfield's harp-playing. He later played as both a solo act and a session musician, but unfortunately he died in 1987.