Sheldon Harris (né Sheldon Hand Harris; 13 August 1924 Cuyahoga County, Ohio — 8 September 2005 Brooklyn) was an American amateur jazz and blues historian and collector. His book, Blues Who's Who, a result of his 20 years of research, details the biographies of 571 singers. It is a recognized reference in the field of blues music. In 1981 it won the Memphis Blues Foundation's W.C. Handy Award and in 1983 won the " Blues Hall of Fame Award" in the classics of blues literature category. [1]
Harris donated his collection to the University of Mississippi. It includes over 1,800 78-rpm discs, 589 pieces of sheet music, photographs, and his research materials. The collection is digitized and available online. [1]