It's not a joke; these are real blues musicians, some of them (Joe Louis Walker, Donald Kinsey, David Honeyboy Edwards, Otis Clay, Pinetop Perkins) quite well known. And yes, the blues has often had to struggle and compromise to reach a wider audience.
At its peak, the program offered up to 99 weeks of coverage. It's been scaled down gradually ever since. Two states with high unemployment, Illinois and Nevada, had offered 73 weeks of benefits. California had offered 63 weeks, and most others offered 43 to 63 weeks.
Under Extended Benefits, the additional extension of benefits is offered once EUC is exhausted. Unemployment Extended Benefits program for Texas provides up to 20 weeks of additional compensation after all federal unemployment extension payments have been received. Eligible workers can receive either 20 weeks of benefits or 80 percent of an initial unemployment claim, whichever amounts to less.