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.
Extended Benefits. The extended benefits program provides an additional 20 weeks of unemployment benefits to workers who have exhausted their regular benefits. The federal-state program provides up to 13 weeks of benefits. Some states provide up to seven weeks over the 13 for a maximum total of up to 20 weeks.ach of the states operates its own unemployment insurance program within federal guidelines. The federal government assists states in providing extended unemployment benefits when unemployment is high. The payment of retroactive benefits depends on the state.