James Joshua Whiting (born December 16, 1949 NY,NY), known professionally as Sugar Blue, is an American blues harmonica player. He is best known for playing on the 1978 Rolling Stones album Some Girls, and well as his partnership with blues guitarist Louisiana Red.

The Chicago Tribune said, “The sound of Sugar Blue’s harmonica could pierce any night…it’s the sound of a musician who transcends the supposed limitations of his instrument.”

Whiting was born in New York City in 1949. In the mid-1970s, Whiting played as a session musician on Johnny Shines‘s Too Wet to Plow (1975) and with Roosevelt Sykes. While in the company of the latter, he met Louisiana Red, and the two toured and recorded in 1978.

Taking advice from Memphis Slim, in the late 1970s Whiting traveled to Paris, France. According to Ronnie Wood, Whiting was found by Mick Jagger busking on the city streets. This led to him playing on several of the tracks on The Rolling Stones’ Some Girls and Emotional Rescue albums: “Some Girls“, “Send It to Me“, “Down in the Hole” and “Miss You“.