Let's Talk Blues Music

[Sefarst]

I'm looking from input as to who your favorite blues singers and guitarists are. Contemporary artists are fine as well. I like Marc Broussard as a contemporary artist but still have a soft spot in my heart for the really old blues musicians like Robert Johnson.

Extra points if you can link us to some of their music. Obviously for Marc Broussard:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NC1v5trmB1E

And for Robert Johnson:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A

B.B. King, with a little jazz:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tBWcSc3nPow&feature=related

[madurobob]

I'm a long time fan of John Lee Hooker. His "Endless Boogie" style of the 60's was marvelous. His last few discs before his death a few years ago were also excellent, due as much to a new producer as anything else.

I love this version of Hobo Blues:
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And The Healer is a nice slow burn w/Santana:
K_8kkuekS5A

[madurobob]

But, if you're talking blues guitar, you have to talk about Buddy Guy. I saw him live a few times in the late 80's... incredible. But, his body of work from the late 50's to last year at Crossroads is simply unparalleled. What more can you say than he was copied by Hendix and SRV and countless others?
ArFfKoyiYo8

[madurobob]

And, of course, Chester Burnet AKA Howlin Wolf. I've got his complete Chess recordings... great stuff in there. I love this version of Little Red Rooster where he's teaching Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and others to play the song:
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[SimonD]

Check out 'The Black Keys' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Keys

[madurobob]

Check out 'The Black Keys' http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Black_Keys

There's blues in Akron? Who knew?!

[SimonD]

There's blues in Akron? Who knew?!

You can get the blues anywhere - not just at the crossroads.:)

"Even my old kettle is signing the blues for you..." ;)

[madurobob]

Oh - and a recent discovery. My neighbor dragged my wife to see this guy a few months ago.. Primarily because he was cute, but also because she had been following his career for a couple of years as a friend of the family.

This kid is like, what, maybe 12? His parents must have been feeding him blues steroids.

Johnny Lang:
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[Ron_Tomkins]

Robert Johnson

Also, non-blues musicians but with a very strong blues sense in their playing:

Artie Shaw
Louis Armstrong
Art Tatum
Horace Silver
Lennie Tristano (yup)
Charlie Parker
Dave McKenna
Lester Young
Billie Holiday
Miles Davis

[MetalSeagull]

I think Jonny's about 20 now. But if you can find "It's Obdacious" he was about 12 or 13 when he recorded that.

I like Keb Mo. He's always good.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_zyJ2dSpdyY


I've always been fond of jump blues. You can find a good bit of it in the beach music scene (similar to west coast swing). Finding links to any of it is very difficult, though. A lot of my beach music comes from Ripete Records, and their website has some sound clips on this page.
http://www.ripete.com/clips.html

In particular:
Ruby Andrew's -- Footprints on the Ceiling (although I prefer her version of Bark, Battle and Ball, but they don't have a sample of that)
Nappy Brown/Kip Anderson's -- Rocket 88
Bill Pinkney -- Gonna Move Across the River
The Tams/CG Cameron -- Walking Dr Bill

[n11/n12]

I'm all about the great pre-war southern Bluesmen. The truly tortured souls hitchin' rides and howlin' in juke joints. To me, and with few exceptions, it's the only kind of blues that sounds genuine. Do a Google/Youtube search of the following:

First there's the trio that Robert Johnson idolized:
The King, Charlie Patton (http://youtube.com/watch?v=zB8OhfxbBlY&feature=related)
The Voice, Son House (http://youtube.com/watch?v=QwjGytOVVQA&feature=related)
The Fingers, Willie Brown (http://youtube.com/watch?v=xavwzN3dNMA)

Then there's...
Blind Willie Johnson (http://youtube.com/watch?v=BNj2BXW852g)
Kokomo Arnold
Tommy Johnson
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Lemon Jefferson

...and the list could go on and on.

[JoeEllison]

I think Jonny's about 20 now.
Closer to 30... his legend has grown in the general blues tradition, hasn't it? :D

Me, I went between stuff like Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, and more Elmore James, and more modern stuff like Robert Cray, Jeff Healey, and Eric Clapton. I've explored all of it, because anything guitar-based is relevant to me.

[fishbait]

I'm all about the great pre-war southern Bluesmen. The truly tortured souls hitchin' rides and howlin' in juke joints. To me, and with few exceptions, it's the only kind of blues that sounds genuine. Do a Google/Youtube search of the following:

The King, Charlie Patton
The Voice, Son House
The Fingers, Willie Brown

Then there's...
Blind Willie Johnson
Kokomo Arnold
Tommy Johnson
Blind Willie McTell
Blind Lemon Jefferson

...and the list could go on and on.Now your talkin' blues!

I saw Son House perform in Detroit in the early 60's after he was "rediscovered" in upstate New York. He sat in a wooden chair, alone on a large stage, and tore the joint up with his growling National Resonator. What a night that was!

Once sat on the porch at John Lee Hooker's house on Hastings Street on Detroit's East side and listened to him jam with some locals. Blew me away!

Saw Mississippi John Hurt at the Gaslight in the Village in 62', Big Joe Williams in Ann Arbor in 69', Rev. Gary Davis and Mance Lipscomb in Newport in 65' These masters were the real deal!

Saw Lightnin' Hopkins and Jesse "Lonecat" Fuller at the old Chessmate Club in Detroit in the 60's.

Those days are long gone, along with all the great bluesmen.

[yairhol]

There's an american blues giant who's a great guitarist as well named Ronnie Peterson living in Israel for the past 15 or so years.
www.ronniepeterson.com (http://www.ronniepeterson.com)

He's had top of the line international blues artists from all over the world join his "ronnie peterson blues band" for combined shows mainly in Israel and abroad as well.

[Fitter]

Now your talkin' blues!

I saw Son House perform in Detroit in the early 60's after he was "rediscovered" in upstate New York. He sat in a wooden chair, alone on a large stage, and tore the joint up with his growling National Resonator. What a night that was!

Once sat on the porch at John Lee Hooker's house on Hastings Street on Detroit's East side and listened to him jam with some locals. Blew me away!

Saw Mississippi John Hurt at the Gaslight in the Village in 62', Big Joe Williams in Ann Arbor in 69', Rev. Gary Davis and Mance Lipscomb in Newport in 65' These masters were the real deal!

Saw Lightnin' Hopkins and Jesse "Lonecat" Fuller at the old Chessmate Club in Detroit in the 60's.

Those days are long gone, along with all the great bluesmen.
Understatement of the century "Fitter is jealous of Fishbait". Some more personal favourites:
Peetie Wheatstraw
Elmore James
Albert King
Georgia Tom and Tampa Red
Leadbelly
Roosevelt Sykes
Skip James
Lonnie Johnson
The Mississippi Sheiks
Sonny Terry and Brownie Mcghee
A now defunct acoustic trio Jackson Delta
And the big man himself Willie Dixon.

ETA 3 modern players
Kelly Joe Phelps
Keb Mo
Johnny Winter

[Bikewer]

As a cigar-box guitar artist who appreciates the sound of "whinin' twine" (to paraphrase Billy Gibbons), I'm a big fan of the genre.
Many fine artists, more than I can easily remember. One of my fondest memories is the 4th of July concert some years back here at the St. Louis Riverfront with Albert King. This was shortly before Albert passed, and he put on a knockout show. The crowd would not let him quit, and even the park police finally just waved their hands and said "play on".
The Muddy Waters band was unsurpassed as far as combo playing goes, to my ear.

Those interested in the funky sounds available from the lowly cigar-box should just do a YouTube search for "cigar box guitar", there are a number of artists with good clips.

[RedIbis]

Howlin Wolf
Muddy Waters
Johnny Winters
Stevie Ray Vaughn

When I was living in Portland Or, in the mid 90s I used to go see Bob Shoemaker, tall Irish guy, who could play any song in the open tuned style on dobro or acoustic. He's absolutely the best blues guitar player I've ever seen live.

Also...
Hounddog Taylor
Lightnin Hopkins
Cephus and Wiggins

[kallsop]

I follow the blues circuit and listen to modern artists like Chris Duarte, Tommy Castro, Joe Bonamassa, etc.. Last Friday I saw Robin Trower live, more in the blues-rock genre and playing guitar and making sweet music as well as anyone alive or dead. This tour he is doing an extended version of Bridge of Sighs that is sublime.

Prehistoric - OGWT (Old Grey Whistle Test)
A Fine Day (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2NvTw5a6rk)
Newer:
Roads to Freedom (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it3w79hVvSQ)

It's all in the emotion of the performance. BB King is a mediocre player who happens to make great music. There are technically gifted players who make horrible music (Satriani, Vai, etc.). The old school guys that rose to the top, such as Buddy Guy and Albert King, did so deservedly because they made outstanding music. Stevie Ray Vaughan had an incredible mix of aggression and emotion. I can still get juiced up with the blues, whereas modern rock is pretty much dead for me.

[LibraryLady]

Does Dinah Washington count?

[fishbait]

For all the real blues fans, I highly recommend:
Between Midnight and Day: The Last Unpublished Blues Archive (http://www.amazon.com/Between-Midnight-Day-Unpublished-Archive/dp/1560255471)
This incredible archive of the great bluesmen is a must-have.

Also, be sure to take a look at archived DVD's available from Vestapol (http://guitarvideos.com/dvd/00dvd.htm). You can preview the discs. Be prepared to spend a few hours on their site. Enjoy!

[fishbait]

Understatement of the century "Fitter is jealous of Fishbait". One of my treasured moments back in the early 60's took place at the old Chessmate in Detroit. Back then, there were many small clubs around during the folk/blues revival; mostly store fronts made into "coffee houses" which featured lots of "rediscovered" bluesmen. The Chessmate was one such club which seated 15-20 people if they sat close together. Being a young guitar player who was besotted with pre-war blues styles, I spent a lot of time there.


I had the habit of sitting as close to the performers as possible, the better to rip-off guitar licks. Jesse "Lonecat" Fuller (http://taco.com/roots/fuller.html)(San Fransisco Bay Blues) was playing there one night and since the club was so tiny and the stage was only a foot high, I was able to position myself within three feet of Jesse.

He was playing his trademark Gibson electric 12-string and "fotdela" and the harp/kazoo/microphone rig was around his neck. Jesse was a bit long in the tooth then but still a great performer. In the middle of "Brown Skin Gal Got My Eye on You" he started playing the kazoo. I was intently focused on his left hand as he played the huge Gibson when a big glob of spit drooled from the end of his kazoo and landed on my shoe.

Sometimes I still show the shoe to people and point out Jesse's dried spit. The reponses I get are priceless.

[Worm]

Depends on your definition of 'blues' of course, but in addition to those already mentioned, I should like to add Rory Gallagher

[madurobob]

Understatement of the century "Fitter is jealous of Fishbait". Some more personal favourites:
Peetie Wheatstraw
Elmore James
Albert King
Georgia Tom and Tampa Red
Leadbelly
Roosevelt Sykes
Skip James
Lonnie Johnson
The Mississippi Sheiks
Sonny Terry and Brownie Mcghee
A now defunct acoustic trio Jackson Delta
And the big man himself Willie Dixon.

Leadbelly was awesome. My grandfather, a sociologist, did a miniature version of Alan Lomax in the 30's. He was documenting southern black spiritual songs and took a wire recorder with him to record at churches throughout the south. Lots of folks along the way gave him records they thought he would like. When he died, I found a huge stash of 78s many of which were Leadbelly recordings. Most of them I donated to East Tennessee Sate University's blues collection, but only after playing them almost endlessly for a few months. That sound is in my bones now.

[Nursefoxfire]

Funnily enough, I was just rewatching The Blues Brothers movie last night. My god, John Lee Hooker was incredible! I don't think anyone mentioned Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald or Billie Holiday. Although they sang jazz and other genres, I'll always enjoy their blues renditions.

As for blues musicians other than vocalists, SRV, JLH, Buddy Guy are way up there. In fact, could you also include Bob Dylan in this genre? Oh, and Led Zeppelin's blues was always much cooler to me than Stairway to Heaven ever was :)

[billydkid]

I'm looking from input as to who your favorite blues singers and guitarists are. Contemporary artists are fine as well. I like Marc Broussard as a contemporary artist but still have a soft spot in my heart for the really old blues musicians like Robert Johnson.

Extra points if you can link us to some of their music. Obviously for Marc Broussard:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=NC1v5trmB1E

And for Robert Johnson:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Yd60nI4sa9A

B.B. King, with a little jazz:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=tBWcSc3nPow&feature=related
I know some people don't like it, but I always loved the stuff put out by Fat Possum Records. People complain about corrupting the music because of some of the arrangements, but they sought out and found these guys and gave them a voice and made them some money and I think it was a wonderful enterprise. here is RLBurnside - a fat possum guy. They have wonderful guys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8RtayjqqIw&feature=related

[Mojo]

Here is RL Burnside


And here he is again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJA7vLcbL0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbf-o6eZDG4

I was there that night.

[Mojo]

Also...
Hounddog Taylor

:D

"Everybody know the hound!" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RA8NyvzIWk)

But what about this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtnJM8iUy38

[Ron_Tomkins]

Does Dinah Washington count?


Only on Planet X.

[Mojo]

Also, non-blues musicians but with a very strong blues sense in their playing:

Artie Shaw
Louis Armstrong
Art Tatum
Horace Silver
Lennie Tristano (yup)
Charlie Parker
Dave McKenna
Lester Young
Billie Holiday
Miles Davis


Even if you stick to jazzers you're missing a few there:

Grant Green
Milt Jackson
Coltrane
Monk
Blakey
Jimmy Smith
...

Everything those guys did was soaked in the Blues.

[Sefarst]

I know some people don't like it, but I always loved the stuff put out by Fat Possum Records. People complain about corrupting the music because of some of the arrangements, but they sought out and found these guys and gave them a voice and made them some money and I think it was a wonderful enterprise. here is RLBurnside - a fat possum guy. They have wonderful guys.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8RtayjqqIw&feature=related
Good stuff. The Southern blues guitarists tend to be the best, in my opinion.

[Mojo]

Burnside was from North Mississippi. ;)

[Sefarst]

Burnside was from North Mississippi. ;)
Damn Yankee...:mad:

[Mojo]

One of the genres I really like is the stuff that was happening in Chicago immediately post war, up until the mid Fifties, when people were still figuring out what could be done with amplification. Not just people like Muddy, the Wolf, Sonny Boy, but the slightly less famous ones: Baby Face Leroy, Johnny Young, Floyd Jones, Snooky & Moody, J B Hutto, Big Boy Spires, Sunnyland Slim, Johnny Jones, in Detroit Baby Boy Warren or Bobo Jenkins...

You'll find that nearly all of them were from Mississippi.

[Mojo]

Not that I don't like the prewar stuff as well: Patton, Son House, Tommy Johnson, Big Joe Williams...

Nobody's mentioned Memphis Minnie yet!

Or Leroy Carr.

[Lisa Simpson]

Saffire: The Uppity Blues Women (http://www.uppityblueswomen.com/)

[kev]

A local favorite: Joe Price

http://youtube.com/watch?v=E8-PDfTn-ik

[Foolmewunz]

Etta James
Shuggie Otis (did more fusion/jazz/pop, but saw him playing blues live once, and he was awesome)
Bessie Smith
Ma Rainey

John Fahey - now there was an icon of the coffee shop crowd in the 60s! I must've worn out about five copies of Blind Joe Death. (Imagine our surprise when we learned that he wasn't a gnarled old blind black man, but a good ol' boy. But the guy could play!)

[billydkid]

And here he is again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJA7vLcbL0k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbf-o6eZDG4

I was there that night.Wow, very cool!

[madurobob]

Saffire: The Uppity Blues Women (http://www.uppityblueswomen.com/)
I love that "middle aged blues". Makes me remember when I was that young man...

For some reason, I always think of Koko Taylor when I think of Sapphire. Don't know why. Anyway, she does a wonderful version of Bob Segar's "Come to Papa" (Come to mama). She was also, AFIK, the original belter for Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle"
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[Mojo]

She was also, AFIK, the original belter for Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle"
nzpyYdKB_S4


Little Walter and Hound Dog Taylor on there as well. Looks as if it's from the same session I linked to above.

[madurobob]

Little Walter and Hound Dog Taylor on there as well. Looks as if it's from the same session I linked to above.

Good catch! Same stage, same set, same clothes, same opening graphics.

I'll go out on a limb and say these are both from The American Folk Blues Festival 1962-1969V3 (http://www.amazon.com/American-Folk-Blues-Festival-1962-1969/dp/B0002KP54E) recorded at the Festival in Copenhagen.

Search "American folk blues festival" in youtube... lots of great stuff there.

[Fitter]

She was also, AFIK, the original belter for Willie Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle"

Willie Dixon wrote Wang Dang Doodle for the Wolf who recorded it in 1961 and it was released as Chess 1777. The earliest recording done by Koko Taylor that I can find is Checker 1135 recorded in 1965. Regardless, the lady can still belt 'em out. Another of my favourite female voices is Shemkia Copeland.
x9R0--4ozTw

[Ove]

Well he has been mentioned but Rory Gallagher is up among the greatest. Here he is with my old hero Jack Bruce (i used to play Bass)
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But off course you dont talk blues without mentioning BB King, John Lee Hooker, Johnnie Winter and Eric Clapton. :)

[madurobob]

Willie Dixon wrote Wang Dang Doodle for the Wolf who recorded it in 1961 and it was released as Chess 1777. The earliest recording done by Koko Taylor that I can find is Checker 1135 recorded in 1965. Regardless, the lady can still belt 'em out. Another of my favourite female voices is Shemkia Copeland.
Ya know, I own the Wolf Chess Box so I knew he recorded it fairly early and I could have checked the dates. But I guess I assumed Koko's version was the original since it was such a big hit at the time. Silly me.

And thanks for the Copeland link - hadn't heard her before that I recall.

[fagin]

Gary Moore

[RatBoy]

Albert Collins, Roy Buchanan, and J.B. Hutto, too!

[Jon.]

Lots of good ones mentioned here, but I'll add a couple of personal favourites: Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee.

[Fitter]

Bumping because I have tickets to see Taj Mahal Monday night.:dc_biggrin:

[Tumblehome]

Bumping because I have tickets to see Taj Mahal Monday night.:dc_biggrin:


You must be so happy you could cakewalk into town. :D

[The Central Scrutinizer]

Bumping because I have tickets to see Taj Mahal Monday night.:dc_biggrin:

Cool! I've seen him several times, although the most recent time was probably 7-8 years ago.

[Gravy]

I rarely listen to blues these days but was heavily into it in the 80s and early 90s. I've got a couple hundred albums. Some favorites:

Chicago
Magic Sam
Howlin' Wolf
Muddy Waters
Sonny Boy Williamson
Elmore James
Freddie King
Buddy Guy
Hound Dog Taylor
Son Seals
J.B. Hutto
Otis Spann
Blind John Davis

Delta
Mississippi John Hurt (although his style was more Piedmont)
Skip James
Son House
Robert Johnson
Leroy Carr
Bukka White
John Lee Hooker
Charlie Patton
Mississippi Fred McDowell
R.L. Burnside

Texas/Louisiana
Mance Lipscomb
Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown
Johnny Adams
Lonnie Johnson
T-Bone Walker
Stevie Ray Vaughan

Carolinas/Piedmont
Reverend Gary Davis
Doc Watson
Blind Blake
Blind Boy Fuller
Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
Blind Willie McTell

All but one of those (Brownie McGhee) was blind. Don't drink the moonshine!

Others/Related
Professor Longhair
Taj Mahal
Eric Clapton
Mike Bloomfield
Jimi Hendrix
Robert Cray
Keb Mo
Etta James
Ted Hawkins
John Fahey
Chris Smither
Ray Charles
Louis Armstrong
Louis Jordan
Billie Holiday
Alberta Hunter
Bessie Smith
Big Joe Turner
Jimmy Rushing
Jimmy Witherspoon
Joe Williams

Even if you stick to jazzers you're missing a few there:

Grant Green
Milt Jackson
Coltrane
Monk
Blakey
Jimmy Smith
...

Everything those guys did was soaked in the Blues.Absolutely. And Bechet, Teagarden, Morton, Waller, Ellington, Basie & the Kansas City crowd, Mingus, Clark Terry, Kenny Burrell, Mose Allison, Wynton Marsalis, and on, and on....

here is RLBurnsideMet him years ago. Funny guy.

Bumping because I have tickets to see Taj Mahal Monday night.:dc_biggrin:Always a good show. Have fun!

Mississippi John Hurt: Spike Driver Blues
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Earl Hooker, apparently stoned out of his gourd, does a backstage country music imitation, then opens a set with "Off the Hook" and shows where Hendrix learned some of his chops. Silly and entertaining.
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From the same show, Magic Sam plays Hooker's guitar on "All Your Love" and "Magic Sam's Boogie."
xoXI1zZbGIc

[Ralph]

Depends on your definition of 'blues' of course, but in addition to those already mentioned, I should like to add Rory Gallagher

Another Rory fan here. Another guy I'd like to mention is Roy Buchanon. Like Rory--he did a lot of things besides blues and as good as Rory was with his strat--Buchanon is even more amazing (IMO) with that beat up old Tele...

Also--Buddy Guy's amazing. Saw him on Cape Cod a few years back. He had the polka dot strat sitting on stage--but never played it......the one "bad" part of the concert.

also--Joe Bonamassa-Guitar Pete-RL Burnside-and Michael Powers.....

I never get tired of JL Hooker either.................

[Region Rat]

Allman Brothers. Back in the day with Greg singing and Duane playing. Now, with Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks tearing it up.

Warren Haynes and Gov't Mule.

SRV. I was lucky enough to see him 5 times, 4 in small clubs and once in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas opening for the Who, back in 89. The clubs definately did not help my hearing any. He was LOUD.