I love blues music - the beat, the feel, the whole attitude... but my blues experience is limited to what I've heard in bars, etc., and I don't know enough about any specific artist to know who I like or what to buy for my own collection.
Can someone recommend some "starter" blues for me? A disk or artist with broad appeal - something to get my feet wet with? Thanks for your suggestions! Thanks, so far... I'm well versed in Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, BB King... Sorry, I guess I should have been more specific about my blues knowledge... I recognise all the names so far, but if they aren't a cross-over artist (like Clapton), I don't have any idea what their individual sound is like... Thanks to the guy who suggested looking for "house of blues" compilations - that's the type of info I think I'm looking for... (I think!) Oh, my...I can't believe that nobody has added Keb Mo or Charlie Musslewhite to the mix!
Most of the rest of the answers pretty much cover it. And I 2nd Drew's recommendation to check out Bling Pig Records. b.b. King
Buddy Guy Blues are crap! Score some Miles Davis. Blind Melon Chitlin' (cheech and chongs greatest hits....)
Little Walter
Robert Johnson
Willie Dixon
Stevie Ray Vaughn
Eric Clapton BB King
Etta James
John Lee Hooker
KoKo Taylor
Get the Greatest hits of these folks, or just look for a House of Blues collection, those are pretty good eric clapton has quite a bit.
robert cray's strong persuader album is really good and so is some of his other stuff,
ohh and stevie ray vaughn-tin pan alley
-look at little sister
-life by the drop
and any of his more well known stuff B>B King , Buddy Guy, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn are a few of them.Dr. john and Robert Cray also. Skip James, Howlin' Wolf, Freddie King, Muddy Waters, Lead Belly, Robert Johnson, ...
Look for the record label "Fat Possum" they are pressing REAL Delta Blues.
Clapton is a faker!!! He isn't Blues... geez people.
Go with anything that came out of Mississippi, Memphis, or Texas pre-1980s. Chicago Blues is OK, but has a different feel. The Mississippi Delta Blues are the real-deal, and everything else is just a re-hash of those ideas. Ellmore James. If you listened to any white boy English blues from the '70s, Clapton, Zeppelin, the Yardbirds, all these guys where influenced by James. John Lee Hooker is my personal fave. and Willie Dixon is the guy who first performed the Doors famous "Backdoor Man" as well as Cream's terrible rendition of "Spoonful" (which sounds much better when he does it). Oh yeah, and R.L. Burnside is one bad *ss contemporary blues musician as well. Here's two incredible collections of blues, a wonderful introduction. First is the Alligator Record's 20th anniversary collection, for 18 bucks. Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Alligator-Records-...
Next is the Blind Pig Records 20th anniversary disc. Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Blind-Pig-Records-...
And if you want to hear my personal favorite all time blues record, check out John Mayall's Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton. Oh man, it rocks as hard today as when it came out 40 (yes, 40!) years ago. Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/Bluesbreakers-Clap...
The Chess Blues and the Atlantic Rhythm and Blues set's are both amazing, amazing collections, but require more cash. Good luck, enjoy! CD - (Muddy Waters & Friends) Fathers & Sons, (BB King) Live At The Regal, (Allman Brothers) Live At The Fillmore East
CLASSIC BLUES SONGS - Stormy Monday Blues, Sweet Home Chicago, Dust My Broom, Drifting Blues, It Hurts Me Too, Its My Own Fault, Everyday I Have The Blues, The Sky Is Crying
GUITAR - Mike Bloomfield, Roy Buchanan, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Albert King, Jimmy Johnson, Duane Allman, BB King, Buddy Guy, T Bone Walker, Kim Simmonds (Savoy Brown), Johnny Winter, Peter Green (early Fleetwood Mac), Bonnie Raitt, Mick Taylor (Rolling Stones & John Mayall), Duke Robillard, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top)
BLUES HARP - Paul Butterfield, Charlie Musselwhite, Little Walter (Jacobs) , James Cotton, Norton Buffalo, James Cotton, Magic Dick (J Geils Band), Al Wilson (Canned Heat), John Popper (Blues Traveler), Darrell Mansfield, Big Walter (Horton)
PIANO - Otis Spann
FEMALE VOCALS - Janis Joplin, Bonnie Raitt (early years), Koko Taylor, Big Mama Thornton, Billie Holliday (jazz), Bessie Smith, Big Maybelle
MALE VOCALS - Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Paul Butterfield, Jimmy Johnson, Albert King, Buddy Guy, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Chris Youlden (early Savoy Brown), BB King, Joe Williams, Charlie Musselwhite, Robert Cray, Jimmy Rushing, Charles Brown
And heres a website for you:
http://www.digitaldreamdoor.com/...
click on "music lists", then go to thje "Blues" category jimmy reed, taj mahall, paul butterfield, james cotton/ Here is a list of top blues songs that blues guitar players want to learn how to play:
Blue on Black by Kenny Shepherd
Boom Boom by John Lee Hooker
Born Under A Bad Sign by Albert King
Cross Roads by Robert Johnson
(Call It) Stormy Monday by Allman Brothers Band
Damn Right, I Got the Blues by Buddy Guy
Dead City by John Mayall
La Grange by ZZ Top
Look at Little Sister by Stevie Ray Vaughn
The Thrill Is Gone by B.B. King
Tin Pan Alley by Stevie Ray Vaughn
You Upset Me Baby by B.B. King
You can find more blues songs, and also download guitar tab with lyrics for blues songs at http://download-sheet-music-online.com/b... The girl who mentioned Fat Possum, I agree 100%
My favorite band, THE BLACK KEYS are on that label along with great musicans like JUNIOR KIMBROUGH.
check out the black keys for some hard rocking blues. and Fat Possum artist in general First let's clear up this talk about Fat Possum Records. They record North Mississippi Hill Blues, far different from Delta Blues. NMHB tend to be far more trancelike and repetitive and really get into a groove. I love this stuff. Guys like R L Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, and T Model Ford are great examples of N. Miss/Holly Springs music.
Delta blues would be more along the lines of Charlie Patton, Son House, Robert Johnson, and early Muddy Waters. Yu may want to check some of them out. But also consider John Lee Hooker, Sonny Boy Williamson, Little Walter, and Willie Dixon (the greatest blues songwriter ever).
Then try B B King, Elmore James, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Otis Rush, or Albert Collins.
If you only want to listen to one disc/artist, I'd choose Muddy Waters because he bridged the gap between Delta and Chicago blues and you can get a listen to both styles. There are several good "best of's" by him, but consider "The Chess Box", a 3 disc set of his works from 1947 to 1971. I bought it from BMG years ago for less than $25. The Martin Scorsese Series or the American Folk Blues Festival DVDs would be a good place for a start.
Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Robert Johnson, Son House, John Lee Hooker, Albert King, Freddie King, Otis Rush, Magic Sam, Luther Allison, Etta James, Tab Benoit (for more contemporary), Little Walter, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells, Sonny Boy Williamson, Lightnin' Hopkins, Little Milton, ZZ Hill, Otis Spann, Memphis Slim, Hubert Sumlin, Willie Dixon, Johnny Winter, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield are also some artists to start with. tinsley ellis, coco montoya, bernard&luther allison,lucky peterson,walter trout, tommy castro there's a few to get started, good luck and enjoy Susan Tedeschi
Sue Foley
Derek Trucks
Jimi Hendrix
The Allman Brother Band
Paul Butterfield
Ray Charles
Bo Diddley
Willie Dixon
John Lee Hooker
Howlin" Wolf
Lightnin' Hopkins
Elmore James
Robert Johnson
Albert King
B.B. King
Jonny Lang
John Mayall
Bonnie Rait
Hound Dog Taylor
Johnny Winter I have been a huge blues fan for about 10 years now. I started off like you as I began to listen to more and more SRV, BB King and Clapton. The Way I expanded my collection was I bought the House of Blues compilations that someone mentioned earlier. I also began reading all of the liner notes from the CDs I had of the people mentioned above. This is a great way to learn about who really influenced the artists that you know you like. Generally, you will like these artists also. For instance, SRV's 2 biggest influences are Albert King and Jimi Hendrix. You are probably familiar with Hendrix, but Albert King was a great blues guitarist that is worth checking out. You can immediately hear similarities between his and Stevie's soloing styles. Stevie, Clapton and BB also turned me on to peole like:
Muddy Waters
Howlin' Wolf
Freddie King
Buddy Guy
Hound Dog Taylor
Kenny Burrell (Jazz)
Louis Jordan
Big Bill Broonzy
Lowell Fulson
Elmore James
Robert Cray
Albert Collins
and many more!!!
Enjoy the hunt for more great music. It doesn't get any better than the blues. For me, The Blues were the door to playing jazz. I teethed on the older players,but as I got older, I was introduced to Joe Pass in San Francisco(think I was 17) and that got me going.. Some of my fav's were Duane Allman, Boz Scaggs(not the best guitarist), B.B.King, Freddy, Albert King, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray V., Howlin' Wolf, Mike Bloomfield(our band opened for him around 72')
Some of the more progressive players are Chris Cain, Garth Webber, Robben Ford, Larry Carlton, Volker Strifler. Robben and Garth played guitar with Miles Davis.. Look for a local FM Blues Station in your area. well just what style of blues are you lookin' for? delta blues, chicago blues, texas blues, urban blues? to go back to it's roots would be a good way to discover the blues. Rovert Johnson. Leadbelly, up through the cats of the '40's and 50's, like jimmy reed, little milton, john lee hooker, willie dixon, and countless others. move up to the bluesbreakers, Santana, and of course Hot Tuna. of late you could give a listen to Kenny Wayne Sheppard, Johnny Lang, and others. they are all great Leon Redbone The blues is amazing its the basis for rock and jazz. If you like really early blues you should check out Robert Johnson and Charlie Patton. Their both amazing guitar players. My favorite blues player is Son House. His guitar technique is jagged and flawed but amazing and powerful. His songs have been covered by the White Stripes (Death Letter). Also Muddy Waters is a more modern creation of the blues. Look ...blues is Blues Harp! Chicago Blues Harp.
here are two really good dead guys! (don't ask why?)
William Clarke Band
"Blowin' Like Hell!"
http://www.guypetersreviews.com/williamc...
definative "jump" blues real deal bluesman! I defy anyone from not wanting to boogie when they listen to him blowin' his bad *** harp! A real legend that died way to young...nicest guy also a a real person...intoduced him to my 95 yr old Mom and he gave her a giant bear hug!
Next up!
Cut my teeth waxing out my red Ramber surf wagon listening to this 4 track tape one summer long ago!
Paul Butterfield Blues Band!
"East West"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Butter...
Theses kids (under 25 yr old!) were playing world beat music as blues way back in 1966! Fantastic (but dead) lead guitarist Michael Bloomfield (listen for him tuning his guitar during a lead run in East West!) and Butterfield also a giant that died too young!
Lesson to be learned:
Don't do drugs...drugs are bad for you ...see? (south park) Sonny Terry & Brownie McGee (Back home to New Orleans best, Down Home Blues, close second), James Cotton (feelin' good), Proffessor Longhair (Rounder), Big Bill Broonzy (box set), Washboard Sam (self titled from bluebird records), The Memphis Jug Band (Yazoo recordings 1922-28), the Mississippi Shieks (compilation), Junior Wells (On Tap..the BEST), Snooky Pryor (Snooky), Hound Dog Tayler (Deluxe House Rockers), Peg Leg Sam (kickin' it..also various recordings with luisianna red and medicine show material), Son House (early years), Sonny Boy Williamson (Alec Rice Miller) (chess 50th aniversery), B.B. King (live in London), Bo Diddly (Rare but Well Done) In order to find the answer to your question, look at the influece of the players you just listed. many will overlap, and some may not.
If you go back far enough you'll find the blues artisits that have made the biggest impact. For example, Eric Clapton's influences include Robert Johnson, Big Bill Broonzy, Freddy King and Buddy Guy.
If you look at Stevie Ray, his include Albert King, Freddy King and Albert Collins.
Finally, if you look at BB King, his influences are a little more far reaching given his age. He was influenced by people such as Djanjo Reindahrt, Lonnie, Johnson and Bukka White.
So just keep looking at their influences and these will open doors to new artists for you. MoFo Party Band Tommy Castro, Tab Benoit, Etta James, Coco Monyoya, Rusty Zinn,Ruth Brown, Howling wolf, Big Bill Broonzy, Son House, otis Spam, Buddy Guy, Guy DavisMemphis Slim John Lee Hooker, Tinssley Ellis, Well, to start you will need to listen to some of the greatest of all times. You can try some of the following:
Robin Trower
Freddie King
Son Seals
Albert King
Albert Collins
Roy Buchanan
Rip Lee
Snooky Prior
Gary Moore
Rory Gallagher
Howlin' Wolf
Koko Taylor
Lightnin' Hopkins
If this doesn't wet your appetite for more, nothing will. Johnny A. , Micheal McDonald, Hall and Oates, David Gilmour, Paul Rodgers, Jackson Browne, Wet Willie, Steve Perry with Neal Schon on guitar...........
Some of these guys have gotten bluesier with age. Recommend the artists on the NorthernBlues label. Watermelon Slim & The Workers was my favorite CD last year. |
