i need to build a better music collection, what do you recommend? details if you can... Mine are going to be a little different from everyone else's, but..
Howlin' Wolf- His voice will raise the hair on your neck, and you'll recognize some of the music he performed that's been covered since, such as Ain't Superstitious, Little Red Rooster, Spoonful, and Back Door Man. A pioneer in the world of electric blues. Personally, my favorites are those along with Killing Floor, Smokestack Lightnin', and Dust My Broom.
Muddy Waters- The other major pioneering voice in the electric/Chicago blues era of the late 40s-early 60s. His songs have been covered or remade as many rock hits, and have their own very unique sound in their own right. His best in my opinion include 'I can't be satisfied', 'Mannish boy', 'Got my mojo workin'', 'Forty days and forty nights', 'Nineteen years old', 'Long distance call', and 'Hoochie Coochie Man'.
BB King- BB King has perhaps the most recognizable blues name and blues sound around. He also has perhaps the most recognizable blues song, 'The Thrill Is Gone'. Known for his unique guitar style that has been emulated but never duplicated.
Son House- His voice is the sound of blues to me. Mournful, powerful.. some of his most powerful music barely contains any accompaniment. 'Wanna go home', 'Death Letter Blues', and 'John the Revelator' are all strong examples of his voice.
Robert Johnson- Called the 'King of the Delta blues', he really became a legend after his death at a young age. He professed to have sold his soul to the devil to learn to play like he did. A big influence on classic rock and later bluesmen moreso than on bluesmen of his generation. 'Love in vain' and 'Hellhound on my trail' are two of my favorites by him.
Albert King- Silky smooth guitar playing and a soft voice- the evolution of electric blues. 'Blues at sunrise', 'Born under a bad sign', 'Crosscut saw', and 'I'll play the blues for you' are all worth listening to. My favorite bluesman to listen to when I just want to chill out.
Stevie Ray Vaughan- The most advanced, technically proficient, rocking bluesman. He really was a virtuoso on the guitar and loved the blues. Another bluesman that died too young. 'The sky is crying', 'Voodoo child', 'Pride and joy', 'Texas Flood', and 'Look at little sister' are all great examples of this.
There are a lot more.. but these should get you started... Check out Joe Bonamassa....he is awesome!!! Stevie Ray Vaughn
Buddy Guy
Elmore James
BB King
Bobby "Blue" Bland
Johnnie Taylor
Muddy Waters
John Lee Hooker
Jimmy Reed
Robert Cray
Jeff Healy
Taj Mahal
John Mayall
Eric Clapton
Albert King
Paul Butterfield
Amos Milburn
Little Junior Parker I'll give my two cents
Stevie Ray Vaughn
John Lee Hooker
B. B. King
Eric Clapton
Muddy Waters
Jorma Kaukonen
Indigenous
Jonny Lang
Buddy Guy
Elmore James
George Thorogood
Susan Tedeschi
Bonnie Raitt
Robert Cray
Robert Johnson
MIssissippi John Hurt
Lightning Hopkins
R.L. Burnside
Junior Wells
Charlie Musslewhite
Chris Duarte
Tab Benoit
Kenny Wayne Shepard Buddy Guy, BB King, Muddy Waters, Howling Wolf, Robert Johnson, Willie Dixon, Clapton, Robert Cray, Dr. John, Too many to mention, all have there own style, listen to XM or Sirous, they both have great blues stations.
Look at the early British invasion stuff, cause they ripped all the artists off and repackaged as their stuff. I invite you to sign up to a free chatroom site.
Paltalk is totaly free unless you what to use video. I hang out in the music rooms, (mainly blues) and we play all sorts of music for each other. The best part is that we play artists that few know about. The regulars in the blues rooms know their stuff. Robert Johnson
BB King
Albert King
Muddy waters
RL Burnside
SRV
Charlie Patton
Son House
Johny Lee Hooker
Mississippi John Hurt
Lead Belly
T-bone Warker
Lightning Hoptkins
Jimi Hendrix Blues Album
just to name a few Robert Johnson- the father of it all, Bobby Bland, B .B .King,Johnny Lang, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eric Clapton (aka GOD to many who love guitar) Enjoy! Lots of good suggestions here (and a couple questionable ones such as George Thorogood). Probably a bit overwhelming for someone new to the blues.
I would suggest you start with 1 or 2 cds by the influential artists in the major sub-genres. Once you see what appeals to you personally, you can expand your collection.
Delta Blues - Son House, Tommy Johnson, Charlie Patton, or Robert Johnson
Piedmont Blues - Blind Blake, Sleepy John Estes & Hammie Nixon, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
Texas Blues - Blind Lemon Jefferson, T-Bone Walker, Gatemouth Brown
Chicago Blues (1st generation) - Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Little Walter, Jimmy Rogers, Sonny Boy Williamson #2.
One artist/cd of each of these styles (compilations are fine) will give you a good rounded introduction. From there the possibilities are endless. I have 700 blues records, and coulb buy 700 more in a heartbeat if i had the money.
P.S. a note for the person who mentioned the British Invasion acts "ripping off' the blues. WITHOUT EXCEPTION, the bluesmen of the 30s, 40s, & 50s had tremendous appreciation for the british musicians that loved their music, and admired them. Without people like John Mayall, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Alexis Korner, etc., many bluesmen would never have enjoyed the success they did in the latter years of their lives. Mamie Smith
Bessie Smith
Sister Rossetta Tharpe
Billie Holiday
Ma Rainy
Betty Roche
Dinah Washington
Big Mama Thornton
Etta James
Shemeika Copeland
The Uppity Blues Women When it comes to music, especially Blues, the only thing that really matters is if the music touches YOUR soul/being in some way. In other words, it really does NOT matter what the rest of us think is "The Best" or "The True" Blues, or "The One" that you "should" be listening to if you had any taste, knowledge, and/or class. We each find the Blues where we find it, given we find the courage to be true to our own feelings and intentions, in the first place. In a world where most everything is, nowadays, either dictated to us by the media and/or forcefully imposed upon our beings by the politicians, Blues still remains one of the last strongholds of personal expression and freedom of spirit. So PLEASE, whatever you do, don't ruin your chance at human expression by mindlessly buying into what others may or may not think is "The Blues Way". Having said all that, my suggestion to a novice Blues admirer is to start with the easier sounding stuff by the more recent artists and work his/her way backwards in time. The very earliest pieces, as heavenly as they obviously are, may prove to be a bit too loaded for someone who is trying to get his/her feet wet in the ocean that is Blues. I hate to see people drawn before they have learned to stay afloat and enjoy the water. My own "humble" suggestion would be to start with the following upper branches and working your way down to the roots (i.e. Robert Johnson and others, among them even some contemporary artists with the original delta sound):
Buddy Guy
Stevie Ray Vaughn (SRV)
Muddy Waters
B.B. King
Eric Clapton
Robert Cray
Elmor James
Howlin' Wolf
John Mayall
John Lee Hooker
Jeff Healy
.
.
.
Even pieces like "Blue Jean Blues" by ZZ Top, or "Voodoo Chile" by Jimi Hendrix and other musicians/bands that are not immediately recognized as Blues artists.
Oh and one last thing: Don't just go out to your nearest CD store and start buying music by the name/number. Get on YouTube and check these artists out - get a feel for the special flavor/style of each one for FREE - before actually spending your money on CD's (some of which YOU might not appreciate listening to for the rest of your life). HAVE FUN!
P.S. Oh yes and then there is Classical, Jazz, R&R......... ;-) Who could ever forget Jimi Hendrix. There have been some great names mentioned here and a study of Hendrix will help you to understand how Blues music went from the "old black man on the porch in Mississippi" to modern rock and roll. Jimi never made it big until he went to London and studied under the Likes of Buddy Guy, John Mayall, and Eric Clapton.
My personal favorites are Robert Johnson, BB King, Muddy Waters, and Albert King. THere are also some very good modern blues guys like Keb' Mo, Johnny Lang, Robert Cray, and even Jeff Beck (although Beck goes into a rock style more often than not).
Also check out some of the Beattles and Rolling Stones REALLY early stuff. The Stones first 3 albums were all covers of great blues standards.
I find that this type of approach to blues music makes it a little easier to understand it relevance to todays music. BB King and Muddy Waters. a nd T-Bone Walker You got some really great answers here but I have one person to add to the list which I am actually a little surprised that his name failed to be mentioned...
Gary Moore
some examples would be
Blues For Narada
http://media.putfile.com/Gary-Moore-Blue...
Still Got The Blues
http://media.putfile.com/Gary-Moore---St...
Pretty Woman
http://media.putfile.com/Gary-Moore---Oh...
Parisianne Walkways
http://media.putfile.com/Gary-Moore-Pari... T-Bone Walker, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Lightnin' Hopkins, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Elmore James, Willie Dixon, Charles Brown, Albert King, Albert "Iceman" Collins, BB King, Freddie King, Son House, Big Joe Turner, Bobby Bland, John Lee Hooker, Sonny Boy Williamson 2, Little Walter Jacobs, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, James Cotton, Billy Boy Arnold, Jimmy Reed, Junior Wells, Buddy Guy, Carey Bell, Billy Branch, Charlie Musselwhite, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Luther Allison, Coco Montoya, Roy Buchanan, Lucky Peterson, W. C. Clark, John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, Johnny Winter, Guitar Shorty, Mitch Woods & the Rocket 88s, Little Charlie & the Nightcats, Chris Cain, Joe Louis Walker & the Boss Talkers
Some great new-to-me acts I've caught recently: Reno Jones Band, Lara Price Band, J. C. Smith Band, Sista Monica
Some "Blues Divas," various styles, eras: Bessie Smith, Billie Holliday, Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, Nellie Lutcher, Ruth Brown, Dinah Washington, Etta James, Janis Joplin, Koko Taylor, Marcia Ball Three simple letters to think of when you here blues: SRV Jimmie Vaughan, early Fabulous Thunderbirds, Ike Cosse, as someone said, check em out on youtube, listen to your blues on music channels on TV or internet and take notes on what you like. check out compilations. Gypsy&Crazymoon
Gypsy Piano Blues Check out Roy Buchanan.
He was created with being the worlds best unknown guitarist back a long time ago. It might be tough finding his stuff. Not many people know of him. He put everything into his guitar. At first might not sound to awesome but when you figure out some of the stuff he does technically (circular picking, manipulating volume and tone controls while picking...) with his guitar it's pretty cool.
He's probably my favorite blues guitarist. Some songs to check out would be "The Messiah Will Come Again", "Roy's Bluz", "Filthy Teddy", "C.C. Ryder" "Pete's Blues" "Wayfaring Pilgrim" , "Drowing On Dry Land" , "Five String Blues" and there are more, them is just some for examples.
If it's blues...dig it. |
