The Blues (music)

[ronin]

A quartet of favorites: Albert Collins, Debbie Davies, Tommy Castro, Coco Montoya

And a duo: Mike Zito & Anders Osborne

 

[Koolau]

I used to regularly fly down to go to 6th street in Austin (especially Joe's Generic Bar).

Fantastic Blues and incredibly talented musicians who were never going to "make it" for any number of reasons. Guys just wailing! You could just walk down the street and get a mind-blowing ear full.

Reminds me of Nashville where on Broadway, you could find Blues, Rock, Country, etc. and folks played for tips while you sipped a beer or soft drink. Up on the hill (places like Boots Randolph's) there were high covers and expensive drinks. Not much difference in the quality of music - only the price. Refreshing.

 

[chicamuxen]

My favorites are: Larry McCray, Toronzo Cannon, Samantha Fish, Ally Venable, Roomfull of Blues, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Joe Bonamassa

 

[imjustawarrior]

I had never listened to the blues until a trip to Memphis a few years ago. I learned I really liked it, especially the older stuff. I'll throw out a name I haven't seen anyone else mention yet.

Howlin' Wolf

When I came home from Memphis, I really enjoyed listening to the blues on Youtube Music. I asked for classic blues and discovered a lot of great artists. Another name I have not seen mentioned yet is:

Etta James

If you go to Memphis, set aside several hours to go through the Rock 'n' Soul Museum.

 

[Livefree]

Howlin Wolf playing "Smokestack Lightning"



He also sang 'Back Door Man" that was later covered by the Doors

 

[ERD50]

Howlin Wolf playing "Smokestack Lightning"



He also sang 'Back Door Man" that was later covered by the Doors ...

The Rolling Stones also covered Wolf's "Little Red Rooster".

And the band took it's name from a Muddy Water's song.

-ERD50

 

[leeg]

Blues

Yup, I'm turning 73 in 3 weeks, and I've been a blues fan since I was a teenager. Introduced my friends to Hendrix, Bloomfield. Lots of mentions of Buddy Guy here - saw him in Club 47 in Harvard Sq. back before it was renamed Passim (why'd they do that)? Got lots of guitars, and still practicing the blues 60 years later. Been working on a lot of Lonnie Johnson stuff lately. Went to WUNB blues camp in Groton MA last couple of years.

Oh yeah, gotta mention Jorma Kaukonen ...

 

[ERD50]

...

Oh yeah, gotta mention Jorma Kaukonen ...

Now there ya' go! Hot Tuna!

I have the vinyl - might just put this on the turntable tonight.

-ERD50

 

[BlueberryPie]

I've been playing in blues bands and blues jams for the last decade or so, I do a yearly trip to play with a group of buddies every year.

Speaking of buddies, Buddy Guy is awesome in concert if you ever get a chance to see him play.

For new players, check out Christone Ingram, that kid is a natural.

I've also seen Samantha Fish a few times, depending on what "new" means to you.

 

[Deuce]

I always liked Johnny and Edgar Winter , The Allman Brothers, Band and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Now there ya' go! Hot Tuna!

I have the vinyl - might just put this on the turntable tonight.

-ERD50

I bought that album in about 1970. Kaukonen has a concert scheduled at a local venue in May.

I heard another one about that time called "Jamming with Edward." The Stones put it out with Ry Cooder and Nicky Hopkins while Keith Richards was in rehab.

To me, Cooder is about the most versatile guitarist out there. He has a sense of humor too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiaPoKM6obI

 

[leeg]

One thing this thread shows - there's no shortage of blues musicians out there!

 

[FiveDriver]

There's an young Blues guitarist, raised in Mississippi. He's self-taught, and blessed with a natural feel for the Blues. His story has been on PBS and also on 60 Minutes. Kid's got some great youtube videos out there.

Perhaps you've heard of Christone 'Kingfish' Ingraham. If not, google him.

Three mentions of Kingfish Ingraham, yet no video.

I'll do the honors. You guys aren't doing anything for the next hour, are you ??

https://www.google.com/search?q=you...ve&ip=1&vld=cid:67e6c199,vid:XIonrXVYsPg,st:0

 

[Milkman]

I'm surprised that no one (unless I missed it) has mentioned Bo Diddley. I saw him perform in the mid 90s and was amazed at how good he was and the amount of energy he had at the point in his life.

Otherwise, I also enjoy all the usual greats like John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, etc. Like many other things, music and movies, I'm not that impressed with much new stuff.

 

[Shardo]

Kingfish was on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise in January, very talented!

 

[jsncpa]

Dave Hole is an Aussie with a unique style due to a hand injury. I first learned about him, luckily, right before he did a U.S. tour in the early or mid-2000's and caught him at Blind Willie's here in Atlanta. I'm not sure he's been back at all since- I'm supposed to be on his email list, but I hear little, and from what I do hear he seems to stay Down Under these days.

 

[W2R]

Back in the 1960's Lightnin' Hopkins was playing for a while at a very small bar on San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley, California. Those were the "good ol' days" of course, so we could go watch him for the cost of one beer ($1.00); IIRC the cover charge was free. Which was good, because I didn't have any money! A guy I knew would pay for my one beer. We went down there almost every night for a month or two. Amazingly, the bar was nearly empty most nights.

What a terrific one man blues concert he gave us! Here he is:

 

[GoBears]

I fell for the Blues in the early 1980s when a group of my Cal college friends and I ventured out to Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland. I hadn’t heard anything like the blues before and it just clicked. I still listen, if not daily, then at least weekly.

In addition to those already mentioned (apologies if I’m repeating someone), you might want to give a listen to Etta James, Charlie Musselwhite, Ruth Brown, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band (my favorite version of Born in Chicago), William Clarke, and I could go on and on.

 

[jsncpa]

Here's a scrape from my Spotify lists. A few are fairly "deep cuts." I tried not to genre-slide and keep it to blues:


Hound Dog Taylor
Peg Leg Howell
Leola Manning
Scrapper Blackwell
Robert Pete Williams
Taj Mahal
Frank Stokes
Tampa Red
Sam Chatmon
Ishman Bracey
Walter Winston
Ida Cox
Harlem Hamfats
Kokomo Arnold
Charley Patton
Bukka White
Mississippi Sheiks
Son House
Sam Collins

And, of course, PINK Anderson and FLOYD Council.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Back in the 1960's Lightnin' Hopkins was playing for a while at a very small bar on San Pablo Ave. in Berkeley, California. Those were the "good ol' days" of course, so we could go watch him for the cost of one beer ($1.00); IIRC the cover charge was free. Which was good, because I didn't have any money! A guy I knew would pay for my one beer. We went down there almost every night for a month or two. Amazingly, the bar was nearly empty most nights.

Hopkins and T-Bone Walker were contemporaries from rural east Texas who both knew Blind Lemon Jefferson as children. It's interesting how the two diverged in style as both gained immortality in the blues genre.

Edit: Uh, make that immortality.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

The Hot Tuna reference reminds me of a song they covered by Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell called "How Long Blues." It was a popular tune in the late 1920s by the duo, who were based in Indianapolis. They had great success until the moody Blackwell split with Carr over money and song credits ... shortly thereafter Carr died of alcohol-induced nephritis and Blackwell faded, as they say, into obscurity.

Blackwell was rediscovered during the folk blues revival of the early '60s but he was murdered in 1962.

 

[jsncpa]

... as both gained immortality in the blues genre.

Edit: Uh, make that immortality.

It's the blues... could go either way

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

It's the blues... could go either way

 

[FiveDriver]

I don't recall seeing Mississippi Fred McDowell's name on this thread. Fred had some wonderful recordings captured by Alan Lomax for the Library of Congress during the Depression years.

Fred was a source of inspiration for the Rolling Stones in their early days.

 

[ronin]

I don't recall seeing Mississippi Fred McDowell's name on this thread.

Good catch!