The Best of The Blues
So you wanna get straight to the good stuff? You wanna see the best of the blues?
Well that’s pretty subjective, right?
In that case, I guess you are going to have to take my word for it.
There’s a lot to consider here too.
Many people think that the best happened in Mississippi where it all began.
Other’s say it’s Chicago, where guitars went from acoustic to electric. Also the mass production of records and airplay via local record labels.
Other folks may think that the older sounds are harder to digest and prefer a more modern recording sound.
On that note, some folks like a bit of grunt to their blues with a healthy dose of distorted guitar. Others like a lot of instruments including a horn section and keys and want to dance to the blues.
Cherry Picking The Blues
In my selection process I will be looking for songwriters, albums, live concerts, documentaries, books and record labels that have proven that they are the best to a lot of people. Either by record sales, status, peer reviews or media opinion.
I could tell you that Muddy Waters is the Number 1 artist and represents the best of the blues. After all, Eric Clapton once said in an interview that he was almost too scared to follow him on stage when Muddy opened a concert for him. Such was his reverence for the man. But someone else will tell you that John Lee Hooker is, in fact, the ultimate.
I’ll do my best with what I think constitutes the top of the pile. Well, some of it at least.
Then you can decide if I’m right. Heck…I’m still discovering more blues music everyday from past and present that blows me away.
Maybe the best is yet to come???
Modern Artists Carrying The Flame
Joe Bonamassa seems to head up a new wave of blues music artists but he’s also been around for a long while now.
Perhaps some newer female blues artists are going to carry the torch for the genre now. Samantha Fish has proven that she’s no flash in the pan (no pun intended, but a pretty good one nonetheless).
More recently Ghalia Volt is proving that she’s an electrifying new talent. Now that pun was most definitely intended.
Ultimately the decision will remain with you, the listener, as to what constitutes the best. To be honest it’s extremely hard for me to decide because some days I love a stripped back sound and other days I like a bit more wattage in the cottage.
But I’ll give it a crack and take a wide angle lens snapshot of what I believe represents the best of the blues.
A Landscape View of The Blues
Let’s start from the beginning shall we?
When I say ‘beginning,’ I mean that loosely.
European folk and African influences forged a number of artists in the delta. I’ll start with just one of the artists from that early period. It’s truly hard to go past him.
Robert Johnson
His playing went from zero to hero in a short time, which started the Robert Johnson Myth.
Blues Bands
Why should one man or woman take the glory? Many bands worked together as a team to make red-hot blues. Here are some of the Best Blues Groups
Chicago Blues
You can’t talk about the cream of the crop without talking about “The Windy City”. When artists such as Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf migrated up there from Mississippi, they brought their heart and soul and plugged it into the 110V mains of Chicago’s grid. It sent the genre skyrocketing and produced some of The Greatest Blues of All Time
The Devil's Music
Robert Johnson wasn’t the only artist to emerge from the fertile delta down south. Charley Patton, Son House and a slew of others were preaching the good word of the blues (although it was considered The Devil’s music by some) and were integral in producing The Best Blues Music of Mississippi
Different Strokes for Different Folks
In musical terms, blues is sometimes defined as a twelve bar progression. It’s true that there is probably a million songs written in that format but that’s not all there is to it.
It’s the subtleties within the style that are like hidden diamonds in the rough.
Here are examples of great music within the different styles of blues.
My Hand Picked Sample of Blues Music
Here is a variety of songs I’ve compiled that are among the best blues of all time… A Sample of Blues Music
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