top 5 blues artists of ALL time

[thepetek]

Originally Posted by Bucho

For me Howlin Wolf is The Man though.

Seconded.

Start with the old black guys first, cos then you can have fun seeing what the 'young' white guys were influenced by and what they flat out lifted.

[Grapist]

Originally Posted by roxymodest

Stevie Ray Vaughn (Rhian: whatta turn on when I read that was the first artist on your list ) and Scott Henderson.
the latter actually hit on me when he was in concert here. true stories.

BB King obviously...there's this great album where he collabos with Eric Clapton. I think my dad's got it around but I do remember he had it...


Oh the "All Blues" record from the GRP All-Stars is GREAT for big band blues. If you really think about it, everybody's plays the blues...and yeah, a lot of the artists listed here are guitar players so if you're looking for something different but standard for horn players, it's gotta be "C Jam Blues" by Duke Ellington.

Eric Clapton's Unplugged and From the cradle are two staples if you like Clapton's Blues stuff.

[guitarrob]

I second all of these suggestions.

If you've seen the movie "Black Snake Moan" (even if you haven't), the soundtrack has some incredible blues on it. Samuel L. Jackson himself does a few tunes and they are fantastic.

[Grapist]

Oh and locally, I ♥ Carolyn Wonderland.

[Station]

YOu can't go wrong with the Three Kings: Freddy, Albert and B.B. Buddy Guy is a personal favorite as is Otis Redding. Stevie Ray Vaughn, Peter Green and Eric Clapton you cant go wrong with, although I would get mostly Cream for Clapton and early Fleetwood Mac for Green. Definitely get the albums they both did with John Mayall and the Blues Breakers. Then, there's my personal favorite, The Allman Brothers Band. Get anything with the original line-up and with the line-p they have now. Duane is a god, Warren Haynes will melt your face and Derek Trucks is not from this planet. While you're at it, get Derek Truck's solo stuff too, its phenomenal in its own right and he's becoming the guy to beat on the blues scene right now. Robben Ford is an incredible player as well, although some of his stuff jumps the line into fusion, which you may or may not be into. Stick with the stuff he did with the Blue Line. Anything these guys did collaboratively is great to, as most of them are pretty intertwined.

[Bucho]

When it comes to the white boys there are some greats but no one touches SRV for me. When I think of the most powerfully impacting news stories I've heard in my life waking up one morning to hear my radio alarm clock tell me that he'd gone down in that helicopter is second only to 9/11. I was 16 when he died and one of my biggest heroes, his music seemed to go straight to my soul and then radiate back through me. He's also one of only two artists who's performed a song that's brought me to tears, with Life By The Drop.

Originally Posted by Station

You can't go wrong with the Three Kings: Freddy, Albert and B.B. Buddy Guy is a personal favorite as is Otis Redding.

A-men brother. Albert especially was a big influence of Stevie Ray Vaughn's. And if you haven't seen Shine A Light it's worth seeing even if you're not a Stones fan just for Buddy's guest spot.

Originally Posted by John Galt

Howlin' Wolf (my personal favorite)

Originally Posted by thepetek

Seconded.

A-to-the-fucking-men brothers! Howlin' Wolf is like a perfect storm of glorious, dirty blues power to me, like some kind of pure Delta/Chicago voodoo magic.

And Bo Diddley is another great call John, many of these guys are brilliant musicians and artists but not many artists of any era have a signature rhythm as famous as the Bo Diddley Beat.

Originally Posted by guitarrob

I second all of these suggestions.

If you've seen the movie "Black Snake Moan" (even if you haven't), the soundtrack has some incredible blues on it. Samuel L. Jackson himself does a few tunes and they are fantastic.

Good call Rob, Jackson did do a pretty nice job in that movie and the soundtrack is a firecracker.

[Rhian]

Originally Posted by roxymodest

OH I LOVE YOU PUNK'N



Stevie Ray Vaughn (Rhian: whatta turn on when I read that was the first artist on your list )

Sessy!!! Blues are so hot.

[Rufio]

thanks guys, im stoked to listen to all this great music

[j335]

You should also check out Skip James, Sleepy John Estes, Mississippi John Hurt. Though MJH is a folkier kind of blues. Furry Lewis is good too.

[william]

Originally Posted by Bucho

...I'll point you at Robert Johnson first up. The man met the devil at the crossroads and you can hear the tale in Crossroad Blues. Start from there and go back in time to Son House and Leadbelly. ...

Yea!

What about Blind Willy Johnson? "John The Revelator" and "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was the Ground"

Whose that walking?
John The Revelator!