Music-The Blues

 

Robert Johnson

THE BLUES                                                                     

As The Blues emerged towards the end of the 19th Century its home, and roots, was in the African American community, many of whom were still enslaved. However with slavery diminishing the blues reflected the African American's new found freedom. No longer was the chant one from toil but a leisure time activity.

The first ever recording of the blues was in 1895. This was George W. Johnson's "Laughing Song". Initially the music was Folk Blues but by the 1920's the Blues as we know this music was being sung. The Country Blues had a brief spell of success but the Blues lost popularity with the great depression. I guess this soulful music was just too depressing.

A Blues revival followed in the 1960's after white musicians from the U.S.A and the U.K discovered the old recordings of the early blues men and women. It is now recognized that the blues influenced many other genres of music, such as rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and rap. The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and The Beatles all recorded or played some of the early blues tracks.

John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Lightnin' Hopkins,Sonny Terry and Brownie Magee were still recording and performing when I was young. White modern Blues artists, such as John Mayall and his Bluesbreakers and The John Dummer Blues band, began recording as the Blues became more popular. Although the Blues is not as popular today, it still has a wide fan base.

PERSONAL FAVOURITES.

LOOKING FOR LINKS ONLINE FOR THESE FAVOURITES WAS DIFFICULT TO SAY THE LEAST.

MANY OF OUR CDS AND LPS HAVE BEEN DISCONTINUED WHICH IS SUCH A SHAME.

Recommended listening.

   POST-WAR BLUES CHICAGO VOLUME 1

We have this album on vinyl. Our copy is an original from 1965. In a plain white cover, that is more grey now, this uninspiring sleeve gives no clue to the gem within. There is no track listing just a list of performers. I have found the track listing online and it is:

Chicago
the post-war blues volume 1

Johnny Shines
- Brutal Hearted Woman
- Evening Sun
Willie Nix & His Combo
- Just Can't Stay
- All By Yourself
"Little" Willie Foster
- Falling Rain Blues
- Four Day Jump
J B. Hutto & His Hawks
- Pet Cream Man
- Lovin' You

Othum Brown
- Ora-Nelle Blues
Little Walter
- I Just Keep Loving Her
Johnny William(s)
- Worried Man Blues
Johnny Young
- Money Taking Woman
John Lee
- Knocking On Lula Mae's Door
- Rythm Rockin' Boogie [sic]
Junior Wells & His Eagle Rockers
- Hodo Man [sic]
- Junior's Wail

The essentail Billie Holiday          BILLIE HOLIDAY

Born 1915 and died 1959. The essential Billie Holiday(The voice of a Lady), double CD, includes many classic tracks by this long gone blues singer whose voice is as haunting and earthy as ever. Her all too brief life was never easy but Billie left behind many soulful, blues recordings. Particular favourite tracks are :-

What a little moonlight can do to you.

These foolish things.

I can't give you anything but love.

My man

Am I blue.

God bless the child.

There are quite a few Essential Billie Holiday CDs online but I own the copy shown here.

The Ultimate CollectionBESSIE SMITH

With 23 tracks this CD is not quite the Ultimate Collectionthat it claims to be but it is not far off. Bessie is thought to have been born in 1894 and began her professional career in 1912. Bessie's mother died when Bessie was only eight and so the family was very poor. No wonder she became such a powerful and strong willed, young woman. Bessie was proud to be black and despised blacks who attempted to become like whites. Bessie's sound was not as soft as Billie Holiday's but was equally distinctive.

Bessie was killed in an automobile accident in September, 1937, just as a comeback in her career was imminent. Favourite tracks are:-

Nobody know's you when you're down and out.

'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do

St Loius Blues Vol 2 St Louis Blues has original recordings from 1924-1925

Photograph of John Lee HookerJOHN LEE HOOKER

I have foundit hard to find an online representation of John Lee Hooker's Boogie Chillum. This double play CD has 28 classic Hooker tracks with his distinctive guitar playing and traditional earthy blues voice, which at times is more talking than singing. John Lee Hooker was born on August 22nd 1917 and died June 21st 2001. As a teenager my elder brother took me along with him to see a concert, which included John Lee Hooker, in Manchester. I was probably about 16 and I loved the music, and still do. Favourite tracks:-

Boogie Chillum.

Dimples.

Boom Boom.

Mephis Slim MEMPHIS SLIM

Memphis Slim (Peter Chatman) was born in 1915 and died in 1988. Memphis has boogie woogie piano and smooth blues vocals. The title track Every day I have the Blues became Memphis's most famous track and has been recorded by jazz, soul and blues artistes down the years. Favourite tracks:-

Empty Room Blues

Angel Child

 

Come Back Home HOWLIN' WOLF

Howlin' Wolf was born Chester Arthur Burnett in 1910 and died in 1976. He is also someone that I was lucky enough to see perform live when I was young. Wolf inspired the Rhythm and Blues artistes of the 60s. His gravelly, rough edged voice fits perfectly his guitar and harmonica playing. Spoonful and Smokestack Lightnin' were popularised by Wolf. Favourite tracks on Howlin' Wolf - Come Back Home are :-

How Many More Years.

Come Back Home.

 20 tracks from "The most powerful vocalist"

 Elmore JamesELMORE JAMES

Born 1918 died 1963. The first track Dust My Broom was recorded by such greats as the early Fleetwood Mac. With a rough and tumble rocking sort of Blues, Elmore became very popular with another generation in the 60's Favourite tracks are:-

Dust my Broom

Shake your moneymaker.

Rollin' and Tumblin'.

Standing at the crossroads.

I can't stop lovin' you.

 The immortal Elmore James-King of the Bottleneck guitar.

 Cassette     MUDDY WATERS.

20 Classic tracks by another inspirational Blues Man. Muddy Waters. Born 1913 and died 1983. Our CD cover is the same as the one shown, which is for a cassette. However the CD has 20 tracks. Favourite track:-

They call me Muddy Waters.

 

Hey Bo Diddley- 2003BO DIDDLEY-This is not my CDbut I could not find Hey Bo Diddley, Double Play online

Hey Bo Diddley has 21 tracks and a running time of 55 minutes. Another influence the bands of the 60's. With his powerful guitar playing andslightly wacky dancing he was just fabulous. You will find many recordings free to download online or loads to buy. There are so many classics and favourite tracks, on my CD, but here are a few:-

Hey Bo Diddley

I'm A Man

Pretty Thing

Roadrunner

Mona

So that's nine of my favourite blues albums. Of course there are hundreds more just waiting to come out of the closet, quite literally. With old vinyl LPs such as Sonny Terry and Brownee Magee it is going to take some time.  So this Blues Zone is going live whilst I work away updating, as and when time permits. For now though I hope that there is enough for readers to enjoy.

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RHAPSODY'S TOP 50 BLUES ARTISTES

  • In an Ohio city renowned for its manufacturing of rubber and tires, it's fitting that one of Akron's greatest rock exports is a duo that plays bluesy bites of garage rock oozing with loads of blue-collar rawness. The Black Keys include singer and guitarist Dan Auerbach and drummer Patrick Carney, two college drop-outs who mowed lawns for a living before turning their love for Mississippi blues and noise rock into a lucrative music career. After Auerbach's band didn't show for a recording session in Carney's basement studio in 2001, the two began recording a demo of their own, which would lead to the release of debut album The Big Come Up. Almost instantly, the Keys were inundated with comparisons to the White Stripes, but their leaning toward traditional blues and Hendrix-ish psychedelia resulted in a less pop-oriented following. They went on to release Thickfreakness in 2003, Rubber Factory the following year and Magic Potion in 2006. Opting to finally ditch the basement for a professional studio in 2008, the two completed
    Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:01:21 +0000
  • From the mid-1950s to the present, Etta James' powerful, soul-charged voice has become deeper and rougher, with a rich texture and heartfelt inflections. It goes without saying that the woman known as "Mama" is aging like California wine, and she can still open wounds in her songs and come out standing strong. When she was five years old, Jamesetta Hawkins amazed the congregation of her church choir. When she belted out Gospel songs with absolute spiritual fervor, it was clear that the child was a musical prodigy. Her career as a singer began when she recorded "The Wallflower" with Johnny Otis in 1954 for Modern Records. A year later, the song topped the charts. In 1960, she moved to Chess Records and soon began cranking out hits such as the driving, jiving, southern soul smash "Tell Mama," which Janis Joplin covered later that decade. Since then, she has recorded for Island and Elektra, experimenting with rock and jazz, but always returning to her Gospel-soaked roots and southern soul. - ESHEA
    Wed, 15 Feb 2012 21:49:29 +0000
  • Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:36:40 +0000
  • Raitt got her start in the folk clubs of Cambridge, Mass., in the 1960s, playing Country Blues and bottleneck guitar. She learned directly from many of her heroes, such as Fred McDowell and Sippie Wallace, working as a combination chauffeur/babysitter to them when they passed through town on tour. Raitt got her own record deal in the '70s and developed a large and devoted following with her beautiful, soulful singing and spot-on slide guitar prowess. Although Raitt is a songwriter, she's always had a great ear for others' material, making John Prine's "Angel From Montgomery" virtually her own. In the late '80s Raitt made a record with producer Don Was that completely reignited what was a flagging career. The presciently titled Nick of Time won a slew of Grammy Awards and sold millions. In typically cool fashion, Raitt took blues pioneer Charles Brown and a group of other veteran performers on the road with her, spreading the wealth of her newfound success. - THEYMAN
    Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:50:01 +0000
  • The loss of Stevie Ray Vaughan in a 1990 helicopter crash was a rock (and blues) death on par with the loss of Jimi Hendrix and Otis Redding, so deeply was the public moved. Vaughan had been the catalyst for a massive blues revival in the 1980s, with a distinctive guitar tone and a string of singles that managed to cross over to mainstream rock radio. This was somewhat detrimental to his image, as Vaughan was at heart a pure blues guitarist, and his mainstream success did more to damage any authenticity he might have enjoyed as an obscure axeman, especially with purist blues fans. But in the years since his death Vaughan's music has come to represent a pinnacle of Texas or Modern Blues, and no longer seems like the call to arms for beer-swollen George Thorogood fans that it did at the height of his popularity. All his early studio albums are worth checking out (they're certainly better than Robert Cray's), but the real fun begins with Vaughan's live recordings, on which he repeatedly goes wholly over the top. - MMCGUIRK
    Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:54:54 +0000
  • The undisputed king of the blues, B.B. "Blues Boy" King will go down in history as one of the most important electric guitarists and blues singers ever. King's vocals are smooth and rich as they emote wailing cries and good-hearted humor, while every sound he plays on the guitar is instantly recognizable by his distinct vibrato, vocal guitar style and authorship of hundreds of the most classic blues riffs. Drawing on the single-note playing of T-Bone Walker, King's style has influenced several of the greatest rock, blues and jazz artists of the latter half of the twentieth century, including Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, among others. Most important is the fact that, with one note, B.B. King can tell a story that touches the deepest roots of your soul. - JTERRY
    Wed, 15 Feb 2012 22:31:17 +0000
  • Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:49:29 +0000
  • A blues guitarist first but also a lover of great rock riffs, Joe Bonamassa is liable to pull out just about anything in live performances. Sections from Yes' "Starship Trooper" are well documented but Bonamassa also tosses in the "mosh" part from Deep Purple's "Perfect Strangers" at times, a riff any rock fan hears in his or her sleep. Often cited as the best guitarist of his generation, Bonamassa tends toward the chorded lead asides of Billy Gibbons and bears an almost uncanny resemblance to Cream-era Clapton more than Stevie Ray Vaughan or B.B. King, although those two influences are still very much present in Bonamassa's playing. They're just not the first names that come to mind when he takes a solo. Like many of his peers -- Kenny Wayne Shepherd, "Monster" Mike Welch, etc. -- Bonamassa was sitting in with bands and playing live shows before he was a teenager, and his first album, A New Day Yesterday, came out when he was just 23 years old, in 2000. Subsequently Bonamassa steadily toured and released records, with eight under his belt thus far, Live From No Place In Particular being the most recent.
    Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:21:32 +0000
  • Picking up a guitar at age seven and mastering Stevie Ray's moves by the time he was 13, Kenny Wayne Shepherd was hyped, pushed and packaged for mass consumption on a major league scale in the early 1990s. His arrival came almost simultaneously with fellow youngster guitar hotshots Jonny Lang and Zakk Wylde. The result was total over exposure and widespread dismissal by the majority of blues purists. Shepherd's debut album, Ledbetter Heights, however, was surprisingly genuine, forcing folks to take a closer look at the kid. Through the next several albums, Shepherd's once-ubiquitous TV appearances petered out, and he was allowed an opportunity to grow both physically and musically. After a trio of heavy duty blues rock LPs, where he played more like Jimi than Muddy, Shepherd returned to Delta blues (as well as jump and good ol' electric blues) with 2007's 10 Days Out (Blues From the Backroad), a refreshingly under-polished collection of live cuts featuring all sorts of guest appearances, from Hubert Sumlin to B.B. King. - MMCGUIRK
    Sun, 1 Jan 2012 03:55:28 +0000
  • Keb' Mo's unique style lies somewhere between the soul of Delta Blues and the melodic feel of contemporary folk, bundled in a story-like framework. Whether delivering a sparse solo song or fully arranged bluesy pop, Mo's rich vocals and earthy acoustic plucking attract both newer and older blues audiences, as evidenced on his stunning self-titled debut Keb' Mo'. His songwriting style occasionally disturbs purists; like Robert Cray, Keb' Mo' has found ways to write a blues tune without remaining in the traditional twelve-bar format. Nonetheless Keb' Mo' has made quite a niche for himself on many adult alternative radio stations, due in part to the polished, warm sound of his compositions. - JTERRY
    Wed, 1 Feb 2012 21:33:14 +0000

INSPIRATION

 Peter GreenEric claptonThe YardbirdsThe Rolling Stones

If you listen to early tracks by, Peter Green, Eric Clapton, The Yardbirds, The Rolling Stones and many more you will here the influence of the old blues guys, and gals. The traditional bluesmen laid the foundation for what was to become rock and roll and rhythm and blues. Vocally and musically Blues music is evocative, raw, down to earth, at times beautiful and often heart wrenching.

In the 21st Century it would be easy to dismiss the Blues but it still has its place. Modern white Blues artistes have a good fan base and hopefully will help continue the great tradition of blues music, but perhaps at a slight tangent.

Howlin' Wolf

BABY PLEASE DON'T GO

Pure Blues

Amazon Price: $9.80

Hold That Train

Amazon Price: $0.00

Alligator Records 40th Anniversary (2xCD)

Amazon Price: $12.06

Best Of The Blues

Amazon Price: $5.99

Definitive Collection

Amazon Price: $8.60

His Best : The Chess 50th Anniversary Collection

Amazon Price: $6.80

Bo Diddley

Amazon Price: $0.99

BOOM BOOM

Comments (1 to 9 of 9)

Carlie Lawson
Apr 19, 09 at 11:21 PM
Oh, I am linking this into Guitar GreatZone today! Awesome blossom!
Sheila Watson Kraklow
Apr 15, 09 at 11:18 PM
This is one cool breeze Mama... you really got your blues shoes on... pound me out some more jive, I can dig this beat; oool man, cool!
Jaimela King
Apr 05, 09 at 10:46 PM
Just what blues fans like myself have been waiting for.
Ethel Smith
Apr 04, 09 at 09:36 PM
Thanks for the nice comments guys. I am hoping that this zone will grow but just now changing the layouts etc is taking all my time. I do have plans though :)
Tina Hartley
Mar 31, 09 at 12:53 AM
I love this zone! Billie Holiday and John Lee Hooker are two personal favorites. I'm looking forward to watching this zone grow!
Francis Jock
Mar 27, 09 at 12:48 AM
WOW! I am a fan.Very nicely done.
Shaheen Darr
Mar 26, 09 at 01:51 PM
Brilliant zone Ethel! fan of Blues music, will definitely pay another visit soon!
Ken Bradford
Mar 26, 09 at 11:20 AM
Maybe we should re-name this place "Ethel's World". I can certainly understand why you are a five-star writer. Ray Charles's final album is simply fantastic. B B King has a restaurant in Nashville and sometimes comes by for a visit. You might want to plan a trip.
Donna Carroll Batton
Mar 23, 09 at 08:05 PM
Great zone! I love the blues! Good work.

Zone Manager

Helium member since Jan 26, 07
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Number of Zones: 39

by R.L Hanlon

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