Best artists to start into the blues?

[ErichoEricho]

Hey there! It was just a few months ago when I started listening and become addicted to blues and blues rock. Let me share my experience.

I got addicted to blues rock because of JOHN MAYER and THE JOHN MAYER TRIO. I suppose if someone is initially a pop-oriented or rock-oriented musician, I think John Mayer songs are good starting points because of the good mix of pop music elements and blues elements in the songs. Then, John Mayer Trio songs would be like the next step, because the blues elements become heavier and more evident, but the songs still sound somehow pop-like.

I recommend the following John Mayer songs:

Gravity, Daughters, Waiting for the World to Change, Neon, I Don't Need No Doctor, 83, No Such Thing, Slow Dancing in A Burning Room.

John Mayer Trio:
Try!, Vultures, Another Kind of Green, Out of my Mind and their cover of Jimi Hendrix's Bold as Love.

Oh, other than John Mayer and his Trio, I would also suggest ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd and of course, the one and only Jimi Hendrix

Good luck on our Blues journey!

 

[JimmyByrne09]

KWS (Kenny Wayne Shepherd) is very, very good. I would also look into Clapton and Page for some nice blues guitar riffs. If you can, also try to grab a copy of the CD that came with Mojo Music Magazine earlier this year...I don't exactly remember what issue it was, but the title of the CD was "Good Times Bad Times", and it had OLD old classic blues artists and songs that inspired Classic Rock musicians to pick up their guitars.

 

[Magic]

Kenny Wayne Shepherd is my all time favorite blues rocker!


Those are some good rec's Gtm. But If you really want to know about the blues and its origins, you have to go old school..........BB King, Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, T-Bone Walker.


I think you get the idea

 

[gguerra]

Re: Blues!!!

The experience with this station has led me to the world of sattelite radio. They have channels dedicated to genres such as blues, jazz, etc. The sattelite radio also provides info like the name of the artist, song, and sometimes album/year. That is a great way to learn about blues if you can swing it.

I recommend pandora.com It is free and very similar to satellite radio EXCEPT you create your own station based on the artists you like and it's free unlike satellite radio. logon, create an account and start creating your own stations. For example you can enter then name of an artist like "BB King" and it will create a station based on that and automatically play other artists similar to that.. It's called the music genome project. check it out.

 

[robpape]

A few more for ya: Muddy Waters, Albert King, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Howlin' Wolf. All electric and/or Chicago blues. If you plan to go onto blues rock/British blues revival I'd recommend John Mayall Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton, Fleetwood Mac's s/t debut or Then Play On, East-West from the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, 12X5 from the Stones, The Animals s/t debut, Five Live Yardbirds, Tons Of Sobs from Free, Thank Christ For The Bomb by the Groundhogs and Raw Sienna from Savoy Brown, Sailin' Shoes or Dixie Chicken from Little Feat.

Yes Joe that's an awesome list ..if I wanted to select one album it would be Junior Wells and the Delmark album Hoodoo Man Blues from 1965 ..blues /rock you name it it still sounds fresh ...enjoy...

 

[Masherbrum]

Honestly, when it comes to true blues, John Mayer, Clapton are far away from my thoughts.

If you are looking for some Blues artists. Look no further than:

Leadbelly / (Huddie William Ledbetter) - My favorite Blues artist of choice and his material is right up there with Willie Dixon and Robert Johnson.
Willie Dixon - Awesome repertoire and who was ripped off by Zeppelin.
Guitar Slim - An excellent New Orleans sound who passed at the Age of 32.
J.J. Cale - More of a Southwestern/Oklahoma type Blues sound
Guitar Shorty - This guy is simply fantastic and can often be seen playing in Chicago. He's from the Texas/Florida Blues scene.
T-Bone Walker - Cut his teeth in the Texas & Chicago styles of Blues. He was often playing with Willie Dixon and Memphis Slim. Great tunes and is often overlooked.
Big Joe Turner - Great artist from the Kansas City and later the California Blues scenes.

Finally

Memphis Slim - Played with Willie Dixon and was a pioneer in the "jump blues" style. Different sound and he could kill pianos.

Some folks already mentioned Roy Buchanan and I thank them for it. He is the finest Telecaster artist my ears have ever heard. He could make the fretboard turn into gelatin. He had a style all his own, right down to the Volume/Tone knob "wah sound".

Robert Johnson to me, has become the "Buddy Rich of Drummers". Many know the names, but rarely delve deep into the archives. I get nervous when I see the "usual names" listed and often in person, most cannot name a few tunes without prompting. He is a great artist, but a "household name".

Blues to me, is what gave me my classic rock roots and has driven me away from a certain band, because of constant "lawsuits and lifting". So now rather than listen to them, I delve deeper into the different styles of blues. It is great to expand the knowledge and horizons between the different styles.

 

[oscar gamble]

I have some friends who are hardcore blues purists who are a little reluctant to recommend Eric Clapton to beginners, for reasons I don't know anything about. I'm assuming some of you here have a theory or two?

You hardly have to be a hardcore blues purist not to recommend Clapton.

 

[Sox]

I got into the blues mainly through listening to Eric as a teenager, it's not such a bad starting off point IMO. If as I did you follow and enjoy his blues works then track down the originals you come across most of the greats and Eric has a deep knowledge of the blues. He has been up on stage and held his own with some of the best.

 

[oscar gamble]

Nah, just go buy a few Howlin' Wolf 45's.

 

[Sox]

^^ Whatever floats yer boat I guess.