Top 100 blues songs. The best blues artists of all time

The world of blues is full of brilliant musicians who gave their best on every album, and some of them became legends without ever releasing a single record! JazzPeople chose the 5 best blues albums recorded by great musicians, which influenced not only their own lives and work, but also influenced the entire development of the music of this genre.

B.V. King - Why I Sing the Blues

"King of the Blues" has released more than 40 albums during his long creative career and has forever remained in the hearts of millions of fans around the world. In 1983, his 17th disc was released called Why I Sing the Blues, which literally answered the question of why King sings the blues.

The tracklist includes such well-known compositions of the musician as Ain't Nobody Home, Ghetto Woman, Why I Sing the Blues, To Know You is To Love You, and of course, the first of them was the famous The Thrill is Gone, which received huge popularity and many awards. The music of the blues maestro has always evoked deep emotions and reciprocal feelings in the listeners, and on this disc, the most "tart" songs of King were collected, in fact, allowing us to "enter into a conversation" with the bluesman and listen to his exciting story, in this case, not one.

Robert Johnson

The great Robert Johnson, according to legend, who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for learning how to play the blues, did not record a single album in his short life (Johnson died at 27), but nevertheless, his music is not just alive to this day , it haunts both famous musicians and blues fans. The whole life of the guitarist was shrouded in a halo of mysticism and strange coincidences, which was directly reflected in his work.

In addition to numerous remakes and reissues of his compositions, the 1998 album definitely deserves attention (the official re-release of the 1961 album) King of the Delta Blues Singers. The album cover itself already sets you up for a solitary listening and complete immersion in the difficult world of Robert Johnson, who seems to be still alive. If you want to try to understand the blues, start with Johnson, with his soulful Cross Road Blues, Walking Blues, Me and the Devil Blues, Hellhound on My Trail, Traveling Riverside Blues.

Stevie Ray Vaughan

The tragically deceased (he crashed in a helicopter in 1990 at the age of 35) still managed to leave a grand mark in the history of blues music. The work of the singer and guitarist stood out for its originality and powerful manner of performance. The musician collaborated and gave concerts with many famous blues figures, such as Buddy Guy, Albert King and others.

In any improvisation, Vaughn conveyed his feelings and emotions with brilliance and genuine openness, thanks to which the world blues was replenished with new hits.

His colorful album Texas Flood, recorded with the Double Trouble team and released in 1983, included the most famous and later brought the greatest popularity to the musician compositions, including Pride and Joy, Texas Flood, Mary Had a Little Lamb, Lenny, and of course, the languid, unhurried Tin Pan Alley. The bluesman shares with his listeners not just his music, but a part of the soul in every melody he performs, and all of them, of course, deserve close attention.

Buddy Guy - Damn Right, I've Got the Blues

It is not surprising that a bluesman with such musical talent was quickly noticed and taken under his protection. The unique, virtuoso playing and charisma of Buddy Guy quickly brought him fame and respect from colleagues and listeners around the world, and an album with a screaming title Damn Right, I've Got the Blues received a Grammy Award in 1991.

The record abounds with excellent lyrics, unique performance and emotional transmission in the compositions, and in terms of styles - electro-blues, Chicago, sometimes even archaic blues. The dynamics and character of the record is set immediately by the first song - Damn Right, I've Got the Blues, continues in Five Long Years, There Is Something on Your Mind, takes us to the night world of the musician in Black Night, after which it awakens the dynamic Let Me Love You Baby, and in the finale of the disc, the musician pays tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughn, who died in 1990, in the track Rememberin' Stevie.

T-Bone Walker

You can feel the spirit of real Texas blues by listening to the temperamental T-Bone Walker's album Good Feelin', recorded in 1969 and received a Grammy a year later. The disc contains the artist's great tracks - Good Feelin', Every Day I Have the Blues, Sail On, Little Girl, Sail On, See You Next Time, Vacation Blues.

The bluesman had a significant influence on the work of many talented musicians, including Otis Rush, Jimi Hendrix, BB King, Freddie King and many others. The album reveals the true character of Walker, demonstrating all the greatness of his playing, virtuosity and vocal technique. The peculiarity of the disc was that it begins and ends with Walker's unofficial narration, in which he accompanies himself on the piano. The musician greets the audience and invites them to focus on what comes next.

Blues performers almost never enjoyed the same popularity as the kings of pop music, and not only in our country, but also in the homeland of this style - in the USA. Complicated sound, minor melody and original vocals often repel the mass listener who is used to simpler rhythms.

Musicians who adapted this music of the black South and created more accessible derivatives of it (rhythm and blues, boogie-woogie and rock and roll) gained great fame. Many superstars (Little Richard, Ray Charles and others) started their careers as blues performers and returned to their roots many times.

Blues is not just a style and way of life. He is alien to any narcissism and thoughtless optimism - traits inherent in pop music. The name of the style is derived from the phrase blue devils, which literally means "blue devils". It is these bad inhabitants of the underworld that torment the soul of a person who has everything wrong in this life. But the energy of music demonstrates an unwillingness to submit to difficult circumstances and expresses full determination to fight them.

Folk music, stylistically formed during the 19th century, became known to the mass listener in the twenties of the next century. Huddy Ledbetter and Lemon Jefferson, the first popular blues artists, in a way broke the monolithic cultural picture of the Jazz Age and diluted the dominance of the big bands with a new sound. Mami Smith recorded Crazy Blues, which suddenly became very popular among the white and colored population.

The thirties and forties of the XX century became the era of boogie-woogie. This new direction was characterized by an increase in the role of application and organs, an acceleration of the tempo and an increase in the expressiveness of the vocals. The overall harmony remains the same, but the sound is as close as possible to the tastes and preferences of the mass listener. blues of the mid and late forties - Joe Turner, Jimmy Rushing - created the basis for what in a few years would be called rock and roll, with all the characteristic features of this style (a powerful rich sound created, as a rule, by four musicians, dance rhythm and extremely exalted stage manner).

Blues artists of the early 1940s and 1960s, such as BBC King, Sony Boy Williamson, Ruth Brown, Besi Smith and many others, created masterpieces that enriched the treasury of world music, as well as works that are practically unknown to the modern listener. Only a few amateurs who know, appreciate and collect records of their favorite artists enjoy this music.

The genre is popularized by many modern blues performers. Foreign musicians such as Eric Clapton and Chris Rea perform compositions and sometimes record joint albums with older classics who have made a huge contribution to the formation of the style.

Russian blues players ("Chizh and Co", "Road to the Mississippi", "League of Blues", etc.) went their own way. They create their own compositions, in which, in addition to the characteristic minor melody, ironic texts play an important role, expressing the same rebelliousness and dignity of a good person who feels bad ...

Blues performers can be called freedom singers. In their songs and in their music they sing about life itself, without embellishment, but at the same time with hope for brighter times. Here are the best blues artists of all time, according to the JazzPeople portal.

Top Blues Artists

They say the blues is when a good person feels bad. We have collected the most famous blues singers, whose work reflects the structure of this difficult world.

BB King

King called all his guitars "Lucille". One story from concert activity is connected with this name. Once, during a performance, two men started a fight and overturned a kerosene stove. This caused a fire, all the musicians hurriedly left the institution, but BB King, risking himself, returned for the guitar.

Later, after learning that a woman named Lucille was the cause of the fight, he named his guitar that way as a sign that no woman is worth such nonsense.

For more than 20 years, King battled diabetes, which caused his death at the age of 89 on May 14, 2015.

Robert Leroy Johnson

- a bright, but quickly flying star in the world of blues music - was born on May 8, 1911. In his youth, he met famous blues musicians Sun House and Willie Brown and decided to start playing the blues professionally.

A few months of training in the team only led to the fact that the guy remained a good amateur. Then Robert swore that he would play great and disappeared for several months. When he reappeared, the level of his game became significantly higher. Johnson himself said that he contacted the devil. The legend of the musician who sold his soul for the ability to play the blues has spread throughout the world.

Robert Leroy Johnson died at the age of 28 on August 16, 1938. He was allegedly poisoned by the husband of his mistress. His family had no money, so he was buried in the municipal cemetery. Johnson's legacy is hard to count - although he recorded very little himself, his songs were often performed by many world stars (Eric Clapton, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, Bob Dylan).

Muddy Waters

- the founder of the Chicago school - was born on April 4, 1913 in the small town of Rolling Fork. As a child, he learned to play the harmonica, and as a teenager he mastered the guitar.

A simple acoustic guitar didn't suit Muddy much. He really started playing only at the moment when he switched to electric guitar. Powerful roar and jerky voice glorified the novice singer and performer. In fact, the work of Muddy Waters is on the verge between blues and rock and roll. The musician died on April 30, 1983.

Gary Moore

- a famous Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter - was born on April 4, 1952. In his career, he experimented a lot with different areas of music, but still gave preference to the blues.

In one of his interviews, Moore admitted that he likes the dialogue that occurs between vocals and guitar in the blues. This opens up a wide field for experimentation.

Interestingly, although Gary Moore was left-handed, from childhood he learned to play the guitar as a right-hander and performed like that all his life until his death on February 6, 2011.

Eric Clapton

- one of the most influential figures of British rock - was born on March 30, 1945. He is the only musician to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame three times, twice with a band and once as a solo artist. Clapton played in various genres, but always gravitated towards the blues, which made his playing recognizable and distinctive.

Sonny Boy Williamson I & II

Sonny Boy Williamson is an American blues harmonica player and singer born December 5, 1912.

There are two famous Sonny Boy Williamsons in the world. The fact is that Sonny Boy Williamson II took on the pseudonym of the same name in honor of his idol - Sonny Boy Williamson I. The fame of the second Sony greatly overshadowed the legacy of the first, although it was he who was an innovator in his field.

Sonny Boy was one of the most famous and original harmonica players. He is distinguished by a special style of performance: simple, melodic, smooth. Lyrics of his songs: thin, lyrical.

Williamson II most of all valued not fame, but personal comfort, so sometimes he allowed himself to disappear for a couple of months to rest, and then reappear on stage. Sonny Boy Williamson II passed away on May 25, 1965.

Many and many rock musicians have been inspired by the blues. His sadness, sincerity and openness to the hearts of ordinary people. And wherever the blues sounded, whether on plantations, on river dams, or in a freight train car, he was a friend of a hard worker and a wanderer, singing about his misadventures, masterfully moving his hand around the neck. Here we take a moment to honor the genre by listing the site's Top 5 Great Bluesmen. website. At the end of the article, a bonus is the opportunity to download for free the blues of the famous bluesmen, about whom this article talks.

Blues guitar. Top 5 great bluesmen according to the website site

5. T-Bone Walker (T-Bone Walker)

The blues wouldn't be the blues it is today if it wasn't for T-Bone Walker, with his groundbreaking electric guitar sound. A great influence on the development of T-Bone Walker as a musician was the musical roots of his family. He was taught to play the guitar by his stepfather. By the age of 15, T-Bone was already performing professionally, and in 1929 he made his first recordings. His distinctive style is smooth phrasing, vibrato and bluesy bands. Playing Gibson guitars, Walker left a great legacy in this genre of music. Listen to T-Bone Blues, or find this song in the Blues on Guitar Tabs collection (at the end of the article) and then you will not confuse Walker's playing with someone else.

4. Robert Johnson (Robert Johnson)

On the performance of the compositions of this musician, many eminent rockers comprehended the world of guitar sound, including: Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page, Ry Kuder, Bob Dylan, Patti Smith and others. Robert Johnson is the subject of the feature film Crossroads (1986), which starred another guitar genius, Steve Vai.

The life and work of Robert Johnson is covered with many myths and idle conjectures. In particular, there is a legend that for the sake of the ability to play the guitar, this man sold his soul to the Devil, making a deal at a magical crossroads. Robert Johnson is one of the first musicians (if not the first!) who began to use a slide (bottleneck / bottleneck) when playing. A slide is a hollow tube, most often the neck of a bottle (hence the name - bottleneck), which slides along the strings, making specific guitar sounds, which in their expression are comparable only to a human voice. Johnson is said to have played Stella and Kalamazoo guitars. To understand Robert Johnson's style, listen to his Cross Road Blues. Gtp tabs of this musician will help you learn the blues.

3. Eric Clapton (Eric Clapton)

Eric Clapton is known for the variety of styles in which he worked, but the blues has always remained in the heart and soul of this musician. Eric was brought up in a musical family and started playing the guitar at the age of 13. The blues has become an integral part of the musician's career. Among the guitarists who influenced his work, Eric names BB King, Freddie King and Robert Johnson. During his long musical career, Clapton has used many guitars. Including Gibson Les Paul and Fender Stratocaster. Listen to the style of Eric Clapton in the Bell Bottom Blues.

2 Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stephen Ray Vaughn is from Dallas, Texas. The maestro began pouring his soul into the guitar at the age of 7. Steve's style is recognizable by his distinctive lever and right-hand tremolo work. Jazz, blues and rock - these are the styles in which the talent of Steve Ray Vaughn was most clearly revealed. The musician mainly plays Fender Stratocaster guitars. The composition Texas Flood will help to hear first-class blues from Steve. And now hurry for the blues gtp tabs to try and adopt this unbeatable pitch!

1. BB King (BBC King)

This man is considered by many to be the most influential guitarist of all time. And these are not empty words, if you remember how many talented musicians BB has influenced. The story of his life is essentially the story of the electric blues. A native of Mississippi, BB King sang in the church choir from a young age. But music really spoke in him at the age of 12, with the appearance of a guitar in his life. Through his long career, the great bluesman has released over 50 albums. B.B. King became famous for his special sounding style, which is characterized by honed vibrato and smooth bends. Multiple Grammy Awards, induction into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and universal love made King a legend in his lifetime. B.B. King plays a Gibson ES-355 guitar, which he named after the female name Lusssil. Listen to the King of the Blues on one of his most iconic themes. The Thrill Is Gone. Passion is gone, baby!