The rawest of raw blues musicians

[caesar]

I saw the White House Blues special on PBS last month. Surprisingly, they had Jeff Beck there. I LOVE Jeff Beck for rock and jazzy rock, but I think he is a crappy blues musician. Blues is all about the feeling. The more feeling the better. Unfortunately, Beck doesn't have that feeling. Check this out for more of what I am talking about: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Ny5ajCn0xw

Who are your favorite raw blues musicians?

My new favorite is BB King's heir apparent - Lurrie Bell.

 

[NorthStar]

The best Bluesmen in the World are the Black people. :b

Like Muddy Waters for example. ...And Robert Johnson.

...And some of them are from Africa.

_______________

* Here are some of the Best Bluesmen ever:

- Charley Patton
- John Lee Hooker
- Howlin' Wolf
- Buddy Guy
- Junior Wells
- Sam "Lightnin' Hopkins
- Dave "Honeyboy" Edwards
- Eddie "Son" House
- Blind Willie Johnson
- James Cotton

---> That's a 'dose' (dozen) right there!

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

I'm gonna have to respectfully disagree. I'm about as soaked to the bone in American roots music as a person can be (though I'll admit to a very limited tolerance for trad. Bluegrass) and I think Beck plays with incredible feel. I also think most of the best blues musicians of the last 40 years are white and, oddly enough, mostly English. There are some notable exceptions, but for the most part, the African American community abandoned the blues years ago. That's not necessarily a bad thing, in my estimation. It's not a history lesson; it's a living, evolving art form, and the Brits and a few massively talented young American guys (Duane Allman and SRV come to mind) took it and mixed in new sounds and rhythms and rock sensibilities and kept it alive. I think a shining example is The Allman Brothers' "Dreams." It's a blues. That can't be denied. But it's not in a minor pentatonic scale, which is a blues fundamental, almost a requirement, and the thing is a waltz fer Chrissakes. But it's still a blues, and a damned good one. Great stuff. Evolution. As soon as an art form wears a groove in the floor, gets to the point where people are saying "it's this, can't be anything else," it's already dead. I'm happy to see the blues alive and well.

The blues need a new champion. It would be way cool if it were a young African American guy. Those are its roots. But I don't think the odds of that are very good.

Tim

 

[Ron Party]

I enjoyed that PBS telecast of the White House concert. I still have it on my DVR. I think Jeff Beck is one of the all-time greats and no doubt he can play the blues but I think of him more as a rocker that a blues guitarist.

Before I answer the question raised by the OP, I must first ask my own: caesar, can you define *raw*?

 

[NorthStar]

True, Jeff is a progressive Rock-&-Roller musician.

* For me, "Raw" means Free, with abandon, in the songwriting and in the interpretation;
the musical & vocal expression. ...Genuine, unprocessed. ...Direct, no constraint, in the moment.

 

[fas42]

If I want "rawness" in an energy sense, I go Hound Dog Taylor; if I want class in blues, I go Jimi Hendrix ...

Frank

 

[mdabb]

I enjoy the simplicity & rawer feeling of traditional folk/blues & Delta Blues more so than electric blues. However there is lots of great stuff out there that will never see the light of day again for the most part. I was able to score some 78's, 33's, & 45's of some of the artists below. Mostly 78's. Unfortunately I don't have anything to play 78's on

Leadbelly, Mississippi Jook Band, Furry Lewis, Bukka White, Ramblin Thomas, Blind Willie Mctell, Frank Frost With The Night Hawks, Memphis Slim, Gatemouth, Big Momma Thornton, Honey Brown, James Cotton, Lightning Slim, Champion Jack Dupree, Smokey Smothers, and many more...

For those who love electric blues & enjoy Freddy King... "Smokey Smothers Sings Back Porch Blues" is an incredible album. Not sure if it has ever been re-issued on vinyl other than the original pressing on the King label, but it is available on CD (import UK). I passed on an original copy of this album a couple of months ago in poor shape for $300. A nice copy will fetch $3000+, but that's if you can find it. Regardless of price/collectible, it's a great album.

Note: This is the CD cover not the original album cover. The original is basically solid orange & white lettering.

Enjoy !!!

 

[mep]

I can hear the Beatles, the Stones, and Eric Clapton in the above recording. Amazing.

 

[NorthStar]

I enjoy the simplicity & rawer feeling of traditional folk/blues & Delta Blues more so than electric blues. However there is lots of great stuff out there that will never see the light of day again for the most part. I was able to score some 78's, 33's, & 45's of some of the artists below. Mostly 78's. Unfortunately I don't have anything to play 78's on

Leadbelly, Mississippi Jook Band, Furry Lewis, Bukka White, Ramblin Thomas, Blind Willie Mctell, Frank Frost With The Night Hawks, Memphis Slim, Gatemouth, Big Momma Thornton, Honey Brown, James Cotton, Lightning Slim, Champion Jack Dupree, Smokey Smothers, and many more...

For those who love electric blues & enjoy Freddie King... "Smokey Smothers Sings Back Porch Blues" is an incredible album. Not sure if it has ever been re-issued on vinyl other than the original pressing on the King label, but it is available on CD (import UK). I passed on an original copy of this album a couple of months ago in poor shape for $300. A nice copy will fetch $3000+, but that's if you can find it. Regardless of price/collectible, it's a great album.

Note: This is the CD cover not the original album cover. The original is basically solid orange & white lettering.

Enjoy !!!

Great post, and fantastic Blues tune from that video! Thanx! :b

 

[mdabb]

Anytime guys !!!

Since we are talking about the blues, might as well have a listen too...

Enjoy...

 

[fas42]

Try this ...

Frank

 

[fas42]

And when you want to get down and dirty ....

Frank

 

[Syntax]

Blues is not for everyone and it is a serious chapter...

Teenagers can't sing the Blues. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues "adulthood" means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don't get rain. Good places for the Blues: a) Highway; b) Jailhouse; c) Empty bed; d) Bottom of a whiskey glass. Bad places for the Blues: a) Dillard's; b) Gallery openings; c) Ivy League institutions; d) Golf courses; e) Starbucks ...
Another important Question is: Do you have the right to sing the Blues? Yes, if a) You are older than dirt; b) You are blind; c) You shot a man in Memphis; d) You can't be satisfied. No, if a) You have all your teeth; b) You were once blind but now can see; c) The man in Memphis lived; d) You have a 401K or trust fund.
The kind of dying is also very important to rate the quality of Blues, if death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broken down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or getting liposuction. And because we are in 2012 now, I don't care how tragic your life is, if you own a computer, you cannot sing the blues.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Woke up this mornin, saw that both my cars was gone...

Woke up this mornin, saw that both my cars was gone...

Well I felt so low-down mean Lawd

I threw my drink across the lawn

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

Woke up this mornin, saw that both my cars was gone...

Woke up this mornin, saw that both my cars was gone...

Well I felt so low-down mean Lawd

I threw my drink across the lawn

I think you need more practice, but nice try!

Now...GET OFF MY LAWN!

 

[Whatmore]

I saw Buddy Guy in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
That is a man that can really play the blues. Just awesome!!

 

[Johnny Vinyl]

I saw Buddy Guy in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
That is a man that can really play the blues. Just awesome!!

Saw Buddy Guy at the then Molson Amphitheatre in Toronto in the late 80's...check the line-up that night:

Buddy Guy
Junior Walker & The All-Stars
B.B.King
John Lee Hooker
Etta James

There were a few others, but they didn't really matter. Bought the T-Shirt (my ex gave me a dirty look as it was $45), and caught a guitar pick that Buddy was throwing around the place. What a night!

 

[caesar]

I saw Buddy Guy in Melbourne on Tuesday night.
That is a man that can really play the blues. Just awesome!!

Buddy Guy plays with a lot of energy and puts on a GREAT show, but he plays raw blues on only 1 or 2 tracks. If you want to hear Buddy when he was raw, check out his album A Man and the Blues. It is his best album - by a FAR margin.

 

[NorthStar]

Blues is not for everyone and it is a serious chapter...

Teenagers can't sing the Blues. Adults sing the Blues. In Blues "adulthood" means being old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis. Blues can take place in New York City but not in Hawaii or any place in Canada. Hard times in Minneapolis or Seattle is probably just clinical depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues. You cannot have the blues in any place that don't get rain. Good places for the Blues: a) Highway; b) Jailhouse; c) Empty bed; d) Bottom of a whiskey glass. Bad places for the Blues: a) Dillard's; b) Gallery openings; c) Ivy League institutions; d) Golf courses; e) Starbucks ...
Another important Question is: Do you have the right to sing the Blues? Yes, if a) You are older than dirt; b) You are blind; c) You shot a man in Memphis; d) You can't be satisfied. No, if a) You have all your teeth; b) You were once blind but now can see; c) The man in Memphis lived; d) You have a 401K or trust fund.
The kind of dying is also very important to rate the quality of Blues, if death occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is another Blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse and dying lonely on a broken down cot. You can't have a Blues death if you die during a tennis match or getting liposuction. And because we are in 2012 now, I don't care how tragic your life is, if you own a computer, you cannot sing the blues.

:b ...That is a great poison ....I mean post!

* Syntax, you are 100% correct: The Blues ain't for everyone, but for who it is,
it has deep and harsh life's experiences.

 

[NorthStar]

Buddy Guy plays with a lot of energy and puts on a GREAT show, but he plays raw blues on only 1 or 2 tracks. If you want to hear Buddy when he was raw, check out his album A Man and the Blues. It is his best album - by a FAR margin.

Got several Buddy's albums, among acoustic Blues he played with Junior Wells, and some of his albums, like the one you just mentioned above, are certainly earnest and raw.