I had the good fortune to see Muddy 3 times in the 70's at a little place in Cary, IL called Harry Hope's. It was very intimate and would be described more as a listening room than a club. We never sat more than 10 or 15 ft. from his band. At that time, he had Bob Margolin on guitar and Jerry Portnoy on harmonica.
@@brucewilson1958 Took my son to see BB King in Baltimore, when he was a wee lad. About half way through his set I leaned over and said to my boy in a VERY soft whisper: “Do you realize we are only white people in the entire audience?” He replied: “Pretty cool, yea?”
I saw Howlin Wolf once in 1972 in the Chicago area. A group of us were actually going to see a Melanie Safka concert (remember her?). When we arrived, we were informed that Melanie had had some sort of medical emergency and would be unable to perform. They gave us three choices: We could hold onto our tickets and they would be valid for the rescheduled concert. We could write to such and such address for a refund. Or, we could stay for the replacement act that they had lined up on an impromptu basis. Naturally, we asked who the replacement act was. They said Howlin Wolf and we said pfft! We'll stay!
"Fathers & Sons" - A Chess double(half live/half studio) recording of Muddy backed by Otis Spann, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Donald Duck Dunn, Sam Lay and Buddy Miles from 1969. An often-overlooked recording. Also, Johnny Winter's "Progressive Blues Experiment" on Liberty and his 1st Columbia album, both from 1969.
dude I was on my to saying exactly the same - I have Butterfield way high on my list of post-war blues revival artists - as with Winter its the vocal abiilty and understanding of lyrics; for this reason Johnny sounds better covering Dylan and the Stones than anyone ever
Thanks for the ""old school" references. I will suggest you do a more modern recognition of the greatest revival blues players of today. Joe Bonamassa is leader of the pack & is not only the greatest player alive but he makes it his life mission to spead knowledge & love for the Blues. There are easily 20 or 30 other great players worthy of high praise & acknowledgement. Check all of them out. Go see them perform. You'll feel better about life in general when you do.
I am from Glasgow/ Scotland I am 75 this year and I have been into the blues,soul and rhythm blues all my life I have seen some of the greats of soul music when they came to Glasgow on that tour was Otis Redding,Sam and Dave ,Wilson Picket to name a few we couldn’t believe it then I think I started listening to the blues and again I seen plenty of the greats coming over from America we went to a small club called the Maryland and there again we seen Howling Wolf ,Champion Jack Dupree and many more black blues men that was in the early days of my youth and as the years go by I have seen most of the great guitarists some dead and others living far too many to mention but I will try ,John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Rory Gallagher, John Lee Hooker, Johhny Winters ,Robert Cray and I could go on and on and one good thing came out of this was my son plays guitar and listens to all of the music I love and his own modern music Oasis,Stone Roses etc so folks peace and love from the people of Glasgow and keep on Rocking.👍🥃🏴🇬🇧🙏🎸
Great video. Of course opinions come into this. I wouldn’t change anything on the list, I would simply add the Allman Brothers Live at the Filmore East, it’s the album that opened the blues door for me.
An All Time Classic. A friend turned me onto it in 1974. I have the remastered version which takes the songs from the Fillmore album and Eat a Peach and puts them into the order in which they were played at the actual concert. It would be my "stuck on an island" album. Cheers
0:30 Robert Johnson 1:45 Howlin Wolf 2:25 Albert King 3:55 John Mayall w/ Clapton 5:20 SRV 6:20 Freddy King 7:20 Muddy Waters 8:50 Jimmy Hendrix 10:00 T Bone Walker 11:10 BB king
Have to Place THE GREAT ERIC BURDON amongst the TOP BLUES SINGERS EVER! know he's likely listed as more for ROCK to most JIM MORRISON PROOVED BOTH POSSIBLE ❤
Great list ! I saw T-Bone Walker as a 14 year-old in a coffee bar in Ottawa. Sitting about 15 feet from the small stage, the experience was intense, very moving. Some 50 years later, I am playing in a blues band up in Canada and still grooving on the music. Well done Edward !
I thought it odd when you were talking about Booker T & the MGs on the Albert King album that you mentioned "Duck" Dunn was in the Blues Brothers, but did not mention that legendary guitarist/session player/song writer Steve Cropper was also a member of both the MGs & the Blues Brothers.
I saw BB King in my early 20s in Dublin Ireland, I literally climbed a tree and got out of my tree before getting down from the tree. No drink, just weed and BB playing his heart out! Feckin munya!!
The British blues boom of the late 60s, early 70s had much to do with the reinvention of popular blues in the US. Some of those bands that, while maybe not pure blues, deserve a mention include the incomparable Free, Savoy Brown, Taste, early Fleetwood Mac & Robin Trower. So many great bands from that era who never even got a record deal & therefore zero exposure but who were in their own small way influential. I’m 71 now & feel truly blessed to have lived thru the yrs ‘68 - ‘76 when all was right with the world & the music was phenomenal
I’m 74 this month and my memory of seeing Savoy Brown at the Whiskey Au-go-go so many years ago is one of the markers for my Blues life. A pity their lead guitarist passed a couple years ago. He really drove their sound incomparably…
I agree. And of the groups that you listed I would put Cream at the top as far as generating interest in blues in the US. Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Savoy Brown and Fleetwood Mac definitely generated interest in the US through their many tours in the US in the late sixties/early 70's.
SAVOY BROWN 1967- 2023 KIM SIMMONDS guitarist - IMO, one of the consistently ongoing blues player of almost 60 years! Blues/ Boogie Kim plus members of Foghat, Chicken Shack, Blodwyn Pig, plus Singers Chris Youlden, Dave Walker, and keyboardist Paul Raymond...
Back in the 70s I went to the Academy of Music in NYC to hear BB. At about 3 AM he called out his friend to play a couple. T-Bone Walker joined BB's great band, and did Stormy Monday. I love BB, but T-Bone was a whole 'nother world of blues. What a talent.
Very nice list. Don't forget the late Peter Green. Fleetwood Mac was much more than a '70s pop band. Check out Peter Green's original Mac, '67-'70. All of it. His guitar and vocals are spooky good, made B.B. King shiver.
Agree with you, with all due respect i prefer John Mayal Blues Breakers with The Great Peter Green, in my opinion the best guitarist John Mayal ever had and the work with Fleetwood Mac was Excellent. Greetings Whowhaska. ✌️
@jorgeramirezcamarena4904 Absolutely. Hard Road was a classic Bluesbreakers release, and Peter's Supernatural cut never gets old. A few years back the late Mayall came out with a two-CD recording of live club gigs with Peter on guitar, the summer of '67, right before he left Mayall and launched Mac. To my mind, Peter's very best fiery guitar work while in his budding prime as a young musical genius. I recommend it highly, if you haven't heard it. Great to know others who follow Peter too. You have real taste. Slow blues. Minor tones. All the way.
The live-in-the-studio double-album "Fleetwood Mac in Chicago", where they're playing with Willie Dixon, Otis Spann and other seasoned bluesman, is very good.
Very difficult to come up with just 10 top Blues albums of all time......there are so many great Blues albums out there.....and I like your picks, but a few I feel need mentioning are also: Magic Sam's - West Side Soul, Taj Mahal's - Taj Mahal (1968), Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee 1973 - Sonny and Brownie, Paul Butterfields 1st and 2nd albums, Otis Spann - The Blues Never Die, Various Lightin Hopkins albums, John Lee Hooker - House of Blues, Jimmy Rogers All Star Blues Band - Blues Blues Blues, Little Walter Chess Compilation, Muddy Waters Chess Compilation, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac - Mr Wonderful, Canned Heat (with Alan Wilson) with John Lee Hooker (1st one), Allman Bros - Live at the Fillmore, not to mention many of the originals....Tampa Red, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie McTell, so many that gave birth to the Blues.
@@davidnygard1817 One rock and roll story (apparently true) is that Duane and Gregg Allman had had a fight and were not talking to each other when Duane got a copy of Taj Mahals debut album, listened to it and loved it. He hurried over to Greggs place (forgetting their feud), and excitedly said You have to hear this and proceeded to play the album. Gregg loved it too and it inspired them to play a more bluesy slide guitar style which Duane Allman excelled at and inspired them to start recording. Thank you Taj!
Great list. Some honorable mentions. - BB King Live in Cook County Jail. While the Regal album is more famous, in Cook County Jail has BB at the top form not only with his singing but also with masterful guitar playing. - Jeff Beck Truth. While Blues Breakers with Clapton blew open the door to British blues, Beck (with Rod Stewart) added a major chapter to that. - Cream Wheels of Fire. 3 virtuosos stretching the blues into jazz. Amazing. A PS to that is Live Cream Volume II which has Clapton’s extended version of Steppin Out which is great. - Muddy Waters Fathers and Sons. I’ve heard Muddy many times, this is the peak for me. - Allman Brothers At Fillmore East. This takes what Cream did adding a Southern US twist. Classic performances. - Finally I like a lot of Buddy Guy’s blues. Buddy's Baddest: The Best of Buddy Guy finishes my list.
I second your thumbs up for BB King live at Cook County jail, which also contains a funny bit where some nasal-voiced woman says "Let's clap for Warden Smith" or whoever, and the audience boos loudly! I also remember BB holding some really long notes in a way that kind of foreshadows Carlos Santana.
Booker T’s guitarist, Steve Cropper, was also in the Blues Brothers movie. John Mayall was also a mentor to Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) and Mick Taylor (Rolling Stones).
Steve Cropper, Booker T, Duck Dunn, et al were the Stax/Volt house band. They played behind Otis Redding; Sam (rip) and Dave, and many, many more. They comprised Booker T and the MGs. If you’ve never seen the Stax/Volt tour recorded live in Sweden (?) around 1966, check it out. It was before sound reinforcement: the band used its amps to make the music. Wonder why everybody used such big amps?
Taj had Ry Cooder and Jesse Ed Davis, variously, on guitar on that record. Their arrangement of Statesboro Blues with Jesse on slide inspired Duane Allman's version.
Nice list Ed. 2 more I would have liked to see: - Lightnin' Hopkins - not sure which album, but he has some great stuff - John Lee Hooker - I really like his acoustic album: The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker
Son Seals. Live: Spontaneous Combustion. And. Live and Burning. Son heard all the greats as a child and teen, performed with many - you can hear it in hisplaying, especially Albert King. Seals also heard many of the greats while growing-up as they performed at his Father's club; the Dipsy Doodle. Seals also was the drummer for Albert King, on Live Wire/Blues Power.
Lonnie Brooks, Son Seals, Mighty Joe Young, and Willie Dixon. Yes, I grew up on Chicago's south side in the 60's and 70's. The golden age of Chicago Blues. So much music and fun.
@@billythekid5258 Yeah, I met, hung, and personally, soulfully and directly learned from these guys on a regular basis, commencing from the Harry Chickles blues circuit out of Chicago from the early 70's through the early 80's. Learning that Jimi Hendrix played with Buddy early on, and that Buddy and Junior booked Eric Clapton to play rhythm guitar on one of their albums cinched it for me. So many adventures, I knew them well and never missed them.
✅👍 Much appreciated from the UK … How weird is it that in the 60s, with no YT and no Spotify, many people like Mick Jagger, Peter Green, John Mayall etc already had a list like this figured out !?!
Maybe not one of the top ten greatest but one of the most raucous, wild and craziest music is Hound Dog Taylor's "Beware Of The Dog". Off-the-charts electric slide guitar with tough bass and drums,. Live show and the crowd's lovin' it. Chicago blues for a party. Play it loud!
Albert Collins was my All Time Favorite...He died on my birthday in 1993...That was a real bummer, but this why we listen to the BLUES!...Although, I was lucky enough to have seen him live 3x...He was Electrifying, Dazzling, Stupefying, and never ever disappointed!...I truly miss him.
Solid list, but I'd throw in "The Howlin' Wolf London Sessions" with the cream of British blues artists. The cut "Red Rooster (with the false start)" is worth the whole album.
I was surprised by your age …because of your knowledge blues music ..I’m 22 years your senior….bought my first blues cassette in 82 BB King …just subscribed 🤟🏻🎸
Great list! Recommended listen for everyone. Thanks my man, you caused me to time trip back to the late Sixties when I was a preteen trying to find me some Blues to listen to. 1967- there is no Blues on the radio or TV, the record stores don't have and can't get any, none of my friends but one has ever heard of it... there is no internet, file sharing is listening to someone else's records, no handy YT lists... it was tough. It turned out the library was my best friend, they had all kinds hidden away in Culture and Ethnic Folk Studies recordings. And that's how I got started, inspired by those Brits overseas, and in 1969, I got to see B B King! Two dollars at the door!
You definitely picked some good ones. Some of my favorites are: - Son Seals " Live and Burning" - Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, Robert Cray "Showdown" ( came out in 1985, I think it won a Grammy) - Taj Mahal " The Natch'l Blues" - Muddy Waters "I'm Ready" - Boz Scaggs " Come On Home" - Van Morrison " Too Long in Exile" - John Lee Hooker " Mr. Lucky " and " Chill Out" - Paul Rodgers " Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters ". It's got a lot of amazing guitarists accompanying him on each song.
@trickyfingers it is a really good one, that's for sure. I've always been a fan of each artist, especially Albert Collins. But those three together is a helluva combination. Their playing styles, and vocals are different, but really work perfect together. Van Morrison and John Lee Hooker are like that. Excellent enough on their own, but put them together and it's a perfect match.
Great video Ed! I agree with every one of your picks, 100%! I have a few of these on vinyl. Since then have gotten many songs off the web for my iPod and commputer. Seen a few of these awesome musicians live at shows too. I'll have to check out the 8:30 show.
I remember getting the Robert Johnson boxed set in 1990 when it came out. I was in 8th grade, just started playing guitar. I was surprised by Johnson’s high voice. I had heard him mentioned before , but never heard him personally until then. Between getting that on cassette, and hearing the 45 single of 3 o’clock blues by BB King, got me into the blues. Ironically, the music I was listening too at the time, was deeply influenced by the blues (Ac/dc, Aerosmith, etc) but I wasn’t even sure what the blues was, especially as some 12 year old white boy. I too got that Hendrix blues album on cassette as well, and man, it blew my mind. It was basically what the blues sounded like if it was played by a Martian. Eventually hearing the beano album, got me fully hooked in the genre. I was always a strat guy, but that ‘60 burst plugged into that dimed Marshall sound, was something I’ll always love. One player that I really loved, was Michael Bloomfield. Those 3 albums he played on (2 butterfield albums and the Electric Flag) were pivotal in my learning blues and rock guitar. East/west might not be considered “the blues”, but it changed the way ppl heard lead guitar in rock music, for sure. It’s a shame the old black guys who started all this, never truly got the money and fame they deserved while they were alive. Great list man, every one is a monumental moment in the genre.
This was a very nice video. I would steer folks who want a complete recordings CD of Robert Johnson to The Centennial Collection. It was done fairly recently using much more up-to-date technology that preserves the sound but eliminates the pops, hiss, etc. I am old enough to have listened to my parents' record player which could play 45s, 33s, and 78s. Lots of pop and his on the 78s, as they were made of bakelite or bakelite like material, so less flexible and prone to deterioration from the needle. I have The Complete Recordings and The Centennial Collection: better liner notes on the TCR, but better sound on the TCC: if you have to get one, get TCC. This is not dissing Edward Philips, just my humble opinion. Whichever you choose, keep loving the blues! Thanks, Ed!
Some of my favorites Burgular - Freddie King Hard Again - Muddy waters Howlin wolf London Sessions Showdown - Albert collins Tbone blues - Tbone Live - Johnny winter From the Cradle - Clapton
Oh yeah, "Showdown" an album I only recently discovered. This trio of guitar players together is outstanding. Albert Collins, Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland! Add it to your collection, you'll be glad you did.
Definitely Showdown. Being down under in Australia we have the greats tour sporadically. I have been fortunate to see Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, BB King and Albert Collins on tour though.
Well, Ed- I really enjoyed that!!* I love Blues music, and to get such a great list from someone as knowledgeable as you are is amazing. People may not realize, but you are a Professor of music, I believe. It shows- your knowledge is solid. But i can't stop without telling my friends about your Livestreams on Wednesday nights, on UA-cam. We have a fun, laid back blast midweek - Ed plays his many guitars, his banjo - whatever comes to mind, singing mainly Delta Blues, but he's known to do some SRV, Jimi and whoever else you can request him to play!* Drinking beer, having a shot or a good Scotch or Irish, laughing and shooting the sh!t, reading our comments, which are slow paced and friendly...and telling his great stories. Lots of technical stuff about guitars, strings, amps and tuning - it's just like getting to hangout with your buddies down at your local pub...but you don't have to drive home. Come check it out this Wednesday at 8. See ya there😂 ..
I LOVE the Blues!and I just stumbled onto your channel. Your pick for the 10 best Blues albums is right on target. And, yes, I subscribed to your channel, I hit “like” AND I shared this with some of my Blues loving friends. Great job! Keep it up.
Pretty darn good list. Would like to have seen Magic Sam 'West Side Soul' slip in there somewhere but hey its all conjecture, opinion & argument ..... rather just enjoy the listen.
I totally agree with you on 'West Side Soul', Magic Sam is fire! 🔥But I would add another Delmark side, 'Hoodoo Man Blues' by Junior Wells, featuring Buddy Guy. Brilliant!
Lovely vid, some great funny bits - well edited in. Surprised to to see no John Lee Hooker or RL Burnside - but there are so many choices, making a list of 10 is near impossible. Great work.
@@michaeltiffe6341 Most people seem to rate Blues as either Delta or Modern - personally I love Hill Country Blues and love that upbeat - uptempo sound. Also love the punk/heavy meatal crossover from people like Left Lane Cruiser and the new takes like Rev Payton and his Damn Big Band and Seasick Steve. For some people Blues is Memphis Slim and going into Barrel House Jump and even borders on Jazz. It's all good. John Lee Hooker Live at Cafe A Go-Go if your feeling down there.
Great list! Here’s my top 10 albums you didn’t mention in no particular order! You stole a lot of mine ;) 1. The pious bird of good omen ( Fleetwood Mac ) 2.Live at cook county jail bb king 3. Live Wire / Blues Power Albert King 4. Live at the Fillmore ( ABB ) 5. Roary Gallagher Irish Tour 74’ 6. Freddie King Getting Ready 7. Buddy Guy A man and the blues 8. The Natch’l blues Taj Mahal 9. Layla and other assorted love songs 10. The Real Folk Blues ( A lot of old blues artists have an album with this title. Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker etc. i like them all and think they’re all a great showcase of where blues guitar was going and where it had been
I have a couple Rory Gallagher vinyl records that could make an honorable mention. When it came to cover blues, let's not forget George Thorogood. He along with SRV brought the blues back to mainstream a little.
@@peterwhite507 Quite agree with yr comment about Rory Gallagher. I didn’t include him in my initial post because he was of course the driving force of Taste who I did mention. I was lucky enuf to see him numerous times in London over the yrs b4 emigrating to the US in ‘88. His Live in Europe album is magnificent & and essential part of any rock/blues collection
Thanks so much Ed. Half these albums are my favorites ever, and I'm sure the other half, I've just been missing. Thanks again, you're the best. Keep playing and keep recording.
Great review of the fathers of the blues . Many people knew the genre probably are unfamiliar with . As a suggestion perhaps your next introduction might be to the British Blues , the Detroit Blues and of course the southern Mississippi Delta Blues . 👍
Thanks for the awesome list Ed! I think i have 8 of these so time to scrounge up the missing content. I always appreciate lists like this to discover new additions to the library!
Your list is right on the money. When I saw the notification I thought ouh oh. No way somebody can get this list right but you nailed it. I was glad you included Steve Ray Vaughn. Great list great video great music. Thanks PS. I have to agree with one of you commenters *Live at Fillmore East would be a nice addition. Killer album
Great video. Great choices. One of my favorite blue albums, perhaps not selected because it is all acoustic, is Midnight Special by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee. Can't get enough of it and it's influenced both my harmonica and guitar playing.
You can't argue with that list Edward. Hard to know which I might discard, but I might have to swap one for West Side Soul by Magic Sam and maybe some Sonny Boy Williamson. I think you forgot that Steve Cropper was also in the Blues Brothers band.
What a great selection, thank you! I would add Buddy Guy 'A Man & The Blues', Junior Wells 'Hoodoo Man Blues', Otis Rush 'Right Place Wrong Time'; Magic Sam 'West Side Soul'; J.B. Hutto 'Slippin' & Slidin' - Maybe we need a top 100!
Thank you for this list. I grew up listening mostly to rock but as an older man I have been drawn to blues. I will definitely check out some of these albums.
Thanks for including T-Bone on Atlantic and absolutely essential record..T-Bone being the father on the Texas blues and all those big names from the Chicago West and South Side - Buddy Guy , Otis Rush and countless others.. I would include Albert Kings' "Live Wire Blues Power" album from the Fillmore West 1968 every AK lick SRV knows is on that record.
Great list ed. I’d have to add my own introduction to the blues in 1970. “Blues from laurel canyon “ by John mayall “ with the wonderful mick Taylor on lead guitar. Blew me away and made me a blues fan ever since .
Great video, I was living in London and saw them at the Wardow club in Soho, all my favs too, SRV, not mention Muddy, Wolf, Robert Johnson,Blind Lemon, Gatemouth and so many others💯
Ed this is B❤arry. This is one hell of a great video. Thank you for mentioning donald duck, dunn and the blues brothers movie. His bass playing dominates that movie and I consider it.The greatest movie ever made for many reasons. I also wanna thank you again for letting me run sound for ya on my 50th birthday. A pitcher or two of fat tire and 3 or 4 sets of blues tunes famous and obscure. Was one hell of a good treat for me i will never forget. Debbie says hi.
I love Alvin Lee. I think he played Woodstock with Ten Years After! I bought a harmonica at 18 when I left my parents. They didn't like instruments because of Religion. I discarded those beliefs when I left!
Definitely a good list! I would also add Halfbreed by the Keef Hartley Band. I discovered this record much later, but recently I visited the Woodstock museum and was surprised to discover that the band did play Woodstock along with so many of my rock heroes. Well worn a listen for raw electric blues!
Ed! Are you daft mate!!!??? To not mention Elmore James is just a shame. His unique vocals and world class slide guitar playing are incomparable…truly this list deserves hundreds of names but serves as auditory evidence to your great taste…..
Great list! Glad to see respect paid to the original masters of blues. And you added two "youngsters" (lol) to the mix (Hendrix and SRV). Most of your list came before me, and before I was old enough to go to concerts, I did get to see two of them. BB King is one. He was great, but had aged a bit. There was more talking than I would usually care for, but the stories were exceptional. I was also privileged to see SRV. He was rather new to the entire world knowing him. I think Superstition was big, and that's all I'd ever heard. I remember he came out on stage, and to me, he looked silly in the hat and fringed jacket. It took him 30 minutes to play his first two or three songs. I have never seen anyone assault a guitar like that. I've seen over 400 bands, and his will always be number one. I've been very blessed. RIP to all of those masters. So few of them remain. Steady Rollin Bob Margolin was Muddy's guitar player, and played on The Last Waltz. He's still alive and kickin. I talk with him on Facebook sometimes. Hate to see those guys go. I will add.. Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East, belongs here as much as any.
When I was about 9 years old around 1965 someone gave me a 45 record of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee doing a song called "Chicken Hop" been hooked on the Blues ever since... I've made damn sure that I had went to see every blues musician on this list who were alive during my 67 years...In the early 90's I had a dilemma of a concert I wanted to go to...Jeff Beck, and Stevie Ray Vaughn at Madison Square Garden, or Albert King, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Hubert Sumlin with Pine Top Perkins, John Hammond Jr., and my all time favorite "The Iceman'" Albert Collins at the Beacon Theater...Guess what show I went to?...It was a fairly easy decision...The Blues Masters while they were still on God's Good Earth!...Thanks for including T Bone Walker on this list...He encompasses everything I revere about this genre...He's Jazzy, Bluesy, and Swings with the best of them...If you get a chance watch on UA-cam his performance with Duke Ellington's Band and Dizzy Gillespie from the "The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World" around 1962/63...He performs "Stormy Monday" and "Woman You Must be Crazy"...This is what it's all about!...A list of 10 is arduous...It's either apples or oranges...Lest we not forget John Lee Hooker!
Yep Elmore lived here in Canton, Mississippi. I went up to Holmes County and cleaned his neglected headstone about 30 miles from my house. He was one of the best.
Elmore just doesn't get as much love as he should. The other key thing is that he is the link between Robert Johnson and what becomes the Chicago electric blues sound. It might be that his music is early electric and is not as refined as the later stuff. But he is probably my favorite bluesman with John Lee Hooker. Take Clapton and Hendrix off this list and add Elmore and John Lee. No offense to Clapton and Hendrix. It is just that they're guys who were influenced by and can play the blues, not true men of the Blues.
Looking at your backdrop what about your 10 Favourite Whiskies ? Chuck Berry had a sprinkling of blues tunes that could’ve made a blues album. His lyrics are very good.
Nice list. I think Paul Butterfield should be included as he had a huge impact on spreading the blues to a large mainstream, (White) audience. Hugely influential.
Thanks Edward. New subscriber here. I'm proud to say that I have most of these albums. That Howlin' Wolf album is most commonly found on CD in a "two-fer" with his album Moanin' in the Moonlight. There are so many all-time great blues albums you could easily extend this into a series of "must hear" videos, spotlighting stuff like the Allman Bros.' 1971 Fillmore East album, Muddy Waters' two Chess 50th Anniversary compilations, any of Johnny Winter's early Columbia albums, Strong Persuader by Robert Cray, Blue Streak by Luther Allison...aw hell, you could go on all day. I just subscribed to your channel so you may have already done videos on those albums for all I know.
Absolutely. The only list that we should see featuring Eric Clapton is the most overrated guitarist in history list. And he deserves to be at the top of that list.
For all my American friends 5/- is English signage for 5 Shillings back pre-decimilisation. This lucky punter got to see Mayall & the Bluesbreakers for about 50-75c!!
I've been playing blues guitar for 65 years and was in the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils. I think you nailed it right on the head as these are all (except Hendrix's blues record) that I grew up on in Kansas City. Good choices.
Live Wire/Blues Power from Albert King Stone Crazy from Buddy Guy Live at the Mocambo SRV Third Degree by Johnny Winter Captured Live is mostly rock but features the epic slow blues Sweet Papa John
Wow, you did such a great job! I'm impressed! I will Like and Subscribe. I'm a blues fan for 55 years. Named my son after Muddy. You compiled a truly great list - especially for folks new to the blues. Of course there are so many more to consider but I would have expected Buddy Guy and Jr. Wells Play the Blues. Thanks for a great video!
I have 7 of these albums and those I don't have, I have other releases for the same artist. I started listening to blues when I was 17. I'm 74 now. Saw all three kings before I was 20. BB, Freddie and Albert. Best show I ever saw at the Fillmore in SF was, where the opening act was Albert King, second act was John Mayall and the Blues Breakers, third act was Paul Butterfield Blues Band including Mike Bloomfield and Elven Bishop, and the headliner was Jimi Hendrix!!! I also saw Cream there on their first West Coast performance. Hardly anybody was there. I stood at the very front of the stage, right in front of Eric Clapton the whole night. I was an 18 year old kid in complete aw.
You were in the right place at the right time. During Blues Bag weekend in NYC in ‘66 I went to hear Butterfield blues band at town hall and then went to the the Cafe a Go Go to hear Muddy Waters and the Blue Project. Pretty cool exposure for a white 16 year old kid.
I'm 70. Had the good fortune to see all 3 Kings, BB, Albert, and Freddie, plus Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters.
I'll be 70 this year and ditto! How lucky are we?
I had the good fortune to see Muddy 3 times in the 70's at a little place in Cary, IL called Harry Hope's. It was very intimate and would be described more as a listening room than a club. We never sat more than 10 or 15 ft. from his band. At that time, he had Bob Margolin on guitar and Jerry Portnoy on harmonica.
@@brucewilson1958 Took my son to see BB King in Baltimore, when he was a wee lad. About half way through his set I leaned over and said to my boy in a VERY soft whisper: “Do you realize we are only white people in the entire audience?” He replied: “Pretty cool, yea?”
respect, brother
I saw Howlin Wolf once in 1972 in the Chicago area. A group of us were actually going to see a Melanie Safka concert (remember her?). When we arrived, we were informed that Melanie had had some sort of medical emergency and would be unable to perform. They gave us three choices: We could hold onto our tickets and they would be valid for the rescheduled concert. We could write to such and such address for a refund. Or, we could stay for the replacement act that they had lined up on an impromptu basis. Naturally, we asked who the replacement act was. They said Howlin Wolf and we said pfft! We'll stay!
"Fathers & Sons" - A Chess double(half live/half studio) recording of Muddy backed by Otis Spann, Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, Donald Duck Dunn, Sam Lay and Buddy Miles from 1969. An often-overlooked recording. Also, Johnny Winter's "Progressive Blues Experiment" on Liberty and his 1st Columbia album, both from 1969.
Damn straight. My first blues album!
Father and sons was massive for me when I first heard it! Definitely on my list for best blues albums
dude I was on my to saying exactly the same - I have Butterfield way high on my list of post-war blues revival artists - as with Winter its the vocal abiilty and understanding of lyrics; for this reason Johnny sounds better covering Dylan and the Stones than anyone ever
Johnny was great, but he wasn't happy with The Progressive Blues Experiment and in interviews said he wished people wouldn't buy it.
Thanks for the ""old school" references. I will suggest you do a more modern recognition of the greatest revival blues players of today. Joe Bonamassa is leader of the pack & is not only the greatest player alive but he makes it his life mission to spead knowledge & love for the Blues. There are easily 20 or 30 other great players worthy of high praise & acknowledgement. Check all of them out. Go see them perform. You'll feel better about life in general when you do.
I am from Glasgow/ Scotland I am 75 this year and I have been into the blues,soul and rhythm blues all my life I have seen some of the greats of soul music when they came to Glasgow on that tour was Otis Redding,Sam and Dave ,Wilson Picket to name a few we couldn’t believe it then I think I started listening to the blues and again I seen plenty of the greats coming over from America we went to a small club called the Maryland and there again we seen Howling Wolf ,Champion Jack Dupree and many more black blues men that was in the early days of my youth and as the years go by I have seen most of the great guitarists some dead and others living far too many to mention but I will try ,John Mayall, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Taj Mahal, Rory Gallagher, John Lee Hooker, Johhny Winters ,Robert Cray and I could go on and on and one good thing came out of this was my son plays guitar and listens to all of the music I love and his own modern music Oasis,Stone Roses etc so folks peace and love from the people of Glasgow and keep on Rocking.👍🥃🏴🇬🇧🙏🎸
Great video. Of course opinions come into this. I wouldn’t change anything on the list, I would simply add the Allman Brothers Live at the Filmore East, it’s the album that opened the blues door for me.
An All Time Classic. A friend turned me onto it in 1974. I have the remastered version which takes the songs from the Fillmore album and Eat a Peach and puts them into the order in which they were played at the actual concert. It would be my "stuck on an island" album. Cheers
0:30 Robert Johnson
1:45 Howlin Wolf
2:25 Albert King
3:55 John Mayall w/ Clapton
5:20 SRV
6:20 Freddy King
7:20 Muddy Waters
8:50 Jimmy Hendrix
10:00 T Bone Walker
11:10 BB king
Have to Place THE GREAT ERIC BURDON amongst the TOP BLUES SINGERS EVER! know he's likely listed as more for ROCK to most JIM MORRISON PROOVED BOTH POSSIBLE ❤
Hey Edward, you missed out Hard Again, muddy waters and Johnny winter. That's a must listen album for any blues fan.
Agreed! Milestone!
Can't agree more!
One of the best blues albums ever! As good as it gets.
That was one of the first I thought of too
it’s a fun album. James Cotten on the amplified harmonica - killing it, too.
Great list ! I saw T-Bone Walker as a 14 year-old in a coffee bar in Ottawa. Sitting about 15 feet from the small stage, the experience was intense, very moving. Some 50 years later, I am playing in a blues band up in Canada and still grooving on the music.
Well done Edward !
I thought it odd when you were talking about Booker T & the MGs on the Albert King album that you mentioned "Duck" Dunn was in the Blues Brothers, but did not mention that legendary guitarist/session player/song writer Steve Cropper was also a member of both the MGs & the Blues Brothers.
Honourable mention to Albert Collins. I saw both Albert King and Albert Collins when I was in my early 20s in New Zealand. Fantastic musicians.
I saw BB King in my early 20s in Dublin Ireland, I literally climbed a tree and got out of my tree before getting down from the tree. No drink, just weed and BB playing his heart out! Feckin munya!!
@matthewmorris7510 Bought the album "Ice Pickin" when I was in high school, and wore it out.
The British blues boom of the late 60s, early 70s had much to do with the reinvention of popular blues in the US. Some of those bands that, while maybe not pure blues, deserve a mention include the incomparable Free, Savoy Brown, Taste, early Fleetwood Mac & Robin Trower. So many great bands from that era who never even got a record deal & therefore zero exposure but who were in their own small way influential. I’m 71 now & feel truly blessed to have lived thru the yrs ‘68 - ‘76 when all was right with the world & the music was phenomenal
I’m 74 this month and my memory of seeing Savoy Brown at the Whiskey Au-go-go so many years ago is one of the markers for my Blues life.
A pity their lead guitarist passed a couple years ago. He really drove their sound incomparably…
And Keef Hartley! I just purchased a box set of Keef Hartley, it’s awesome .
I agree. And of the groups that you listed I would put Cream at the top as far as generating interest in blues in the US. Jeff Beck, John Mayall, Savoy Brown and Fleetwood Mac definitely generated interest in the US through their many tours in the US in the late sixties/early 70's.
SAVOY BROWN 1967- 2023
KIM SIMMONDS guitarist -
IMO, one of the consistently ongoing blues player of almost 60 years!
Blues/ Boogie
Kim plus members of Foghat, Chicken Shack, Blodwyn Pig, plus Singers Chris Youlden, Dave Walker, and keyboardist Paul Raymond...
@@onethumbpicker + Ten Years After and Chicken Shack. R.I.P. ALVIN LEE. Cheers.
This list gets my five star rating. It also makes it clear that there are more than 10 "greatest blues albums".
Back in the 70s I went to the Academy of Music in NYC to hear BB. At about 3 AM he called out his friend to play a couple. T-Bone Walker joined BB's great band, and did Stormy Monday. I love BB, but T-Bone was a whole 'nother world of blues. What a talent.
Can't get enough of Howlin Wolf that rocking chair record has more listens than anything in my collection. Never gets old
Very nice list. Don't forget the late Peter Green. Fleetwood Mac was much more than a '70s pop band. Check out Peter Green's original Mac, '67-'70. All of it. His guitar and vocals are spooky good, made B.B. King shiver.
I’m sure you have the Blue Horizon box set, it is great!
@bobbywright3479 It sure is. The mid-sixties British blues is phenomenal. Very authentic.
Agree with you, with all due respect i prefer John Mayal Blues Breakers with The Great Peter Green, in my opinion the best guitarist John Mayal ever had and the work with Fleetwood Mac was Excellent. Greetings Whowhaska. ✌️
@jorgeramirezcamarena4904 Absolutely. Hard Road was a classic Bluesbreakers release, and Peter's Supernatural cut never gets old. A few years back the late Mayall came out with a two-CD recording of live club gigs with Peter on guitar, the summer of '67, right before he left Mayall and launched Mac. To my mind, Peter's very best fiery guitar work while in his budding prime as a young musical genius. I recommend it highly, if you haven't heard it. Great to know others who follow Peter too. You have real taste. Slow blues. Minor tones. All the way.
The live-in-the-studio double-album "Fleetwood Mac in Chicago", where they're playing with Willie Dixon, Otis Spann and other seasoned bluesman, is very good.
A great little video, Ed. I'm not certain I agree with all your selections, but each of your choices is certainly a great album. Thanks for sharing.
Very difficult to come up with just 10 top Blues albums of all time......there are so many great Blues albums out there.....and I like your picks, but a few I feel need mentioning are also: Magic Sam's - West Side Soul, Taj Mahal's - Taj Mahal (1968), Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee 1973 - Sonny and Brownie, Paul Butterfields 1st and 2nd albums, Otis Spann - The Blues Never Die, Various Lightin Hopkins albums, John Lee Hooker - House of Blues, Jimmy Rogers All Star Blues Band - Blues Blues Blues, Little Walter Chess Compilation, Muddy Waters Chess Compilation, Peter Green's Fleetwood Mac - Mr Wonderful, Canned Heat (with Alan Wilson) with John Lee Hooker (1st one), Allman Bros - Live at the Fillmore, not to mention many of the originals....Tampa Red, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie McTell, so many that gave birth to the Blues.
Taj Mahal - Taj Mahal definitely. How can we not have John Lee Hooker in the top 10? No Shoes is about as blue a song I've ever heard.
@@davidnygard1817 One rock and roll story (apparently true) is that Duane and Gregg Allman had had a fight and were not talking to each other when Duane got a copy of Taj Mahals debut album, listened to it and loved it. He hurried over to Greggs place (forgetting their feud), and excitedly said You have to hear this and proceeded to play the album.
Gregg loved it too and it inspired them to play a more bluesy slide guitar style which Duane Allman excelled at and inspired them to start recording. Thank you Taj!
Great list. Some honorable mentions.
- BB King Live in Cook County Jail. While the Regal album is more famous, in Cook County Jail has BB at the top form not only with his singing but also with masterful guitar playing.
- Jeff Beck Truth. While Blues Breakers with Clapton blew open the door to British blues, Beck (with Rod Stewart) added a major chapter to that.
- Cream Wheels of Fire. 3 virtuosos stretching the blues into jazz. Amazing.
A PS to that is Live Cream Volume II which has Clapton’s extended version of Steppin Out which is great.
- Muddy Waters Fathers and Sons. I’ve heard Muddy many times, this is the peak for me.
- Allman Brothers At Fillmore East. This takes what Cream did adding a Southern US twist. Classic performances.
- Finally I like a lot of Buddy Guy’s blues. Buddy's Baddest: The Best of Buddy Guy finishes my list.
I second your thumbs up for BB King live at Cook County jail, which also contains a funny bit where some nasal-voiced woman says "Let's clap for Warden Smith" or whoever, and the audience boos loudly! I also remember BB holding some really long notes in a way that kind of foreshadows Carlos Santana.
Booker T’s guitarist, Steve Cropper, was also in the Blues Brothers movie.
John Mayall was also a mentor to Peter Green (Fleetwood Mac) and Mick Taylor (Rolling Stones).
Steve Cropper, Booker T, Duck Dunn, et al were the Stax/Volt house band. They played behind Otis Redding; Sam (rip) and Dave, and many, many more. They comprised Booker T and the MGs. If you’ve never seen the Stax/Volt tour recorded live in Sweden (?) around 1966, check it out. It was before sound reinforcement: the band used its amps to make the music. Wonder why everybody used such big amps?
Hard list to crack. A couple of honorable mentions are the first albums by Canned Heat and Taj Mahal.
Impossible to leave out John Lee, but I get the bent.
I agree with both.
Taj had Ry Cooder and Jesse Ed Davis, variously, on guitar on that record. Their arrangement of Statesboro Blues with Jesse on slide inspired Duane Allman's version.
Canned Heat first album FORCES you to start ramming straight shots!!
I am stuck in an endless boogie!
Nice list Ed. 2 more I would have liked to see:
- Lightnin' Hopkins - not sure which album, but he has some great stuff
- John Lee Hooker - I really like his acoustic album: The Country Blues of John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker - Real Folk Blues
I know. He gets left out all the time. Pure Blues at its best. My Favorite.
Muddy Waters' Hard Again is an honorable mention. Everybody's on fire with that album
I would add Muddy's live album from 1981, also produced by Johnny Winters. That record is an education.
This was my first thought 👍
“Hard Again” was the first blues album that I ever bought.
Yes! I'd say Muddy Mississippi Live is the best live blues album.
@EdwardPigg-ji4yy what a great (and brave) title! Thanks Johnny Winter!
Son Seals. Live: Spontaneous Combustion. And. Live and Burning. Son heard all the greats as a child and teen, performed with many - you can hear it in hisplaying, especially Albert King. Seals also heard many of the greats while growing-up as they performed at his Father's club; the Dipsy Doodle. Seals also was the drummer for Albert King, on Live Wire/Blues Power.
Check out Lurrie Bell if you like Son Seals.
Johnny Winter…….Progressive Blues Experiment!
Gotta agree! Blues with a certain Texas feel to it!
Saw him with Edgar...great show
YES... massive..
There is a tiny, tiny number of blues guitarist who are instantly recognisable.
Johnny Winter is one of them.
OmG, yeeees! 1968!
Good list - so many great possibilities, tough to choose. Gatemouth, Little Walter, Sonny Boy, Muddy all had life- changing records.
Great watch ! Thanks we must come home to the BLUES over & over again ..
Lonnie Brooks, Son Seals, Mighty Joe Young, and Willie Dixon. Yes, I grew up on Chicago's south side in the 60's and 70's. The golden age of Chicago Blues. So much music and fun.
Buddy Guy and Junior Wells Drinkin' TNT 'n' Smokin' Dynamite. All you need.
THAT'S BLUES, my man!!!!!!
@@billythekid5258 Yeah, I met, hung, and personally, soulfully and directly learned from these guys on a regular basis, commencing from the Harry Chickles blues circuit out of Chicago from the early 70's through the early 80's. Learning that Jimi Hendrix played with Buddy early on, and that Buddy and Junior booked Eric Clapton to play rhythm guitar on one of their albums cinched it for me. So many adventures, I knew them well and never missed them.
How in the world could you possible leave The Allman Brothers live at the Fillmore East off this list?
Right, greatest at capturing a blues festival atmosphere at its best.
Hoodoo Man Blues is my favourite
Gary moore "blues for Greeny"
Albert Lee ,10 Years After..Hound Dog Taylor…Rory Gallagher…can also be in the mix…and I’ll throw in Cactus…great video, ty🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
The Hound Dog ! Always and Forever
✅👍 Much appreciated from the UK … How weird is it that in the 60s, with no YT and no Spotify, many people like Mick Jagger, Peter Green, John Mayall etc already had a list like this figured out !?!
Maybe not one of the top ten greatest but one of the most raucous, wild and craziest music is Hound Dog Taylor's "Beware Of The Dog". Off-the-charts electric slide guitar with tough bass and drums,. Live show and the crowd's lovin' it. Chicago blues for a party. Play it loud!
This is correct. Did blues radio for years and this record is unmatched. He is tremendously underrated.
Great list. I only missed Albert Collins.
Albert Collins was my All Time Favorite...He died on my birthday in 1993...That was a real bummer, but this why we listen to the BLUES!...Although, I was lucky enough to have seen him live 3x...He was Electrifying, Dazzling, Stupefying, and never ever disappointed!...I truly miss him.
Solid list, but I'd throw in "The Howlin' Wolf London Sessions" with the cream of British blues artists. The cut "Red Rooster (with the false start)" is worth the whole album.
Glad your doing this. Blues and depresaion will be having a huge comback
Sadly they are mostly inseparable…
Ed has lots of respect and talent for American blues music. His streams on Wednesdays are fun.
Wow I am blown away, you pretty much had the same blues journey as I did when I started to play blues guitar in 83.
Good list. I'd add some Otis Rush and Magic Sam. And you can never have too much Muddy Waters.
Agreed. No one was deeper into the blues as Otis Rush. His vocals are iconic.
I was surprised by your age …because of your knowledge blues music ..I’m 22 years your senior….bought my first blues cassette in 82 BB King …just subscribed 🤟🏻🎸
Great list! Recommended listen for everyone. Thanks my man, you caused me to time trip back to the late Sixties when I was a preteen trying to find me some Blues to listen to. 1967- there is no Blues on the radio or TV, the record stores don't have and can't get any, none of my friends but one has ever heard of it... there is no internet, file sharing is listening to someone else's records, no handy YT lists... it was tough. It turned out the library was my best friend, they had all kinds hidden away in Culture and Ethnic Folk Studies recordings. And that's how I got started, inspired by those Brits overseas, and in 1969, I got to see B B King! Two dollars at the door!
You definitely picked some good ones.
Some of my favorites are:
- Son Seals " Live and Burning"
- Albert Collins, Johnny Copeland, Robert Cray "Showdown" ( came out in 1985, I think it won a Grammy)
- Taj Mahal " The Natch'l Blues"
- Muddy Waters "I'm Ready"
- Boz Scaggs " Come On Home"
- Van Morrison " Too Long in Exile"
- John Lee Hooker " Mr. Lucky " and
" Chill Out"
- Paul Rodgers " Muddy Water Blues: A Tribute to Muddy Waters ". It's got a lot of amazing guitarists accompanying him on each song.
Muddy Water Blues doesn’t get enough love IMO.
Showdown is one of my favorites - not sure many folks know about this one.
@trickyfingers it is a really good one, that's for sure. I've always been a fan of each artist, especially Albert Collins. But those three together is a helluva combination. Their playing styles, and vocals are different, but really work perfect together. Van Morrison and John Lee Hooker are like that. Excellent enough on their own, but put them together and it's a perfect match.
Great video Ed! I agree with every one of your picks, 100%! I have a few of these on vinyl. Since then have gotten many songs off the web for my iPod and commputer. Seen a few of these awesome musicians live at shows too. I'll have to check out the 8:30 show.
Duck Dunn AND Steve “The Colonel” Cropper were both in the MG’s and Blues Brothers. 😊
I remember getting the Robert Johnson boxed set in 1990 when it came out. I was in 8th grade, just started playing guitar. I was surprised by Johnson’s high voice. I had heard him mentioned before , but never heard him personally until then. Between getting that on cassette, and hearing the 45 single of 3 o’clock blues by BB King, got me into the blues. Ironically, the music I was listening too at the time, was deeply influenced by the blues (Ac/dc, Aerosmith, etc) but I wasn’t even sure what the blues was, especially as some 12 year old white boy. I too got that Hendrix blues album on cassette as well, and man, it blew my mind. It was basically what the blues sounded like if it was played by a Martian. Eventually hearing the beano album, got me fully hooked in the genre. I was always a strat guy, but that ‘60 burst plugged into that dimed Marshall sound, was something I’ll always love. One player that I really loved, was Michael Bloomfield. Those 3 albums he played on (2 butterfield albums and the Electric Flag) were pivotal in my learning blues and rock guitar. East/west might not be considered “the blues”, but it changed the way ppl heard lead guitar in rock music, for sure. It’s a shame the old black guys who started all this, never truly got the money and fame they deserved while they were alive. Great list man, every one is a monumental moment in the genre.
Great list! Your comment on T-Bone is spot on. He may be the greatest influence on modern guitar in history.
This was a very nice video. I would steer folks who want a complete recordings CD of Robert Johnson to The Centennial Collection. It was done fairly recently using much more up-to-date technology that preserves the sound but eliminates the pops, hiss, etc. I am old enough to have listened to my parents' record player which could play 45s, 33s, and 78s. Lots of pop and his on the 78s, as they were made of bakelite or bakelite like material, so less flexible and prone to deterioration from the needle. I have The Complete Recordings and The Centennial Collection: better liner notes on the TCR, but better sound on the TCC: if you have to get one, get TCC. This is not dissing Edward Philips, just my humble opinion. Whichever you choose, keep loving the blues! Thanks, Ed!
Some of my favorites
Burgular - Freddie King
Hard Again - Muddy waters
Howlin wolf London Sessions
Showdown - Albert collins
Tbone blues - Tbone
Live - Johnny winter
From the Cradle - Clapton
And The Duane Allman Anthology
Oh yeah, "Showdown" an album I only recently discovered. This trio of guitar players together is outstanding. Albert Collins, Robert Cray and Johnny Copeland! Add it to your collection, you'll be glad you did.
@@drenklaf oh yeaa.. I believe they won a Grammy for that album
tres hombres zztop
Definitely Showdown. Being down under in Australia we have the greats tour sporadically. I have been fortunate to see Robert Cray, Buddy Guy, BB King and Albert Collins on tour though.
Well, Ed- I really enjoyed that!!* I love Blues music, and to get such a great list from someone as knowledgeable as you are is amazing. People may not realize, but you are a Professor of music, I believe. It shows- your knowledge is solid.
But i can't stop without telling my friends about your Livestreams on Wednesday nights, on UA-cam. We have a fun, laid back blast midweek -
Ed plays his many guitars, his banjo - whatever comes to mind, singing mainly Delta Blues, but he's known to do some SRV, Jimi and whoever else you can request him to play!* Drinking beer, having a shot or a good
Scotch or Irish, laughing and shooting the sh!t, reading our comments, which are slow paced and friendly...and telling his great stories. Lots of technical stuff about guitars, strings, amps and tuning - it's just like getting to hangout with your buddies down at your local pub...but you don't have to drive home. Come check it out this Wednesday at 8.
See ya there😂
..
0:36 I have that album! It’s REALLY good! Great pick! 👍
I LOVE the Blues!and I just stumbled onto your channel. Your pick for the 10 best Blues albums is right on target. And, yes, I subscribed to your channel, I hit “like” AND I shared this with some of my Blues loving friends. Great job! Keep it up.
Pretty darn good list. Would like to have seen Magic Sam 'West Side Soul' slip in there somewhere but hey its all conjecture, opinion & argument ..... rather just enjoy the listen.
I totally agree with you on 'West Side Soul', Magic Sam is fire! 🔥But I would add another Delmark side, 'Hoodoo Man Blues' by Junior Wells, featuring Buddy Guy. Brilliant!
This guy clearly knows his stuff and articulates it well.
Lovely vid, some great funny bits - well edited in. Surprised to to see no John Lee Hooker or RL Burnside - but there are so many choices, making a list of 10 is near impossible. Great work.
Yes Hooker should have been in there somewhere for sure. But 10 is limited for sure
RL Burnside's STOLE MY CHECK is an awesome groove.
@@sentforth5 or how about ua-cam.com/video/gHd6eU5hmTU/v-deo.html
@@michaeltiffe6341 Most people seem to rate Blues as either Delta or Modern - personally I love Hill Country Blues and love that upbeat - uptempo sound. Also love the punk/heavy meatal crossover from people like Left Lane Cruiser and the new takes like Rev Payton and his Damn Big Band and Seasick Steve. For some people Blues is Memphis Slim and going into Barrel House Jump and even borders on Jazz. It's all good. John Lee Hooker Live at Cafe A Go-Go if your feeling down there.
Great list! Here’s my top 10 albums you didn’t mention in no particular order! You stole a lot of mine ;)
1. The pious bird of good omen ( Fleetwood Mac )
2.Live at cook county jail bb king
3. Live Wire / Blues Power Albert King
4. Live at the Fillmore ( ABB )
5. Roary Gallagher Irish Tour 74’
6. Freddie King Getting Ready
7. Buddy Guy A man and the blues
8. The Natch’l blues Taj Mahal
9. Layla and other assorted love songs
10. The Real Folk Blues ( A lot of old blues artists have an album with this title. Muddy Waters, Howlin Wolf, John Lee Hooker etc. i like them all and think they’re all a great showcase of where blues guitar was going and where it had been
I have a couple Rory Gallagher vinyl records that could make an honorable mention. When it came to cover blues, let's not forget George Thorogood. He along with SRV brought the blues back to mainstream a little.
@@peterwhite507 Quite agree with yr comment about Rory Gallagher. I didn’t include him in my initial post because he was of course the driving force of Taste who I did mention. I was lucky enuf to see him numerous times in London over the yrs b4 emigrating to the US in ‘88. His Live in Europe album is magnificent & and essential part of any rock/blues collection
Thanks so much Ed. Half these albums are my favorites ever, and I'm sure the other half, I've just been missing. Thanks again, you're the best. Keep playing and keep recording.
Great review of the fathers of the blues . Many people knew the genre probably are unfamiliar with . As a suggestion perhaps your next introduction might be to the British Blues , the Detroit Blues and of course the southern Mississippi Delta Blues . 👍
Thanks for the awesome list Ed! I think i have 8 of these so time to scrounge up the missing content. I always appreciate lists like this to discover new additions to the library!
Your list is right on the money. When I saw the notification I thought ouh oh. No way somebody can get this list right but you nailed it. I was glad you included Steve Ray Vaughn. Great list great video great music. Thanks PS. I have to agree with one of you commenters *Live at Fillmore East would be a nice addition. Killer album
Old guy here , I was a fan of this sound way before I found out it had a name . Thanks!!!!
Thank You for the Good Suggestions
Great video. Great choices. One of my favorite blue albums, perhaps not selected because it is all acoustic, is Midnight Special by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGee. Can't get enough of it and it's influenced both my harmonica and guitar playing.
You can't argue with that list Edward. Hard to know which I might discard, but I might have to swap one for West Side Soul by Magic Sam and maybe some Sonny Boy Williamson.
I think you forgot that Steve Cropper was also in the Blues Brothers band.
What a great selection, thank you! I would add Buddy Guy 'A Man & The Blues', Junior Wells 'Hoodoo Man Blues', Otis Rush 'Right Place Wrong Time'; Magic Sam 'West Side Soul'; J.B. Hutto 'Slippin' & Slidin' - Maybe we need a top 100!
Great list. I would add Hoodoo Man Blues, and some Peter Green.
Thank you for this list. I grew up listening mostly to rock but as an older man I have been drawn to blues. I will definitely check out some of these albums.
Thanks for including T-Bone on Atlantic and absolutely essential record..T-Bone being the father on the Texas blues and all those big names from the Chicago West and South Side - Buddy Guy , Otis Rush and countless others..
I would include Albert Kings' "Live Wire Blues Power" album from the Fillmore West 1968
every AK lick SRV knows is on that record.
Great list ed. I’d have to add my own introduction to the blues in 1970. “Blues from laurel canyon “ by John mayall “ with the wonderful mick Taylor on lead guitar. Blew me away and made me a blues fan ever since .
Wow where has this channel been my whole life? Thank you so much ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Great video, I was living in London and saw them at the Wardow club in Soho, all my favs too, SRV, not mention Muddy, Wolf, Robert Johnson,Blind Lemon, Gatemouth and so many others💯
Essential albums for sure. The Blues album I listen to most regularly is "Buddy Guy & Junior Wells Play The Blues."
Great record!!
Ed this is B❤arry. This is one hell of a great video. Thank you for mentioning donald duck, dunn and the blues brothers movie. His bass playing dominates that movie and I consider it.The greatest movie ever made for many reasons. I also wanna thank you again for letting me run sound for ya on my 50th birthday.
A pitcher or two of fat tire and 3 or 4 sets of blues tunes famous and obscure. Was one hell of a good treat for me i will never forget. Debbie says hi.
Thanks, Edward! Your content is awesome.
👍👍
I love Alvin Lee. I think he played Woodstock with Ten Years After! I bought a harmonica at 18 when I left my parents. They didn't like instruments because of Religion. I discarded those beliefs when I left!
Stream WXRT radio on Audacy. Blues Breakers Sunday nights 9-10. All the best Chicago Blues.
Hosted by Tom Marker!
Definitely a good list! I would also add Halfbreed by the Keef Hartley Band. I discovered this record much later, but recently I visited the Woodstock museum and was surprised to discover that the band did play Woodstock along with so many of my rock heroes. Well worn a listen for raw electric blues!
Ed! Are you daft mate!!!??? To not mention Elmore James is just a shame. His unique vocals and world class slide guitar playing are incomparable…truly this list deserves hundreds of names but serves as auditory evidence to your great taste…..
Great list! Glad to see respect paid to the original masters of blues. And you added two "youngsters" (lol) to the mix (Hendrix and SRV). Most of your list came before me, and before I was old enough to go to concerts, I did get to see two of them. BB King is one. He was great, but had aged a bit. There was more talking than I would usually care for, but the stories were exceptional. I was also privileged to see SRV. He was rather new to the entire world knowing him. I think Superstition was big, and that's all I'd ever heard. I remember he came out on stage, and to me, he looked silly in the hat and fringed jacket. It took him 30 minutes to play his first two or three songs. I have never seen anyone assault a guitar like that. I've seen over 400 bands, and his will always be number one. I've been very blessed. RIP to all of those masters. So few of them remain. Steady Rollin Bob Margolin was Muddy's guitar player, and played on The Last Waltz. He's still alive and kickin. I talk with him on Facebook sometimes. Hate to see those guys go.
I will add.. Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore East, belongs here as much as any.
When I was about 9 years old around 1965 someone gave me a 45 record of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee doing a song called "Chicken Hop" been hooked on the Blues ever since... I've made damn sure that I had went to see every blues musician on this list who were alive during my 67 years...In the early 90's I had a dilemma of a concert I wanted to go to...Jeff Beck, and Stevie Ray Vaughn at Madison Square Garden, or Albert King, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Hubert Sumlin with Pine Top Perkins, John Hammond Jr., and my all time favorite "The Iceman'" Albert Collins at the Beacon Theater...Guess what show I went to?...It was a fairly easy decision...The Blues Masters while they were still on God's Good Earth!...Thanks for including T Bone Walker on this list...He encompasses everything I revere about this genre...He's Jazzy, Bluesy, and Swings with the best of them...If you get a chance watch on UA-cam his performance with Duke Ellington's Band and Dizzy Gillespie from the "The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World" around 1962/63...He performs "Stormy Monday" and "Woman You Must be Crazy"...This is what it's all about!...A list of 10 is arduous...It's either apples or oranges...Lest we not forget John Lee Hooker!
Needs to be some Elmore James on there. Almost ALL modern rock and blues slide guitar qas influenced by Elmore James.
Dust My Broom
Yep Elmore lived here in Canton, Mississippi. I went up to Holmes County and cleaned his neglected headstone about 30 miles from my house. He was one of the best.
@@jimmycain8669king of the slide guitar - thank you for doing what you did.
@@jimmycain8669 Beautiful. He deserved that love
Elmore just doesn't get as much love as he should. The other key thing is that he is the link between Robert Johnson and what becomes the Chicago electric blues sound. It might be that his music is early electric and is not as refined as the later stuff. But he is probably my favorite bluesman with John Lee Hooker. Take Clapton and Hendrix off this list and add Elmore and John Lee. No offense to Clapton and Hendrix. It is just that they're guys who were influenced by and can play the blues, not true men of the Blues.
Nice presentation. Have some of these albums but now on the search for the ones not in the library.
Exceptional list Ed -- Think you should do the next 10, one that should be included John Mayall's Hard Road with Peter Green on guitar...
Yes to Peter Green / John Mayall. What about Dr Dunbar's Prescription-Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation. Aynsley was the drummer on the Hard Road album.
Fleetwood Mac Live @ Boston tea party 1970 baby
@ 3:10 ... BT&tMGs guitarist Steve "the Colonel" Cropper was also in the Blues Brothers, right next to the Duck.
Grat list. I've added some definite "must haves" to my own list. Thanks!
Looking at your backdrop what about your 10 Favourite Whiskies ? Chuck Berry had a sprinkling of blues tunes that could’ve made a blues album. His lyrics are very good.
Nice list. I think Paul Butterfield should be included as he had a huge impact on spreading the blues to a large mainstream, (White) audience. Hugely influential.
Absolutely. Can't forget Paul Butterfield! 😊
Excellent list! An honorable mention may be for Moby Grape/Grape Jam. I was 17 and just getting into the blues.
Otis Rush- Live at the Wise Fools Pub.
Thanks Edward. New subscriber here. I'm proud to say that I have most of these albums. That Howlin' Wolf album is most commonly found on CD in a "two-fer" with his album Moanin' in the Moonlight. There are so many all-time great blues albums you could easily extend this into a series of "must hear" videos, spotlighting stuff like the Allman Bros.' 1971 Fillmore East album, Muddy Waters' two Chess 50th Anniversary compilations, any of Johnny Winter's early Columbia albums, Strong Persuader by Robert Cray, Blue Streak by Luther Allison...aw hell, you could go on all day. I just subscribed to your channel so you may have already done videos on those albums for all I know.
A solid list, I would have included Hubert Sumlin and Luther Allison to replace Eric Clapton.
Absolutely. The only list that we should see featuring Eric Clapton is the most overrated guitarist in history list. And he deserves to be at the top of that list.
@@WisGuy4 Right On they screamed.
I was lucky to see John Mayall's Buesbreakers in London back in the day. A great night for about 5/-
For all my American friends 5/- is English signage for 5 Shillings back pre-decimilisation. This lucky punter got to see Mayall & the Bluesbreakers for about 50-75c!!
"Between the Hard Place and the Ground" - Bloomfield
Love me some Michael Bloomfield 😊
I've been playing blues guitar for 65 years and was in the Hoodoo Rhythm Devils. I think you nailed it right on the head as these are all (except Hendrix's blues record) that I grew up on in Kansas City. Good choices.
Live Wire/Blues Power from Albert King
Stone Crazy from Buddy Guy
Live at the Mocambo SRV
Third Degree by Johnny Winter
Captured Live is mostly rock but features the epic slow blues Sweet Papa John
Wow, you did such a great job! I'm impressed! I will Like and Subscribe. I'm a blues fan for 55 years. Named my son after Muddy. You compiled a truly great list - especially for folks new to the blues. Of course there are so many more to consider but I would have expected Buddy Guy and Jr. Wells Play the Blues. Thanks for a great video!
Can't fault the selection. Can I add Hound Dog Taylor and R.L. Burnside?
STOLE MY CHECK can't be beat!
I have 7 of these albums and those I don't have, I have other releases for the same artist. I started listening to blues when I was 17. I'm 74 now. Saw all three kings before I was 20. BB, Freddie and Albert. Best show I ever saw at the Fillmore in SF was, where the opening act was Albert King, second act was John Mayall and the Blues Breakers, third act was Paul Butterfield Blues Band including Mike Bloomfield and Elven Bishop, and the headliner was Jimi Hendrix!!! I also saw Cream there on their first West Coast performance. Hardly anybody was there. I stood at the very front of the stage, right in front of Eric Clapton the whole night. I was an 18 year old kid in complete aw.
You were in the right place at the right time. During Blues Bag weekend in NYC in ‘66 I went to hear Butterfield blues band at town hall and then went to the the Cafe a Go Go to hear Muddy Waters and the Blue Project. Pretty cool exposure for a white 16 year old kid.
a dude whose opinions are worth hearing
You nailed it. One of the most spot on record lists I’ve seen
What do you think of the Koko Taylor album, Queen of the Blues (Alligator Records)? I love it.
Passed by a bar she used to play and wish I could have made the time to see her. A bar in Palatine Illinois.
Oh Yes!
Good work! I have most of those recordings. Time for a trip down memory lane...