Introduction Blues

Blues has been the overriding influence on popular music for the past fifty years. It's impossible to overstate its influence on music, spanning every genre from folk to rock and pop. To get you started, we've selected a few albums by some key artists that will give you an introduction and background to this genre.

Your Money Maker

Elmore James

Putting Canton officially on the Mississippi Blues Trail with his significant contribution to the development of the blues, legendary singer Elmore James shouldn't be missed. In "The Best of the Fire Sessions", pay special attention to his unique guitar style, characterised by powerful and loud amplification, mixed with his low and raw voice. The album gathered all his best hits such as "Shake your Money Maker" and "Dust My Broom".

Muddy Waters

Muddy Waters

Chicago blues consists of the original structures of the Delta blues with an additional small band set up, including bass, drums and piano. "The Father of Chicago Blues", Muddy Waters, produced music that was all about amplified electric guitar, smooth voice and a thunderous beat. Have a listen to this impressive live album which contains some of his best numbers, such as "I'm Ready", "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man" and "I Want To Be Loved".

The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions

Otis Spann

Otis Spann is considered one of blues music's greatest piano players. His career began after he settled in Chicago in the late 1940s. By the '50s he had become an ace session man for the legendary Chicago-based Chess label, appearing alongside Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, and, most memorably, the great Muddy Waters.

Everyday I Have The Blues

B.B. King

The great Memphis guitarist and singer B.B. King has been the most high-profile figure in blues since the 1960s. He made his name as a soulful, enthusiastic bandleader. His beloved cherry-red Gibson guitar, "Lucille," is the source of King's trademark sound-percussive attack, dramatic string-bending and spare lead lines with a vocal-like quality.

King Of The Blues

Robert Johnson

Robert Johnson is unquestionably one of the most influential blues musicians ever, yet little is known about the guitarist. A huge influence on modern day rock music, when you listen to any of these twenty-nine tracks (recorded between 1936-37), you can't help but notice his remarkable, and yet effortless, combination of singing and guitar talent. He was believed by many to have sold his soul to the devil in return for his prowess on the guitar and his music has been covered by the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and The White Stripes.

Time Will Tell

Robert Cray

Grammy Award-winning guitar player Robert Cray fuses blues and Memphis-style R&B in his music. The subtlety of his singing and playing indeed set him apart from most of the modern blues scene. Bursting onto the music scene in 1983 with "Bad Influence", Robert Cray continues to create stellar blues into the 21st century.

The Best Of Stevie Ray Vaughan

Stevie Ray Vaughan

More than a straightforward bluesman, Texas native Stevie Ray Vaughan was influenced as much by Jimi Hendrix as he was by Otis Rush. Stevie Ray used to be known for both his jaw-dropping technical abilities in playing and for his pure soul for writing.