Acoustic Blues Artists Recommendations?

[zombywoof]

Originally Posted by Silurian

Eric Bibb

R L Burnside

I lived in Mississippi when you could still see R.L. playing on his porch and then wander over to Junior's (Kimbrough) Place.

[godfreydaniel]

Originally Posted by Kalani

For a more modern player, definitely check out Kelly Joe Phelps—-“When the Roll is Called Up Yonder” on YouTube. His whole “Roll Away the Stone” album is great!

That’s one of my all-time favorite albums.

[zmf]

Besides Grossman, a guy who really breaks down the chord shapes and tells you why you're doing what you're doing is Tom Feldmann. Might grab his DVD on Robert Johnson first.

[semolinapilcher]

I’ll add:
Brownie McGhee - textbook
Jimmy Reed (so easy, so great to just do his stuff on a couple of acoustics!)

[TBman]

I like Woody Mann, Toby Walker, Al Petteway and Stefan Grossman, Mary Flower and Roy Bookbinder. They all teach various interpretations of the classic blues players.

[hdrider57]

Charlie Patton, Willie Brown, Tommy Johnson, Son House, Scrapper Blackwell etc.

[TNO]

Not pure blues, but check out Rainer Ptacek and Chris Whitley.

[The Bard Rocks]

Originally Posted by reeve21

Anybody with "Blind" in their name!

Lightning Hopkins.

For more modern players, Scott Ainsle, Toby Walker, Woody Mann, Stefan Grossman, Rory Block, Tom Feldman....it is a pretty long list and one will lead you to others....

I'll add Del Ray, Andy Cohen, Roy Book Binder, Mary Flower, Rory Block, Mike Dowling....

Among the departed - Robert Johnson, Son House, Josh White, Bill Broonzey, all the "Blinds", KC Douglas, Big Joe Williams, Bukka White, Skip James, Tampa Red, Furry Lewis, Charlie Patton, Pink Anderson.....


There are so many.

[donlyn]

thechariot1x,

Originally Posted by Willie_D

Also check out the album Muddy Waters: Folk Singer (Muddy and Buddy Guy on acoustics, Willie Dixon on upright bass.)

Been a Muddy Waters fan since the 60s. Not only is that album all acoustic, it is a great album. With the minimal style and band on this album, Muddy plays a lot of acoustic guitar.

Would also recommend "Best of Muddy Waters", which is a compilation of early Chess single releases from the 40s and 50s. He was very proud of this album, as it contained many of his favorite songs.

Others have mentioned Robert Johnson, and I would recommend his work too. There are two albums worth of material, both included in a compilation cd. Way back when I had them both as separate vinyl albums from Columbia.

Lead Belly recorded a lot of blues tunes too, and has a variety to his music. He commonly played a 12 string tuned 2 steps down.

For a more modern take, Hot Tuna's first album is chock full of tasty acoustic blues. Jorma on acoustic guitar, Jack on electric bass, and a 'mysterious harmonica' player for good measure.

Start with Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson; you won't go wrong. And you might be surprised at how many of their songs you've already heard.

Don

Edit> By the way, isn't 'The Chariot' Arcanum VII?

[joe paul]

Originally Posted by godfreydaniel

Yazoo Records was probably the best source for early country blues. The recordings are now available on Apple Music, Spotify, etc. You can use the Yazoo catalog listings at Shanachie Entertainment as a guide for some great music:

https://shanachie.com/yazoo

Absolutely agree, Yazoo is the way to go, they have the best catalogue and the best sound quality. Everything there is good. I don't think anyone's mentioned Furry Lewis yet, or the Mississippi Sheiks or Barbecue Bob, wonderful stuff.

Definitely worth a look also is John Tefteller's Blues Images collections, once a year.
https://bluesimages.com

[62&climbing]

Buddy Guy and Junior Wells - Alone and Acoustic

[Kerbie]

For anyone with Pandora, there is an Acoustic Blues station in the genre section. Like any Pandora station, it takes a few weeks to shape it to your liking, but I've found it to be quite good. It's probably one of the best Pandora stations I've heard.

[BRVC]

Charlie Patton

[beatcomber]

Originally Posted by Mr. Paul

My first acoustic blues recommendation is always Folk Singer by Muddy Waters. Mid 60s with Muddy, Buddy Guy and Willie Dixon.

In the early '60s, folk music was all the rage, and Chess Records wanted to cash in by getting their top blues artist to cut an acoustic "folk" album.

Of course, Muddy Waters started out playing authentic delta blues in Mississippi, years before he ever picked up an electric guitar, and he delivered an extraordinary performance.

Not only is the music superlative, but the quality of the recording itself is stunning, very spacious and atmospheric.

Absolutely highly recommended.

[redir]

Originally Posted by reeve21

Anybody with "Blind" in their name!

Lightning Hopkins.

For more modern players, Scott Ainsle, Toby Walker, Woody Mann, Stefan Grossman, Rory Block, Tom Feldman....it is a pretty long list and one will lead you to others....

LOL! First thing that came to my mind was Arthur "Blind" Blake.

One morning I woke up to my roommate playing this music down the hall. I turned the corner to give a listen and asked him who it was. He handed me a Blind Blake cassette tape. Totally blew me away. It sounded like 3 or 4 guys playing the guitar and it was just one and he can't even see. I guess it's more Rag Time but still a good addition to anyone interested in Blues.