Is there anything that stirs the soul as much as the sound of the blues? Whether it's strummed guitar, harmonica or low-slung bass, mournful piano, sax or trumpet, the blues always brings a little lump to the throat, and let's be fair: they speak to a way we've all felt, at one time or another. And of course the blues have been around for a long time, so there's a lot of really good music there.
This section will feature what may perhaps not be considered the
best of the blues, but my own favourite tunes. Some will be by blues masters from way back, some will be more recent, and I'll try to include as varied a mix as I can each time.
So sit back, dim the lights, crack open a bottle of Jack and deal the cards, cos it's time to pay our dues to the blues!
Getting going with this great one from Eddie Taylor, a man who was born in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, but plied his trade in the mean streets of the Windy City, here he is with “Leave this neighbourhood”.
The great Memphis Slim, with “Slim's blues”.
And the legendary John Lee Hooker, with “Whiskey and wimmen”. Oooh yeah!
The interestingly-named Pee Wee Crayton, with “Telephone is ringin'”.
One of the relatively younger guns now, with one of my favourite early blues tunes from him, here's the late, great Rory Gallagher with “Should've learned my lesson”.
How could we leave out the one, the only, BB King? We can't, and here he is with “The thrill is gone”.
The legendary (be using that word a lot in this section, methinks!) Howlin' Wolf, with an explanation of what the blues is, then a great performance of “How many more years”.
Another of the young guns, who thankfully is still with us, Robert Cray, and “My last regret”.
And back to the old guard, it's Lightnin' Hopkins, with some advice for gamblers...
And to finish up, one of the finest proponents of the blues from this century, sadly no longer with us, it's Gary Moore, and “No reason to cry”.