Looking for a classic blues instrumental song. I’m using it for a (private) parody (no copywrite issues). Anyone?
Thanks.
I can’t really imagine an entirely instrumental classic blues song. The blues is about the story told, its about the voice.
But for the purposes of your parody, a brief lesson in 12-bar blues should do the trick. It’s immediately recognizable and really, really easy. “Malted Milk,” originally by Robert Johnson and later covered by nearly everyone, is an excellent example. The chord progression is:
E7 - A7 - E7 - E7
A7 - A7 - E7 - E7
B7 - A7 - E7 - B7
Hope that helps.
What do you mean by classic? And are you looking for slow and heartbreaking, or more upbeat?
More slow-ish to medium. What I was hoping for was some named selections (song title and artist).
Thanks
“Juke” by blues harp virtuoso Little Walter is certainly a classic. Not public domain though.
Elmore James had a jump-style instrumental called “Up Jumped Elmore”, also still copyrighted.
Country blues guitar great Blind Blake recorded some solo instrumentals (sort of – he sometimes talked briefly over them). ‘West Coast Blues’ is one. These might be public domain.
Copyright may not be an issue: if you’re going to record a parody of the song, you may be able to change it so that its source isn’t really identifiable: blues can be pretty generic.
John Lee Hooker had a lot of instrumental blues songs.
My OP was not clear apparently. The song does not need to be royalty free. Sorry for the confusion.
Thanks for the replies so far.
My husband just recorded and instrumental blues album, and one of the tracks is on his MySpace page for 99 cents. Look for “Cocktail King” in the Snocap store section.
Alexis Boogie by BB King
Brothers by the Vaughan Brothers
Silverline by M. Ward might also work for you.
Don’t know if this qualifies as blues, but the one that popped to mind was “Little Wing” … Stevie Ray Vaughan’s version.
Nearly anything by the Allman Brothers qualifies, they sing some but it’s lots of slow jams. Blues to the max. I recommend something like “It’s Not My Cross To Bear.”
That’s what I popped in to say. If you don’t appreciate “Juke”, you’ve got no soul.
Roy Buchanan did a lot of Blues Instrumental guitar work. Also 2nd Stevie Ray Vaughn “Little Wing”
I’ll throw in Howling Wolf’s version of Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful” (youtube link) , for larger than life “Evil” blues. There are other Wolf viddies there, especially “How Many More Years”… derailed me here waiting for **@#^!! dialup time, worth the wait though.
What exactly are you trying for with the parody? Some explaination would help me help ya. Am glad to try to.
When we’re done with this, can you tell me the Center of the Universe?