And don’t forget Charlie Patton
Man, don’t leave out the wimminfolk:
Roots:
Ma Rainey
Bessie Smith
Mamie Smith
Ida Cox
Then:
Billie Holliday
Koko Taylor
Rosetta Tharpe
Contemporary:
Bonnie Raitt (slide guitarist)
Janis Joplin
Shemekia Copeland (Oh my! What a voice!)
And if want a really good intro to the blues covering all the above artists and more, check out this PBS Series.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe of Gospel fame?
If this ain’t blues guitar , I will eat my underpants. Seriously.
This local radio show had a program on her. but I can’t find it in the archives. She was born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas. I still remember hearingher song on the program, Two Little Fishes and Five Loaves of Bread. And damn she was pretty! 
Thanks.
My suggestion would be to come on down to Beale Street on a Saturday night and wander up and down the street.
Or the Helena music festival in September, or the Juke joint festival in April. or any other blues festival for that matter. Wander around a find what you like.
This what you’re looking for?
And you’re welcome. She is amazing.
This is the one I remember with Two Little Fishes.
She does sound more Jazz or Rock & Roll to me, though.
Well, to me, that song sounds like the blues. I don’t know enough about chords to identify them, but they are distinctly bluesy. And you know that jazz and rock & roll has it roots in the blues. It was a natural progression. I’d say she was way ahead of her time and is extremely influential, as noted in the program you linked.
A lot of people think that for a song to identify with the blues, it has to have sadness & despondency in the lyrics and tempo. I don’t agree. Rosetta Tharpe sang very uplifting, positive, and up-tempo songs, but the melodies were based in the simple blues notes and chords. I’m not a huge Gospel fan, but this is Gospel on a whole other level.
One thing is certain, Sister Rosetta rocked the House (of God) with a passion and musical talent that was impressive, to say the least. If there’s one thing that’s notable about the blues, it’s that emotion runs deep through it.
The Christian rock of today has got nothing on the bluesy rockin’ of Sister Rosetta.
I know very little about music, and am embarrassed to post on the subject.
However, I will continue to hijack for a moment with apologies. Billye Holiday is a good example; I think she is more Jazz than Blues, but it don’t get anymore Blues than Strange Fruit. Blind Willie Johnson did You’re Going to Need Somebody On Your Bond and It Ain’t Nobody’s Fault But Mine and I’ve seen them covered by Blues artists, but have not been fortunate enough to hear them.
Listen to the slide guitar Willie is doing.
If you compare the work of Billie Holliday to that of Sister Rosetta Tharpe, you can immediately see how the blues began to diverge into two distinct styles; jazz (rhythm & blues) and rock & roll. Jazz refined the simple chords of earthy blues with orchestration and understated, but often complex, compositions. Rock & Roll went the opposite direction with a more wild, hard-driving guitar work. But it didn’t stop there, as music progressed further, it became even more stylistically distinct regionally and instrumentally. From Delta and Chicago blues to Southern rock to progressive jazz and R&B to soul and funk, ad infinitum.
I’m not a music expert by any stretch of the imagination, but the more artists you listen to, the more you learn. Comparing and contrasting artists and styles teaches a lot. Most importantly, to me, is looking at the influences. A lot of times I hear music for the first time that sounds so familiar. The more I listen and learn, the easier it is to recognize which early artists influenced the music I’m hearing and knowing what appeals to me. Contemporary blues hasn’t strayed too far from its roots, but it has grown in so many directions.
I don’t think you should be embarrassed at all because love of the music and its rich history is all you really need to get the most out of it. Sharing what you love only shows that its meaningful to you. I don’t think anyone’s gonna get prissy in this thread and say your choices suck. The point of this thread I think is sampling for the sake of getting to know the blues better.
I’m not embarrassed to say that what turned me on to the blues as a kid wasn’t a roots artist, but Led Zeppelin, The Doors and Janice Joplin. The roots come later once you begin to realize there’s way more to it than the contemporary stuff.
Anyway, I’ve appreciated this discussion (hijack) and yeah, slide guitar is pretty damn delicious.
Your underpants are safe. Thanks for the links. I’ve listened to a lot of blues but Sister Rosetta is new to me.
Also thanks for your Women of Blues list contribution. I’d also add the following:
Sweet Betty
Dinah Washington
Etta Baker
Etta James
Ruth Brown
Katie Webster
Lucinda Williams
Mary Ann Redmond
Susan Tedeschi
Ruthie Foster
Tracy Chapman is primarily considered a pop/folk artist, but she’s got an amazing voice well-suited to the blues. I just heard her in a duet with B.B. King performing The Thrill is Gone. I wish she’d do more blues work. Give Me One Reason is about the most bluesy she got and it’s my favorite.
But I digress. Nice additions, flickster.
Well done on Sister Rosetta, **Brown Eyed Girl ** - I started a thread on her here a couple of months ago.
I am swamped at work or would’ve chimed in on this thread a while ago - nice choices all around. I’d love to comment or embellish, but I don’t have that kinda time… 
I will say this - I don’t see much mention of Jump Blues. Sure, the Black Keys (and the White Stripes and Led Zep) seem to have taken a route that was more straight back to the Delta or electrified Delta/Chicago Blues, but Jump Blues mattered in the evolution of popular music, too. Listen to Louis Jordan (Caledonia, Saturday Night Fish Fry, Salt Pork West Virginia, etc.) and T-Bone Walker (Strollin’ with Bones, The Hustle is On, Glamour Girl, Stormy Monday, etc.) and you hear the integration of swing, the most popular commercial music of the time, with the blues.
The key here is that Jump Blues uses horn sections and jazzier chords. But Chuck Berry was playing in 4 and 5-piece bands on the Chitlin’ Circuit and couldn’t afford (or have the room for) horns. So he had to fill the space the horns normally filled with something. He used double-stop guitar licks - add a little country and soul/gospel influence on top of the jump blues and rock n’ roll was born. It wasn’t just chuck - Ike Turner and the song Rocket 88 and Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis etc - but the basic blueprint was similar; the various ingredients got mixed in different ratios - e.g., Eddie Cochran and Gene Vincent vs. the rest…
What happened then is that teenagers in the UK and folkies in the US both tried to find the roots of their currently-popular music - leading to the re-discovery of Rev Gary Davis, Skip James, etc. on the Folk side and Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, Howlin’ Wolf (Hubert Sumlin on guitar), etc. on the electric rock / UK side. Guess the kids wanted their blues delivered straight - less of rock’s integration of styles…
Gotta run.
This is great!
Taking advantage of the fact that a bunch of the recommended artists are on emusic and I had some downloads to make use of this month, I grabbed some songs and did some homework. My initial impressions:
Howlin’ Wolf – Initially, his voice was very off-putting to me; it’s very nasally and strained. But after a few listens, the catchiness and musicality got through to me. I like.
**John Lee Hooker **– His voice is the polar opposite of Howlin’ Wolf’s: buttery smooth and very, very sexy. I like a lot.
**Koko Taylor – The growl in her voice is hawt. I like.
**
Elmore James – This slide guitar sound is exactly what I wanted to find. I had a roommate who would twiddle around in the living room with his guitar and a beer bottle slide… absolutely mesmerizing to watch and listen to.
I think I’m going to take Flickster’s advice and start with more contemporary stuff and work backwards. And the British blues list looks pretty appealing.
For British Blues - get the following:
John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - The Super-Natural (also spelled Supernatural) - Peter Green on guitar. I need to start a thread about this woefully under-recognized guitar player.
Jeff Beck Group - Let me Love You, I Ain’t Superstitious
John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, featuring Eric Clapton - Hide Away - see what all the fuss was about
There are plenty of other great Brit blues players and songs, but these few could keep an aspiring guitar player busy for a lifetime. They have for me.
Oh - and you want supremely accessible, real blues - get Let’s Hide Away and Dance Away by Freddie (also Freddy) King - brilliant instrumental stuff…
Unbelievable that no one has mentioned Blind Willie McTell. Atlanta blues man, played the hell out of a 12-string.
Or even Blind Melon Chitlin’ - now that dude could play!
(reference to an old Cheech and Chong skit for those not up to speed on 70’s stoner comedy sketches…)
The the North Mississippi All-Stars.
Lead Belly has influenced a lot of today’s musicians.
Other artists have all done version of his songs that you may know, including: Rock Island Line; Where Did You Sleep Last Night? (Black Girl); Midnight Special; Alabama Bound; Goodnight, Irene; Pick A Bale of Cotton.