Bobby “Blue” Bland: probably most familiar to younger people as the featured sample in the chorus of Jay-Z’s “Heart of a City (Ain’t No Love)” he was a unique artist with a singular style that transcended the blues.
This is my favorite of his songs, “I’m Too Far Gone (to turn around)”:
Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, mentioned above, was fantastic. A multi-instrumentalist, the man could play just about any instrument you could put in front of him. While his musical career and output spanned many different genres, he always maintained a love of big-band swing and horns.
“Depression Blues”:
Danny Gatton: Not sure any one video can really capture the virtuosity and just pure talent of this man. Had the honor of meeting him several times. When I was a teenager I had a friend who worked at a little hole-in-the-wall club in Wheaton, MD called “Tornado Alley.” Gatton had a regular gig there and my friend would sneak me in every now and then to see him. Not purely a blues artist, but the raw talent alone earns him a place here, I think. No idea when or where this is from but he appears to be fairly young:
Guitar Slim: I’m not sure how well known he is, but he’s a personal favorite of mine. Died young at 32 way back in 1959 so his output is all from the 1940s and 50s and very limited in quantity, but he penned at least one hit blues standard, “The Things That I Used to Do.” This is another of his more well-known tunes, “Letter to My Girlfriend”:
Memphis Minnie: a very old act, mainly active in the 1930s. Penned over 200 songs, the most well-known probably this one, “Me and My Chauffeur Blues”:
T-Bone Walker: No discussion of Texas bluesmen can be complete without the inclusion of this man. This is from late in his career, when he had taken on a bit of a funkier sound.
“Every Day I Have the Blues”:
