As mentioned in other posts, I am a fan of the blues. I was thinking about how best to describe my journey of discovery from the early ’70’s to today, and I saw it in three phases: the original bluesmen, the adoption of that style by the young (at the time) rock artists and the continuing adoption by today’s young artists. I thought that was like the good old medieval guild, wherein new artists learned from older masters, hence my categories of Masters, Journeymen & Apprentices. I’ve included playlists for each group, below. These playlists are not intended to be definitive nor complete, as many of you will know. If you are a blues fan, then I hope these are welcome refreshers. If you are new to the genre, I hope these will help you expand your library. If blues just isn’t your cup of bourbon, then no harm / no foul, and thanks for stopping by.
The Masters – From my perspective, I consider the Masters to be those artists in the playlist below & their peers. I know blues is very much older than that, but these guys are my reference point; those artists introduced to me at an earlier age.
The Journeymen – In the ’60’s many early rock artists adopted the blues style into their songwriting, and often covered blues standards on their albums. Collaborations between rock artists and their blues idols were common and resulted in some very enjoyable releases.
The Apprentices – Blues continues to have an appeal to young artists; I think it’s that we all feel the blues to some extent throughout our lives and can relate to the genre. I am very pleased to see that there is fresh new blues music being regularly released. It’s a challenge to try to stay on top of it all, but that’s a fun challenge.