Most blues begin with "Woke up this mornin'." It is usually bad to start the Blues with "I got a good woman" unless you stick something mean in the next line.

Example: "I got a good woman with the meanest dog in town."

Blues are simple. After you have the first line right, repeat it. Then find something else that rhymes. Sort of.

  Example: "Got me a good woman with the meanest dog in town...oh, yeah!...Got me a good woman with the meanest dog in town. He got teeth like Margaret Thatcher, and he weigh 'bout 500 pound."

Blues cars are Chevys, Cadillacs, and broke down trucks circa 1957. Other acceptable Blues transportation are a Greyhound bus or a "southbound train." Note: A BMW, Lexus, Mercedes, mini-van, or sport utility vehicle is NOT a Blues car.

"Walkin'" plays a major part in the Blues lifestyle. So does "fixin' to die" and "findin' a good woman."

Teenagers can't sing the Blues. Only adults sing the Blues. Adulthood, when it comes to the Blues, means old enough to get the electric chair if you shoot a man in Memphis.

You can have the Blues in New York City or Los Angeles but not in New Haven or Phoenix. Hard times in Vermont or North Dakota are just a minor depression. Chicago, St. Louis, and Kansas City are still the best places to have the Blues, but Abilene, Mobile, and New Orleans are ok in a pinch.

The following colors do NOT belong in the Blues: antique violet, champagne, mauve, taupe and peach.

Blues is not a matter of color, however. Tiger Woods can't sing the blues; Sonny Liston can.

You can't have the Blues in an office building or a shopping mall; the lighting is all wrong. Other bad places for the Blues: Kmart, gallery openings, and the supermarket. Good places for the Blues: a jail house, your mama's back porch, beside the highway, bottom of a rot-gut whiskey glass, or a solitary room in a fleabag hotel.

No one will believe it's the Blues if you wear a suit or anything by Ralph Lauren.

Do you have the right to sing the Blues?

Yes, if:
  • your first name is a southern state. Example: Georgia
  • you're blind
  • you shot a man in Memphis.

No, if:
  • you're deaf
  • anyone in your family drives a Lotus
  • you have a trust fund.

Yanni, Julio Iglesias, and Barbara Streisand may not sing the Blues. Ever.

If you ask for water and your baby gives you gasoline, it's the Blues. Other Blues beverages are:
  • malt liquor
  • Irish whiskey
  • muddy water
  • Thunderbird wine
  • one bourbon, one scotch, and one beer. At the same time.

Blues beverages are NOT:
  • a mai-tai
  • a glass of Chardonnay
  • a Yoo Hoo (all flavors)

If it occurs in a cheap motel or a shotgun shack, it's a Blues death. Stabbed in the back by a jealous lover is also a Blues way to die. So is the electric chair, substance abuse, or being denied treatment in an emergency room. It is NOT a Blues death if you die during a liposuction treatment.

Some Blues Names for women: Sadie, Louise, Bessie, and Baby.
Women's names which are NOT Blues names: Heather, Jennifer, Emily, and Alexandra.

Some Blues Names for men: Joe, Willie, Joe Willie, Hank, and Po' Boy.
Men's names which are NOT Blues names: Geoffrey, Damian, and Keith.

Persons with names like Sierra or Sequoia will NOT be permitted to sing the Blues, no matter how many men they shoot in Memphis.

Need a Blues Name? Try this mix and match starter kit:
  • name of physical infirmity (Blind, Asthmatic, etc.) or character flaw (Dishonest, Low Down, etc.)
  • or substitute name of a fruit (Lemon, Fig, Persimmon); or use first -and- fruit names
  • finish with the last name of President (Jefferson, Johnson, Fillmore, etc.)

  Examples: Low Down Persimmon Johnson; One-Handed Fig Fillmore.

Need a Blues instrument? Play one or more of the following & alternate with husky voice riffs:
  • harmonica
  • gih-tar
  • fiddle
  • sax
  • pie-anner (in need of tuning)

Now, you're ready to sing the Blues... unless you own a computer.

@ Free - I hope you enjoyed the song.

I sure did. Thanks for the link :-)

excelent Tune !

I love playing Blues (guitar)

Hey, thanks for starting this blues thread... here are two...

Cray is one the best. I saw him in a smokey little bar in Beaufort, SC (wow - that was a LONG time ago!) doing this tune. He stole my soul...

If you guys hear of any good blues acts within a reasonable distance of Geneva, please post!  I miss the Southern California scene....

Oh, my contrib to the thread.  I prefer unwrapped and unplugged.  =)

Bernard Allison - Rocket 88

and a radio 1 fm (Blues)

Grammy award winner for contemporary blues album, Buddy Guy -- Living Proof

And one of the original unplugged Delta bluesmen...

Not your traditional blues band, but hey!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJo_WFr5-ZQ

Excellent post and thank you! And, while you're right that ZZ Top isn't a traditional blues band, their music is rooted in the blues, and morphed into blues-rock.

Thanks again - KEN///

The Blues bridging the generation gap..... An old master and a youthful talent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix4TNJvVk8M&feature=related

Very moving intlrep, tks.

And now in honour of those departed.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYY-DQ119mo

That Sullivan kid was amazing!  I love the way he lifts his guitar...

A couple by blues women...

Stephen Poppell & the Wolfpack Band, which plays in Geneva and surrounding areas of France, plays blues. Not only blues - country rock as well - but the music is original and it's a terrific band that puts on an excellent show. The next gig is Friday at 21.00 at Paddy's Pub in Ferney and then again at Charly O'Neill's on Saturday Feb. 26. Check out the music at :
http://www.thewolfpackband.com

Thanks for the info. Might try to do Paddy's on Friday. Heading to Charley's on Saturday to listen to the Crazy Canadians. (well, that's the plan right now).

KEN///

Thank you Val. Blues in it's purest form. Great stuff.

Most reason have reasons to sing the blues...

Oops, edit button, please... I meant that most women have reason to sing the blues...

Now that....is good comedy. I don't care who you are, that's just funny!

Hendrix doesn't sit squarely in the blues tradition, he played in so many different styles, was initially catapulted to fame through the white 60s UK pop/rock scene, and his favourite musician was, at least for a while, Bob Dylan. He loved the blues though and when he played it brought his genius to it. Just pay attention to the introduction and if you're not hooked go to a doctor and get a hearing test!

Hi Intlrep1,

Brillant stuff and Hendrix was actaully influenced by Robert Johnson ( Blues Legend) and Muddy Waters ( Father of Blues) both of these musicians had a major impact on the Stones, Beatles, Clapton and Dylan. Thanks for sharing, KP

...and 2 big names not mentioned yet:

sorry this was supposed to be billie holiday

singing "my man"

i will try again

I hope it is Billie holiday finally

sorry i meant to send Billie Holiday though Piath is also blueish 

no one no one sings the blues as well as Billie

tph://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQlehVpcAes

tph://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQlehVpcAes

When guitar heroes play together -- Carlos Santana et Buddy Guy - Montreux Jazz Festival

Can I put this on a blues thread?  It's not quite blues but it has blues undertones.  ...and if your heart doesn't feel blue after listening to it, you might not have one!

Kinda bluesy electronica; reminds me a bit of Europa by Santana which I would say is bluesy jazz

King & Queen

Awesome stuff and thanks for sharing. Tracy Chapman is the ideal singer to pull that off, her voice compliments B.B King. Real Blues music is like good wine it gets better with age. Wouldn't it be great to be able to sit and have a drink with B.B King, John Lee Hooker, Buddy Guy, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson.

Yeah! Like one bourbon, one scotch and one beer!

A true delicacy: Johnny Winter -- Tin Pan Alley

An army of guitars: Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, John Mayer, Hubert Sumlin, Jimmie Vaughan, Johnny Winter A bit confused, but nevertheless quite nice

http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/multimedia/audios_podcast/Call_it_the_blues.html?cid=29703234&view=podcastDetail&autoPlay=y

Phillip Fankhauser:  Swiss blues

I am a big Blues fan. I play (the basic) blues with guitar and harmonica.

Living in Switzerland, let's not forget:

The annual "Blues to Bop Festival" in Lugano. For this year, it is scheduled for 25.08—28.08 / 2011
http://www.bluestobop.ch/

Anyone interested? I have once been to this festival some years ago. The all weekend was about "Blues" and pops in the similar GREAT sounds with a large number of concerts and they are free, scattered around the whole town. Many musicians, gathered from different parts of the world, also sell their CDs on site.

The festival CD is also available for sale every year after the festival of the year respectively. I bought a couple of years' CDs - full of Blues music. They are great. Lugano is a nice place for a trip over one weekend, too.

In Swtizeralnd (Geneva), Blues is unfortunately (for me anyway!) perceived as "out of date" or simply not known. Cheers

Hi, Free and all,

Books say that "the origin of Blues" is a difficult subject for musicologist. However, it can obviously said that "some elements in the Blues suggest links with music in Africa - the rough, hoarse singing, the use of 'call-and-responses' song forms, the habit of singing while working, and the combination of melodic line and rhythm" (from "Early Blues Songbook" compiled by Paul Oliver, Wise Publications, 1982).

Does it mean that the origin of the Blues goes back to the 19th or 18th century? It looks like it. 

Blues music of the early 20th century is really cool, while I like and more often listen to the modern Blues - post WWII Blues. Blues is played and sung not only by men. Blues of (by) women is also a really nice music (I have some CDs "Women in Blues: 1920-1943", and I like a lot!).

Apart from the history or origin of Blues, it is regretable that many people or music lovers tend to misbelieve that Blues is depressing or sad.

It is quite untrue!

The fact is that there are so many "cheerful" or even comical high-tempo Blues songs that I also love a lot! (e.g., Saffire-The Uppity Blues Women, "You can have my husband").

I don't know how many Rock'n Roll lovers think of the mother of Rock'n Roll - Blues music. Cheers.

Coming to this post several months late, but just saw this thread courtesy of a Sam73 posting today.  Francois - my ribs are still aching from laughing, tissues all used up after tears of laughter, yours is one of the funniest posts I've read in a long time - copying in here so that others who didn't catch the original post can have an Easter Chuckle!

Gonna (allowed to say "gonna" just this once, cos MAN! its a blues post, so allowed to say MAN! as well....) have to stick to my Chardonnay and my Lotus, as I never shot a man in Memphis - as far as I know.... Thank you :-)

Still laughing.....

Chardonnay is not a Blues wine, and Lotus definintely not a Blues car :-)

Hi, Free and all,

Did you see how this Quinn Sullivan is doing, 12 yo in 2011, since then (the link above, then 8 yo).

See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ulYGXQVuL4

Just love this guy.. Seasick Steve... 

And live at reading :) 

Very cool! Looks like OPEN G...?

Didn't know Seasick Steve... Now this is corrected
Thanks ! ;)