Please recommend some blues guitarists...

I've really been enjoying The Black Keys release of Junior Kimbrough covers, and I enjoyed a bit of what Jack White showed in the film "It Might Get Loud". I really like the dirty, distorted electric guitar sound, and I'd like to start to learn a bit about the originators and legends of that style of music rather than listen to the first two Black Keys or White Stripes albums over and over.

Could anyone point me in the right direction? Whether it be names, specific albums, or any info?

Thanks!!

 

Hound Dog Taylor

 

Paul Kossoff, of Free. One of the UK's finest. Only a hair behind him would be Peter Green, of the original Fleetwood Mac.

 

If you like Jack White's, his label Third Man Records has been releasing old blues recordings. I'd highly recommend starting with the Blind Willie McTell ones. It's acoustic blues though.

Otherwise, if you're looking for electric you can't go wrong with Elmore James, Muddy Waters or John Lee Hooker.

 

If you want to go back to the first electric blues guitarists...

Elmore James
Muddy Waters
T-Bone Walker
B.B.King
Willie Johnson and Hubert Sumlin (Howlin' Wolf's guitarists)
Freddie King
Buddy Guy
Albert King

Then moving on to...

Jimi Hendrix
Mick Taylor
Eric Clapton
Peter Green
Duane Allman
Johnny Winter
Stevie Ray Vaughan

Or if you want to go all the way back to the great acoustic players of the late '20's and '30's...

Robert Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie McTell
"Scrapper" Blackwell (Leroy Carr's guitarist)
Blind Blake
Son House

 

John Lee Hooker! Rhino has a great 2-disc comp, 1948-1990, that's my favorite overview of his output, but the "Hooker n' Heat" album he recorded with Canned Heat is probably really close to what you're looking for, with a disc of Hooker solo on electric guitar, and then a disc of him with the band in full-on boogie mode.

 

Michael Bloomfield

 

Tampa Red, who was well known as an acoustic player, one one of the first to play electric blues as well. His post 1940 work is mostly electric, and it's some good, primal material. Mr. Hoos did make some good, solid suggestions a couple posts above mine. I can't endorse Hubert Sumlin's playing with Howlin' Wolf enough, really.

Also, CeDell Davis has some similarities to Junior Kimbrough. You may also like T-Model Ford.

 

big bill broonzy!

Albert Collins!

Lightnin Hopkins

Bukka White

Buddy Guy

 

Magic Sam, especially West Side Soul

 

As most of the 'big' names are out there...thought i'd toss out a couple not in the list

Danny Gatton
Gary Moore
Jorma Kaukonen

 

gonna fire up that time away jam tonight

 

Chuck Berry... he was a bluesman (heart and soul) like Hendrix.

 

If you got stuck, could only own one Blues album... I'd highly recommend Eat A Peach(Allman Brothers/Duane Allman/Dickey Betts)

 

If you could only own one Blues album... I'd highly recommend a real Blues album:

 

Robert Johnson

 

Seth James.

 

Albert King - Born Under A Bad Sign & I'll Play The Blues For You
Freddie King - A Bonanza Of Instrumentals
Otis Rush - Right Place, Wrong Time

 

Listening to Freddie King "Texas Flyer" Box. Can't top that one.

 

JB Hutto - Hawk Squat
Son Seals
Magic Slim - Grand Slam

 

Jimmy Reed - Jimmy Reed At Carnegie Hall
Lil' Ed Williams & The Blues Imperials
Roy Buchanan - Sweet Dreams: The Anthology

 

The spirit is still alive:

 

Nehemiah "Skip" James
Tommy Johnson
Robert "Tim" Wilkins
Blind Willie McTell
Barbecue Bob Hicks