Greatest Blues song?

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

That's right - I opened Pandora's Box

I vote for Hard Time Killing Floor by Skip James (Most recently made famous by the scene in O Brother Where Art Thou - where Chris Thomas King's character, Tommy Johnson, plays it at the campfire).

Believe me - the original is way better!

[Radical Activist]

1. I Got My Mojo Working

Muddy Waters

I'm going to have to give this question some more thought and answer again though.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

2. Thats an awesome shoot from the hip choice though.

Got my brrrllllrrrrrrlllllllrrrrrrrrrrr workin!!!

[Elidor]

3. I will be hated for saying this:

But "Jesus Just Left" by ZZ Top. I understand the inevitable death threats, indeed I almost agree with them, but that song is the SHIT.

[Dudley_DUright]

4. I'm mighty partial to

"The Sky is Crying" by Elmore James (with a great cover by SRV).

[sasquatch]

5. "In the pines" by Lead Belly

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

6. Love me some Huddie!

[CanuckAmok]

7. Boom Boom - John Lee Hooker covered it, but it's traditional, I think.

Damn fine.

And anything recorded by a New Orleans hooker in the 20s.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

9. My favorite version of that is the one from the Blues Brithers movie

can't help it. Its a childhood thing.

I grew up with John Lee playing all the time. One of mt Father's legendary memories is shakinghis hand backstage at a show.

[CanuckAmok]

11. I have a record called "Streetwalking Blues"...

...it's a compilation of the Louisiana brothel music of the 20s and 30s, recorded by the working girls themselves. Really, really frank and earthy language, and very clever double-entendres, too. It's just so interesting...and all very catchy

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

12. is it still in print?

sounds interesting

[CanuckAmok]

24. Not sure...but try this:

Stash Records, catalogue # ST117. Try searching some of the collector sites.

All that music is public domain; I'm sure there are numerous collections of 'streetcorner blues' out there...

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

41. Thank you kindly

:thumbsup:

[Jerseygirltoo]

13. sounds similar to one I have

Called 'Mean Mothers', same kind of music

[TrustingDog]

8. O Brother has soooo much good music....

and a damn fine movie to boot.

[Jerseygirltoo]

10. Impossible-like asking which of your children is your favorite

But I'll play anyway, and say Spoonful-the Howlin' Wolf version.

[mitchum]

14. "Dark Was The Night" Blind Willie Johnson

Howlin' Wolf's version of Willie Dixon's "Little Red Rooster" is pretty damn cool, though

[Atlas Mugged]

43. Damn - you beat me to it....

I love 'Dark Was The Night'.

[Magrittes Pipe]

15. I'm also a Nehemia "Skip" James fan.

But I lean toward "Devil Got My Woman" and "Special Rider Blues."

[MRDU]

16. Hellhound On My Trail

Umm mmmm mmm mmmmmm
Blues fallin down like hail
Blues fallin down like hail
And the days keeps on worryin me
theres a hellhound on my trail
hellhound on my trail
hellhound on my trail

[RandomKoolzip]

17. Blind Willie Johnson: "I Just Can't Keep From Cryin'"

BWJ is the greatest of all bluesmen, IMO.

[Magrittes Pipe]

18. You're really bored without the missus, aren't you?

Well, it's nice to see ya! :hi:

[RandomKoolzip]

21. Yeah. FUCK REALITY TV!!!!

I just got out of work early and I'm ready to PAH-TAY!

Okay, maybe not PAH-TAY, maybe just party.


All right, not even party, just have a conversation.

Okay, not even that, just throw invective around and blame others for my problems.


I can't wait till Marie comes home......

[Magrittes Pipe]

23. You need to cook her a good meal for her homecoming.

Yeah, I know, you cook at work.

That's what'll make it more special.

[RandomKoolzip]

25. She'll be home tonight some time around 2:30.

It'd be great to have a meal prepared for her, but she'll go right to bed and she knows I'll be asleep by then too.

I think she thinks it's far more romantic for me to do all the housework and pay all the bills while she cavorts and fiddles about on that dangblasted soundstage.

[Magrittes Pipe]

26. Clean the torlet!

Seriously, dude, your toilet's filthy.

[RandomKoolzip]

28. I just ATE off that son of a bitch.

I tell you, that fucker's clean now. (burp)

[Magrittes Pipe]

29. You just ate my turd?

That's nasty, man.

[RandomKoolzip]

33. I'm so glad all these neophyte/hardcore blues fans are here right now....

to hear our pottymouths go on and on.


"Screw Charley Patton, let's talk doody!"


Also, "James Alley Blues" by Rabbit Brown is another on the list.

[Jerseygirltoo]

20. OK, you and Mitchum have convinced me

I have a large collection of blues, but no Blind Willie Johnson
Guess I better go buy a CD. Anything in print you can recommend?

[RandomKoolzip]

22. I FORGET THE LABEL, BUT THERE'S A GREAT CD OF

Woah, caps lock was on. sorry.

There's a great CD of all his sessions that came out a few years ago called "Dark Was the Night." I beleive it's a German import.

[Jerseygirltoo]

27. Thanks, putting it on my Amazon wish list

[mitchum]

31. "Dark Was The Night: The Essential Recordings of Blind Willie...

Johnson" on Indigo. You won't be disappointed.

[RandomKoolzip]

38. That's the one.

n/t

[mitchum]

30. He really was the greatest...

and perhaps the most amazing thing was that he sang about nothing but Jaysus! Go figure. Too bad that most other christers can't seem to make such good music.

[RandomKoolzip]

36. That's the incredible thing;

Johnson could take a song simply about loving Jesus and make it feel like molten gravel scalding your insides. That incredible sandpaper voice.....

If only any modern "Christian Rock" had 1/10,000th of the soul of Blind Willie.

[ornotna]

19. You have got to be kidding

How can anyone choose a "best" blues song? Aaaarrggg!!

Ok, I'm fine now. Can't pick a best, so what I'm going to pick is one of the first blues songs I heard as a teenager.

Butterfield Blues Band - Born in Chicago.

When I first heard this it just blew me away. Been lovin' the blues ever since.

[enigmatic]

32. "Once Was A Gambler"- Lightnin' Hopkins n/m

[samplegirl]

34. I have a list

Gary Moore...Enough of the blues
Van Morrison...Into the mystic
Cowboy Junkies....Blue Moon
Buddy Guy....Midnight Train
Delbert McClinton....One more last chance
Susan Tedeschi....You need to be with me
Chuck Prophet...Storm across the sea
Colin James.....Standing on the Edge


I have to many

[On the Road]

35. This is Complete Heresy

but the most powerful blues song I know is Janis Joplins' "Kozmic Blues"-- the live version. Existentially wrenching, even though technically it shouldn't qualify.

The sweetest blues song I know is the Youngbloods' version of "She Caught the Katy and Left Me a Mule to Ride."

The jumpin'est blues song I know is Taj Mahal's "You Gonna Need Somebody on Your Bond."

And the purest, simplest, most uplifting performance of a traditional blues song is Taj Mahal's "Corrina."

[dolo amber]

37. I think it's prolly

that one song that has like the 3 chords...and the soulful lyrics...

Oh wait, that's EVERY blues song...nevermind. :P

[Magrittes Pipe]

39. You have obviously never heard real blues.

[samplegirl]

42. I dont like the older blues artists

I prefer a more rockin type of blues

[Magrittes Pipe]

44. That's not blues.

That's rock.

[samplegirl]

50. Wrong.............

It is the Blues.........its just not the old traditional kind

[Magrittes Pipe]

56. No, I'm right -- and so are you.

That's the dumb thing about sticking music into genres. Where does one draw the line?

[thebaghwan]

40. There are some many! Here are a couple of my favorites.

Sam Mitchell--Dark was the night,cold was the ground

Albert King--Blues Power

Howlin Wolf -- Lil' Red Rooster

Bessie Smith-- Gimme a pigfoot

[TroubleMan]

45. Borderline Blues/Soul,Ann Peebles,"Feel Like Breaking Up Somebody's Home"

Ann Peebles got a lot of other classic songs that could be classified as soul or blues:

"Trouble, Heartache, & Pain"
"Tear Your Playhouse Down"
"I Needed Somebody"

The only two hits she had that are straight soul are "I Can't Stand The Rain" and "Love Vibration."

[TroubleMan]

46. I'm also partial to Muddy Waters "I'm A Man"

nt

[tigereye]

53. yeah that's one I would pick if I had to pick one

although Lucinda Williams does some good "white girl" Louisiana blues.
also Alberta Hunter... can't think of a specific one. I just like her.

[TroubleMan]

47. How about "If Loving You is Wrong" - pick your favorite version of it

There's a few soul versions out there (like Luther Ingram's version), and there's some great versions out there (like Millie Jackson's version)

[Blue-Jay]

48. Hootchie Cootchie Man!

Best blues song ever, and I know most of 'em.

[davsand]

49. Depends on your definition of "GREATEST".

There's the really good stuff I can hear over and over and love just as much--some of the John Lee Hooker stuff from early on in his career comes to mind. It is pure Delta blues and it is amazing to me.

Then there's the Electric sound out of Chicago--the Buddy Guy stuff and even some of the cross over guys like SRV and Hendrix. I STILL can't listen to SRV and not miss him...

There are the guys who had a unique sound that nobody else had--the stuff that is just different--Hound Dog Taylor comes to mind when I think of that type of blues.

The women were amazing and get little recognition--Sippie Wallace, Alberta Hunter and Big Mama Thornton were excellent and nobody seems to mention them much anymore. Koko Taylor and Etta James need to be on this list too. Valerie Wellington was cut off too early--and I miss her terribly.

But, I have got to say (let the flames commence!) that one modern song really captures a lot of the fun and the underground spirit that WAS the blues in the early days. Remember, it wasn't just about sadness, it was party music that had drifted away from the gospel--it was seen as somehow less because it was sung in bars and in the whorehouses...

I loved a lot of the stuff that Screamin' Jay Hawkins put out. He was a riot on stage, and his stuff was not just shouted blues--but it was FUNNY. It made me laugh, it made me shudder sometimes, and it was exactly what the early blues used to be!!

I Put A Spell On You, Constipation Blues, Feast of the Mau Mau, and I Hear Voices ALL were just great stuff!


Laura

[HamHocks4Kerry]

51. Come into my Kitchen - Robert Johnson

[GingerSnaps]

52. Wang Dang Doodle

By Coco Taylor.

[tigereye]

54. there you go

I was blanking on her name. I think it's Koko.

[NightTrain]

55. If I can choose just one, I'll go for B.B. King's "The Thrill Is Gone."

A wonderful, wonderful record!

[davsand]

58. One of the BEST shows I've ever seen was BB king.

I saw him in a small venue--and he was having a great time playing there--it showed! I do think he's on my list of all time greats when it comes to Delta Blues.

I saw his daughter Shirley King one time in a club and she was a lot of fun too. She was a lot closer to the raw sex that a lot of the early blues women. She did a great job of working the crowd, and i think everyone went home feeling they'd seen a good show.

Koko Taylor does a great show too. I saw her in a club one time and the band was laughing at the white girl who was dancing thru the entire night and laughing like a fool from sheer joy...

Laura

[Bush_Eats_Beef]

57. Muddy Waters' "Rollin' Stone" or John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen"

"Rollin' Stone," the basis for Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile." I'm not giving it any points for being the source of The Rolling Stones' name, either. That has no bearing on it being a good song.

Other than John Lee Hooker's "Boogie Chillen," there are hundreds of legendary songs that aren't contenders for the top spot.

[Bridget Burke]

59. Anything by Lightnin' Hopkins--I'll pick "Hello Central" if I must.

Hello Central, will you please get me 209
Hello, Hello Central, will you please get me 209
I want to talk to my baby, and she's so far down the line.

Not a famous song, but I heard him play many times in my youth & that was perhaps his darkest blues. The blues is more than individual songs, it's an ongoing creative process--at least, it was while Lightnin' was alive. (He was a big influence on Townes Van Zandt--in person, not just from records.)

Also "Motherless Children" by Navasota's Mance Lipscomb. The folklorists called him a "songster" rather than bluesman, but he played bottleneck guitar on that tune & raised goosebumps.

Sticking with songs I heard in person saves me from having to select from all the recorded riches out there. (Although I also heard "In the Mood" by John Lee Hooker, "Baby, What you Want me to Do" by Jimmy Reed, "Quelque Chose Sur Mon Idee (There's Something on My Mind)" by Clifton Cheneir, etc.)

[givemebackmycountry]

60. Delta Blues Great

He's dead now.
Played his entire life and no one outside of Mississippi knew who he was.
Thank God someone decided to record him.

"Done got old"

Junior Kimbrough

[chaska]

61. Born Under a Bad Sign.

I've been down since I began to crawl
If it wasn't for bad luck
I wouldn't have no luck at all

[toddzilla]

62. mannish boy

[Bossy Monkey]

63. "Keep Your Lamps Trimmed & Burning" Mississippi Fred McDowell n/t