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There are many ways to get started with Blues music.
I have chosen 6 blues artists that I consider to be some of the best choices for a beginner.
They are Jimmy Reed, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Robert Johnson, Joe Bonamassa, and Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.
I will discuss each of these artists in the following sections.
You Can Get Started with Blues Music with Jimmy Reed.
Jimmy Reed would be a very good choice for a beginner to get into Blues music.
He has had several crossover hits that most people are already familiar with but may not realize they are blues.
“Big Boss Man” and “Bright Lights, Big City” are probably the songs that most people might be familiar with.
Most of his music has a basic blues beat that people can enjoy and identify.
After listening to the two songs mentioned he has a vast catalog of songs that can be pursued.
You can buy a Jimmy Reed CD from Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3P63nFa
You Can Get Started with Blues Music with Elmore James.
I got started with Blues with Elmore James.
I have played guitar since I was 16 years old.
I got my first guitar right after I saw the Beatles on closed-circuit television.
At some point, I moved away from Rock and Roll and started playing acoustic guitar.
I went through phases of Bluegrass, Fingerstyle, and Folk music among others.
One evening I was dialing through some public radio stations looking for folk music programs and heard Elmore James’ version of “Dust My Broom.”
Elmore’s slide guitar playing, vocals, and presentation hit me hard.
I had found my place in music.
For a while, I just looked for versions of Elmore’s songs but in the time I spent searching, I heard a lot of other great blues artists.
Today, Blues is my number one choice of music to listen to and to play.
You can buy an Elmore James CD from Amazon here: https://amzn.to/438zytg
You Can Get Started with Blues Music with Muddy Waters.
Muddy Waters is another great artist to first listen to when you are new to the blues.
He has a large catalog of songs, some happy and some sad.
A lot of people have heard ” Hootchie Cootchie Man” and “I Got My Mojo Workin” but just never associated them with Blues.
Muddy is one of the best known of the well-known electric guitar players in the blues genre.
You can buy a Muddy Waters CD from Amazon here: https://amzn.to/3V6rwiH
You Can Get Started with Blues Music with Robert Johnson.
Robert Johnson has been called the most influential of the early blues players,
In two years time he recorded 29 songs.
Most of these songs have become blues standards.
He advertised the fact that he had made a deal with the devil to make him a great guitar player.
Guitarists today work at learning Johnson’s guitar licks.
It took me a while personally to get accustomed to Johnson’s singing but as time passed, I became much more of a fan.
I like a lot of his songs and they have been covered by numerous guitar players.
Johnson died at the age of 27.
You can buy a Robert Johnson CD from Amazon here: https://amzn.to/49Hkmpx
You Can Get Started with Blues Music with Joe Bonamassa.
Joe Bonamassa was a child prodigy.
He started playing publicly at the age of 12.
He had continued to develop his art and at the time of this writing, he was 46 years old.
He has incredible guitar technique.
As a guitar player, I don’t find all of his guitar solos interesting but then on the next song, he just blows me away.
He would always be a good place to start listening to the blues.
You can buy a Joe Bonamassa CD from Amazon here; https://amzn.to/49Wh94U
You Can Get Started with Blues Music with Christone “Kingfish” Ingram.
Christone “Kingfish” Ingram is one of the new bloods on the blues scene.
He is from Clarksdale, Mississippi and they are very proud of him there.
I was recently in Clarksdale and there were pictures of him everywhere I went.
When you listen to his music you can hear the influence of great classic blues players, especially B.B., King, but then he takes off in an explosive, distortion-based solo and he is just pure “Kingfish.”
I think he would be a great place for younger folks to jump into the blues but us older folks will love his work too.
You can buy a Christone “KIngfish” Ingram cd from Amazon here: https://amzn.to/49JUNUS
Conclusion
There are many places to start listening to blues music.
I have listed the artists that I consider to be interesting for a new listener but there are many more.
When in my car, I listen to Sirius/XM B. B. King’s Bluesville channel and hear many artists that almost anyone who enjoys blues would enjoy. Just turn up the music and let it soothe the soul.