Albert King – I’ll Play The Blues For You

This is a live performance by blues legend Albert King playing the song “I’ll Play The Blues For You” live. The performance is from Ohne Filter which I assume is either a German venue or some sort of German television show. The performance is from 1992.
The song was the title track to King’s 1990 album. On the album it’s a 7:17 long blues song which makes it the longest on the album. Opening with a long blues number, now that’s Albert King.
He is joined on stage by two guitarists, and I don’t know who they are. One of them is playing a lefty Stratocaster, he only does rhythm parts, the other guitarist however does a really good solo. I’d like to credit him, but as stated above, I don’t know who he is.
It’s a great extended blues jam by The King.

Enjoy ; )

Muddy Waters - Mannish Boy

This is a live performance by blues legend Muddy Waters playing the classic song Mannish Boy. It was released by Waters in 1955 on Chess records.
The song is an arrangement of and an answer song to Bo Diddley's song "I'm a Man". (Click here for a previous post of this song) Diddley's song on the other hand was heavily inspired by Muddy's song "Hoochie Coochie Man" written by Willie Dixon. "Mannish Boy" borrows the one chord stop-time arrangement and is also partially credited to Diddley.
It's quite a famous song and it's been done by other artists as well. It's been done live by both Roger Daltrey and Queen. Also Jimi Hendrix has done a version of this song. And it was recently featured in a H&M commercial sung by a woman who quite frankly slaughters the song. It's just so wrong to see a blues number covered and featured in a fashion commercial, plus why the hell did they hire a woman to record it. Does it make much sense for a woman to sing "now I'm a man"? No of course not!
So yeah listen to the original and listen to both Diddley's and Waters' version of this great composition. And avoid the H&M commercial like the plaque!

Enjoy ; )

John Lee Hooker - Tupelo

This is a live performance by blues legend John Lee Hooker playing his classic song "Tupelo" live on acoustic guitar. The song is about an actual flood that occurred in the Mississippi Delta around 1936 and destroyed many homes and killed many people. The song captures the desperation, describes the mood and tension of the situation and tells of people turning to religion to save them from the flood.
It's a great sad and tragic song by Hooker. It shows just how powerful simple guitar playing and a voice like his turns out to be artistic and beautiful.
Floods, hurricanes and bad weather are often the subject of blues songs. As is also the case with "Hurricane Beulah" and "Texas Flood".
It's a really good song inspired by the tradition of self-accompanied Delta blues which Hooker mastered to perfection. This is a man in his element doing what he does best: Singing and playing the blues.

Enjoy ; )

Lightnin' Hopkins - Mojo Hand

This is a solo performance from blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins. He performs his song Mojo Hand which I can only assume is about the magic that lies within his own hands. It's a very short clip, but absolutely worth it. It's fast and good wholesome acoustic self accompanied blues, simple as that.
You can really hear the influence Lightnin' has had on Stevie Ray Vaughan in this clip, I don't think Stevie would have come up with the idea of playing in a fast boogie-woogie style blues were it not for Lightnin', and that's awesome.

Enjoy ; )

Howlin' Wolf - How Many More Years

This is a great performance by blues legend Howlin' Wolf, he was a guitarist, a harp player and last but not least a fantastic singer. He had a growly voice that fit the blues very well. He was also known for his performances and his physical appearance during these performances. Like in this one where he flashes a dollar bill as he sings that the money is gone with a unique facial expression.
He's fantastic, on this track he plays the harmonica, it's pretty basic, but soulful and fantastic.
The performance is from 1951 which was still in the beginning stages of his career. He was however though one of the few blues artists to be successful from the early stages of his career, and he didn't struggle as much as some of his peers. Don't get me wrong, he still came from a poor background, but was able to leave it pretty early in his career.
He was also ranked no. 51 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 100 greatest artists of all time. Almost in the top half that's pretty damn good.

Enjoy ; )

Rory Gallagher - Bullfrog Blues

This is a great blues song from blues legend Rory Gallagher. I only recently discovered Gallagher, and I must say that I'm impressed. He's definitely a blues man, and a good one.
This is one of my favourites from him so far (haven't listened to all his stuff yet). I love his slide work, it's gritty and not perfect, but very rock 'n' roll. He has played many genres like blues, rock, hard rock, blues rock and much more, but in the end genres are just labels.
I love his energy when he's playing live, and the fact that he gets up close with the audience, a true performer, he's just great.
He has influenced many players, and Slash was a big fan of Gallagher. Slash also does slide work, and this may be influenced by Rory.

Enjoy ; )

Lightnin' Hopkins - Goin' Down Slow

This is an old recording of blues legend Lightnin' Hopkins performing the classic blues song "Goin' Down Slow". The first release of the song was in 1941, but the song gained notoriety when it was recorded by legendary blues artist Howlin' Wolf in 1962 (for Wolf version click here).
Wolf's recording made the song a blues standard, and it has since been covered by a lot of artists including; Jeff Beck, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton and Aretha Franklin, to name a few.
I like Lightnin's version because it is everything that I love about the blues, a man and his guitar just playing, it's soul, it's fantastic and no one has been able to replicate that today, it's unique.
Lightnin' was also a huge influence on Stevie Ray Vaughan, but more in terms of Vaughan's song "Rude Mood".

Enjoy ; )

Jeff Beck & B.B. King - Key to The Highway

This is a performance by B.B. King and Jeff Beck, it's from 2003. They perform the song "Key to The Highway", a song that's been part of King's repertoire for a long time. It is considered a blues classic, originally recorded in 1940 by Charlie Segar, and since covered by a number of blues artists. It was originally a 12-bar blues, but when covered by Big Bill Broonzy, he changed it to an 8-bar blues that sounds similar to the one performed today.
I love this performance, and the playful attitude the players have. There's nothing but respect between them. King's got the feelin', but Beck's got some speed, and in the end they're both great, it's never a competition.

Enjoy ; )

The Doors & John Lee Hooker - Roadhouse Blues

The video is a fan made video. The song is from the 2000 album "Stoned Immaculate: The Music of The Doors". It is an album recorded by the surviving members of The Doors, and features many guest performances. Like this one featuring blues legend John Lee Hooker. The track was put together in the studio using a posthumous vocal by Morrison. It is a great song, and it showcases that "The Doors" also had the blues, and getting a guy like Hooker is a stamp of approval in my book.

Enjoy ; )