Best Ever Albums

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Mercury — Sun, 29 Mar 2015 14:05:37 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 03/29/2015 18:05

Okay, so I took another long look at the corresponding Deep Blues chart that covers the same subject as this thread. It's all updated. Thanks to people who gave me some great recs as I did research, listen and add many more artists to it thanks to your recs. for example, thanks Cymro for Robert Wilkins. And thanks Meccalecca for the Crumb cards which reminded me to add Clifford Gibson & Roosevelt Sykes. And thanks Meccalecca, again, for introducing me to those American Primitive sets on your awesome American Primitivism Genre Extravaganza thread. Those are all awesome additions to the thingies.

Anyway, here is a link if y'all wanna see the update.

60 Shades of the Deep Blues by Mercury

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

19loveless91 — Sat, 20 Sep 2014 13:05:33 GMT

Author: 19loveless91

Posted: 09/20/2014 17:05

So here I was listening to the Ghost World soundtrack, and thinking how I should really get into some country blues, and that I should ask BEA for recs. Don't know how I managed to totally miss this thread, thanks Mercury (and others) for giving me so much material to check out, very much looking forward to it 😄

Props Cymro for mentioning Wilkins, That's No Way to Get Along is gorgeous, maybe the best track on the Ghost World soundtrack.

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Norman Bates — Sun, 24 Aug 2014 07:24:53 GMT

Author: Norman Bates

Posted: 08/24/2014 11:24

To whom it may concern, I found this blog:

http://aintgoindownthisbigroad.tumblr.com/

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

pa — Fri, 15 Aug 2014 13:43:21 GMT

Author: pa

Posted: 08/15/2014 17:43

Mercury wrote:

:)

Sorry for the delay, but yeah Koko and Lowell are both really excellent blues and blues/R&B artists. That song you posted is fabulous. Koko was cool and more of a later day Chicago blues singer in the tradition of some of the earlier city greats like Ma Rainey. But i wouldn't classify her as Country/Deep Blues particularly. But genre classifications are more a nuisance than anything else sometimes. And Lowell definitely mixed some great deep blues feels in his stuff while being one of the early Rhythm and Blues performers. He's excellent as well. Thanks for the post!

thanks for your explanations Mercury and I'm glad to have a lot of records to discovery now!

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Mercury — Thu, 14 Aug 2014 09:42:27 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 08/14/2014 13:42

pa wrote:

This is an amazing work Mercury, thank u so much!
and this last song "dark was the night cold was the ground" is stunning...

What do u say about Koko Taylor and Lowell Fulson ?

😄

Sorry for the delay, but yeah Koko and Lowell are both really excellent blues and blues/R&B artists. That song you posted is fabulous. Koko was cool and more of a later day Chicago blues singer in the tradition of some of the earlier city greats like Ma Rainey. But i wouldn't classify her as Country/Deep Blues particularly. But genre classifications are more a nuisance than anything else sometimes. And Lowell definitely mixed some great deep blues feels in his stuff while being one of the early Rhythm and Blues performers. He's excellent as well. Thanks for the post!

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

pa — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 10:04:17 GMT

Author: pa

Posted: 08/11/2014 14:04

Link

Lowell Fulson

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

pa — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 10:00:12 GMT

Author: pa

Posted: 08/11/2014 14:00

This is an amazing work Mercury, thank u so much!
and this last song "dark was the night cold was the ground" is stunning...

What do u say about Koko Taylor and Lowell Fulson ?

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Aug 2014 01:31:14 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 08/11/2014 05:31

Great. I now have ghosts in my apartment. That shit's from the grave!

worth it.

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Mercury — Sun, 10 Aug 2014 22:01:01 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 08/11/2014 02:01

Also.... If anyone wants to hear perhaps the greatest song to out of the country blues IMO...here

Link

If even 1 person truly discovers that song because of this thread than it makes the 6+ hours of work on it worth it.

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Mercury — Sat, 9 Aug 2014 22:22:25 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 08/10/2014 02:22

...the 3rd installment....

Texas Blues

The next, and probably last, specific regional form of Country Blues I wanted to write a few words on is Texas Blues. Blues in Texas was a thing for just about as long as blues was a thing. At the turn of the 20th century early blues music began to appear in the region.

In many ways the story of Texas style acoustic blues is quite similar to that of the Delta Blues in the Mississippi area. The blues existed there, became a part of the African-american's musical heritage and was finally popularized and established around basically one absolutely influential musician. For the Delta that man is regarded as Charley Patton. For Texas blues that man was Blind Lemon Jefferson. In the mid 1920s, Blind Lemon Jefferson was very innovative and to a great degree set the scene and underlying sound of the blues in Texas. Specifically he developed a great jazz-like improvising guitar style and a beautiful (and very unique and groundbreaking) single stringed lead guitar style that sort of followed and melded with the vocals. His guitar style as well as the similarly complex playing of Ramblin' Thomas and Funny Paper Smith, helped create the bedrock of of the early Texas blues sound, and greatly influenced the musicians who followed such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Lil Son Jackson and even the next generation's electric bluesmen like T-Bone Walker.

For me, although Texas Country Blues does have a distinct sound, it does not hold as strong to a musical and stylistic identity as the earlier 2 features. The early Texas blues scene was not nearly as fruitful of hit makers and legendary characters and influential musicians as either the East Coast piedmont Style or the Delta. What it does hold, for me anyway, is a definite vein of struggle in the sound of the guitar and vocals. There's a weather-worn streak of humanity in some of this music that feels pretty unique to me. And, seemingly in direct contrast to that feature, there's a dark, fearful twist to the early blues of Texas. From Blind Lemon Jefferson in songs like "Black Snake Moan", to Blind Willie Johnson in songs like "Mother's Children Have A Hard Time" to the moans and cries in the great recordings of Texas Alexander, there is definitely something somewhat dark and spooky and fearful about these Texas blues.

Another characteristic that generally defines Texas Blues, or Texas Country Blues, or Acoustic Texas Blues is a certain sort of swinging quality to the songs. Also what separated this style from other blues was a definite tendency for the guitar to be used as an extension of the vocals, melding and ornamenting and working with the vocal lines in various and varying ways. Some prime examples of this are contained in the classic records of Blind Lemon Jefferson, and, perhaps most stunningly (and I mean literally jaw-dropping, perhaps the greatest and most emotional piece of music to come out of the blues, period.), in the song "Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground" by Blind Willie Johnson.

Of course just like with the blues in all areas of America the genre changed radically when the music became city and when the music became electric. Perhaps the first thing most people think of when "Texas Blues" is mentioned is not these early greats but the ones that came later. The ones with stratocasters, and loud amplifiers, and scorching and biting guitar leads. I mean the wealth of talent that emerged from Texas AFTER WWII is impressive in the extreme. Albert Collins, Freddie King, Johnny Winters, T-Bone Walker, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Billy Gibbons, Gary Clark Jr, Big Mama Thornton - all these guitarists and musicians and singers emerged from this scene or style. It's a beautiful thought to think all that talent was made possible by the work and influence of Blind Lemon Jefferson some 90 years ago.

*********************

TEXAS BLUES RECS

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King Of The Country Blues by Blind Lemon Jefferson
Blind Lemon Jefferson is indisputably one of the most important figures in the history of blues. He was, in many regards, in a league of his own in terms of influence in the blues community. He was one of the founders of Texas blues (along with Texas Alexander), one of the most influential country bluesmen of all time, one of the most popular bluesmen of the 1920s, and the first truly commercially successful male blues performer. Before Lemon's success the only commercially successful blues musicians were female singers such as Mamie and Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey, but with Jefferson came a blues artist who was solo, self-accompanied, and performing a great deal of original material in addition to the more familiar repertoire of folk standards. And as a guitarist he developed an amazing jazz influenced guitar style heavy on single stringed picked solos and guitar interplay with his very passionate and moaning vocals. This man's music and songs are just haunting and some of the most memorable and powerful of all time. See "Black Snake Moan" and "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" as just a couple example of his holiness.

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The Complete Blind Willie Johnson by Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Willie Johnson is, in my mind, the single most intense and wild and scorching performer in the history of Country Blues. He mixed the devout belief and sincerity and soulfulness of Gospel with the sounds of the blues, He mixed the sound of Delta blues (in it's most beautiful and white-hot form) with the sound of Texas guitar harmonizing. He had the most inspired vocals ever, his beautiful humming and moaning and his gravelly barking delivery holding equal power from both polarities. His subject matters are almost wholly religious. Very pious. But the energy of his performances is enough to make almost anyone pay attention. He is also one of the greatest and most impressive slide guitarists you'll ever hear. He's on my personal "mount rushmore" of favorite Country blues musicians, easily.

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98 Degrees Blues by Texas Alexander
Texas Alexander was a blues singer. And he was one of the very earliest recorded Texas Blues men (right about the same time as Blind Lemon - just a bit later). One of the striking things about his singing is its mournful quality. His voice was rich and volatile and filled with emotion. Although he wasn't a guitarist or pianist himself and relied only on his voice as his instrument, he uses it to stunning effect as shown on this collection. And he was able to snag some of the absolute greatest early blues and jazz musicians to accompany him on record such as Eddie Lang, King Oliver and the great Lonnie Johnson. This man set the table for really all the great blues singers to come out of Texas after him.

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The Complete Aladdin Recordings by Lightnin' Hopkins
Lightnin' was probably the last truly great and absolutely essential country blues artists to emerge. He was so hard, so emotive and yet at times it felt like he was just about the coolest mo ever to play the blues. His guitar style was downright filthy! It had this beautiful, incessant, stinging quality that makes his records always feel immediate and vigorous. No matter what he played, even the intricate guitar parts, it sounded like it was easy. Hopkins is just such a dynamic and unique character in the history of the blues. This collection is just about as raw and stripped down as you will find him. This is just about the highest quality sounding classic country blues you'll have the pleasure of hearing.

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Texas Worried Blues: Complete Recorded Works 1927-1929 by Henry Thomas
Mr. Henry Thomas is something of a folk legend. He's so old that when he recorded his only records in the late 20s he was already in his early 50s! He is regarded as a Songster, so the songs and styles he sang covered many grounds - from spirituals, to ballads, to dance songs and of course the songs on this record here that would be called Blues. No matter the music he was playing, he had a very interesting style all his own. His guitar technique seems very simple, much more interested in making his music danceable than making it complex. And he also often played a very peculiar instrument called a Quill or a Panpipe. It is a simple instrument, indigenous to a few parts of the southern US and almost never used in blues records.

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Texas Sharecropper And Songster by Mance Lipscomb
Mance was actively making music since the 20s but apparently never recorded until the folk revival in the very early 60s. He is a musician, much like Leadbelly and John Hurt and Henry Thomas, who could not be designated as strictly blues. He was a beautiful interpreter of song. All kinds and types of songs were in his repertory. His voice is weather-worn and sincere. And he was also a very good acoustic guitar player. The thing I love about listening to his music is it is sort of like a picture into some bygone time and place. The culture and feel of the good old days live on in these beautiful songs and melodies.

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Complete Recorded Works 1928-1932 In Ch...es Singers
Ramblin Thomas was a mysterious and talented country blues artist almost forgotten in time. he was known for living up to his name, traveling all over the country and never settling down. In this collection of recordings you'll hear that when he did stop rambling long enough to record, it was worth it. The songs here sound like they'd been very poorly preserved, hissing and warping and garbled all over. But through all the bullshit, the truth and the beauty of the real old time blues rings out. On this set are some fantastic lyrics and some really unique rhythmically substantial guitar picking. This man was really a great acoustic guitarist, all over the place, switching the rhythm of his picking at the drop of a dime and at his whim.

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The Original Howling Wolf 1930-1931 by Funny Paper Smith
J.T. "Funny Paper" Smith, along with Blind Lemon Jefferson, probably did more to define and influence the early Texas blues guitar sound than anyone else. He developed a signature sound distinguished by complex, fluid melodic lines and cool, repetitive bass riffs. He was also a very good early blues songwriter. he was known by some as Howling Wolf a full 20 years before the much more well Known Howlin' Wolf (aka Chester Burnett) claimed the name in the 40s. His career suddenly came to a close in the mid 30s when he was imprisoned for killing a man. He died in his cell some years later. Still, murderer or not, it's highly recommended you hear this man play.

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Blues Come To Texas by Melvin "Lil Son" Jackson
After WWII country blues began to die out, and newer electric blues began to take over. A few throwbacks still emerged and forged their own careers while sticking to the old model. Melvin "Lil Son" Jackson was one of those great throwbacks. His music, much like Lightnin' Hopkins' (and if you love Lightnin' you'll probably love Lil Son) was earthy and natural and traditional while still feeling uniquely his own. His guitar playing was pretty straight country blues, but his singing was a cool and nonchalant thing. And as a songwriter he had a ability to veer away from classic blues cliche while using the same basic blues form. He made his words distinctly his own. Highly recommended Texas blues album and artist here.

************

And this is the part where you all contribute your thoughts, favorites, recs, etc to this thread.

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Mercury — Thu, 7 Aug 2014 13:48:12 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 08/07/2014 17:48

Cymro2011 wrote:

Amazing work, Merc.

I think Robert Wilkins deserves a mention. He doesn't seem to get much attention despite having one of his songs covered by The Rolling Stones.

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Robert Wilkins - The Original Rolling Stone

Link

Link

Yeah! I've heard a lot about him, can't say I've ever really dug into him. Those 2 songs you posted are beautiful. I will have to start checking out more of his stuff.

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Max15 — Thu, 7 Aug 2014 10:55:30 GMT

Author: Max15

Posted: 08/07/2014 14:55

Yeah sorry about that 😄

After noticing the lack of Blind Willie Johnson, I looked back and noticed no Blind Lemon or Lightin' Hopkins. I thought "He can't have missed those three, what do they have in common that separates them from the rest? Hmm.... Oh Yeah.... #-o"

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Mercury — Thu, 7 Aug 2014 10:46:54 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 08/07/2014 14:46

Thanks, Max! Totally agree Tommy mcClennan was a beast.

As I see you edited it out, but yeah as you may have seen (and this removed the question about Blind Willie Johnson) but Blind Willie Johnson will be covered in some detail when I get to the Texas Country Blues. He's truly one of my personal top 5 fave country blues artists.

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Max15 — Thu, 7 Aug 2014 10:40:06 GMT

Author: Max15

Posted: 08/07/2014 14:40

This is a brilliant post. I think it's great for beginners and hardened listeners alike, going through blues legends and more obscure players.

You certainly hit the nail on the head with Tommy McCleannan too. Vastly under appreciated, Bottle It Up And Go is one of my favourite pre war blues songs.

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Cymro2011 — Thu, 7 Aug 2014 06:53:56 GMT

Author: Cymro2011

Posted: 08/07/2014 10:53

Amazing work, Merc.

I think Robert Wilkins deserves a mention. He doesn't seem to get much attention despite having one of his songs covered by The Rolling Stones.

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Robert Wilkins - The Original Rolling Stone

Link

Link

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Anonymous — Thu, 7 Aug 2014 03:14:48 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 08/07/2014 07:14

Good Gawd, Mercury! I honestly didn't think it was possible, but your write up for "2nd installment" subjectively seems even better to me. Your passion percolates through pretty much every line written here. If the Texas installment is even better, I need to know what performance enhancing aids you've employed. LOL.

Now excuse me while I step on out with your boy Lonnie...

edit: Haha! Just heard No More Trouble by Lonnie Johnson with its subject matter of having "three woman". I assume this is the blues song that I heard Jack White is paying homage to on Lazaretto's Three Women.

ps: Yeah. Lonnie's easily my favorite so far out of Tommy, Charley and Lonnie.

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Mercury — Thu, 7 Aug 2014 00:20:12 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 08/07/2014 04:20

...the 2nd installment...

EAST COAST/PIEDMONT STYLE BLUES

The next regional sound that is actually just as fertile and beautiful as the Mississppi style is what is often called "Piedmont Style" or by the more general name "East Coast Style". Piedmont refers geographically to the Piedmont plateau region, on the East Coast of the United States from about Richmond, Virginia to Atlanta, Georgia. Piedmont blues musicians come from this area, as well as most other south eastern states and Appalachian regions as well. And a bit later in its development through time, the style and the musicians that played it started popping up more and more in the northeastern areas of Boston, New Jersey and New York.

The style is mostly a reference to the guitar style. The Piedmont finger style is a particular picking method which I won't claim to know much of, as I am not a musician. But the guitar sound is a beautiful, strident, and lively. Stylistically the sound of much of the blues from this region pre WWII is based in Ragtime, early jazz, as well as earlier banjo-based music, and string bands. This was the main music in the region of the time (early to mid 20s) and was thus taken on by the bluesmen from the area and adapted and integrated into a very unique and vibrant style of blues music.

Clearly, again and just like earlier in the Mississippi Delta, the whole of the blues scene in the east didn't have the same sound. But the main distinguishing factors of the blues from this area was/is a definite rich background in jazz traditions, ragtime guitar techniques, etc.

As for the vocals and other aspects of this style, there's no denying that the sheer, painful intensity you can find in Delta Blues and, generally, Texas Blues as well is not generally a feature of the music from this area. In its place is a certain subtle, and relatable feeling of everyday blues. With most of these players the pain and ache are presented by less intense and scorching means. But at the same time, this style in my mind is more diverse and musically rich even than that of the delta. The guitar sings and floats and bounces in more elaborate and beautiful ways. The style as a whole conveys more hope and happiness into the world of its protagonists than the Delta style.

But really to compare the 2 sounds is silly. For one, they have so much crossover its crazy. Many Delta greats were directly channeling the sounds of the east, and many east coast style players were integrating aspects of the delta slide guitar techniques and delta rhythms into their music. The sounds are generally distinct but also they influence and feed off each other and are the definition of symbiotic. The same goes for the Texas players once I get around to them.

Much like the music of the Delta, this style of blues fell out of favor after World War II. But whereas Delta Blues found an almost instant vessel for a sort of resurrection into Chicago Blues just after WWII, the Piedmont scene and style as a viable and profitable scene fell sharply off and didn't have such a clear influence on the next wave of blues music in the big cities.

What did happen was a revival. The massive upsurge of interest in Country Blues in the late 50s and early 60s meant that dozens and dozens of seemingly forgotten greats in this genre began being searched out, recorded and given gigs all over. This effected all areas of the country blues. Delta blues men such as Son House and Mississippi Fred McDowell and John Hurt and many others were suddenly thrust forward into popularity again. But this perhaps was even more so with the Piedmont players. By the late 50s artists like Josh White, Rev. Gary Davis, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry, Blind Willie McTell and many others were experiencing similar resurgences in interest in their art form.

The Piedmont style of blues was also a huge influence on the guitar techniques of several of my (and your) favorite modern folk musicians such as The Tallest Man On Earth, and even Nick Drake. Also heavily influenced other musicians such as Bob Dylan and The White Stripes and countless others.

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EAST COAST/PIEDMONT STYLE ALBUM RECS

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Steppin' On The Blues by Lonnie Johnson
Okay, so please get this straight: Lonnie Johnson is in many ways on a whole other level than basically every other person I've mentioned so far on this thread in terms of influence, originality, skill, diversity and in terms of the lasting print he left on music, all music. Melodically he was so advanced and brilliant and so far outstretched most anyone in the pre-war blues (or even jazz) scene it's insane. He is featured here because although the blues was but a part of his legacy, it was through the blues he got his start and it was through the blues that he created some of his most aesthetically rich and godly music. He was idolized by Robert Johnson, he was heavily influential on later jazz guitar geniuses such as Charlie Christian and Django Reinhardt, and he is said to have been the first person to introduce the guitar solo on record (yes, you heard me right.) on the song "6/88 Glide". But putting all these influence talks aside, he was truly one of the most engaging and inventive and fun to listen to guitarist to ever grace this world. I could go on and in about him, but I will end by saying please check this man's music out. He is very important to me.

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The Classic Years 1927-1940 by Blind Willie McTell
Blind Willie McTell is blues royalty. While being undoubtedly one of the greatest guitarist in its history, he was also one of his most emotive and beautiful vocalists ever. And as a musician, with his signature 12 String guitar, he melded blues with ragtime in ways few could pull off. And he was so nimble in his guitar prowess he sounded like 2 guitarist at once at times. Another thing not to be missed is his superb songwriting skills lyrically and his profound sense of rhythm in his playing. The dude was just a straight stud. Oh and his songs with Ruth Mary Willis are absolutely to die for.

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East Coast Piedmont Style by Blind Boy Fuller
Blind Boy Fuller was one of the most recorded artists of his time and the most popular and one of the most influential Piedmont blues players of all time. Fuller could play so many styles from slide to ragtime to pop to straight blues. And he made all styles his own with his gorgeous National steel guitar sound. Fuller was a fine, expressive vocalist and a masterful guitarist. He was capable of delivering deep, emotional material as well as upbeat ragtime classics. Highly recommended as one of your first stops if you wanna hear some great old blues - of any kind.

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Meet You At The Station: The Vintage Recordings (1935-1949) by Rev. Gary Davis
On many songs Davis really does get the guitar to sound like an orchestra, boldly running through beautiful melodic turns and harmonic flourishes with what sound like ease. He was such an advanced and integrated musician that his style baffled people from the 20s all the way up through the 50s and 60s when he was rediscovered and newly adored by a new generation of blues and rock musicians. In his guitar you can hear all kinds of influences from Gospel, to Ragtime, to swing to fun minstrel ditties, and he takes all these amazing styles and molds them into his absolutely lovely style. And on top of that he has one of the most enjoyable, for me, rough, and earnest blues voices ever.

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Ragtime Guitar's Foremost Fingerpicker by Blind Blake
Blind Blake was a fascinating man. A mystery to this day as to who he was, where he was from, what his true name is, etc. But it's amazing also how important he was to the development of Blues and Ragtime. Along with being one of the most skilled guitarists in blues history, he was perhaps the primary developer of "finger-style" ragtime on the guitar, Blake was a TOTAL master of this technique, unsurpassed in the 85+ years since. This compilation possesses an energy and warmth that is simply stunning. He was a total giant.

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Virtuoso Guitar 1925-1934 by Scrapper Blackwell
Scrapper and blues pianist Leroy Carr are usual associated. It was with Carr that Scrapper recorded much of his most notable sides. But also as a solo guitarist (featured here quite a bit) he was fabulous. He was a truly spectacular guitarist technically. Very jazz based, improvised and beautiful. And his single string soloing technique is pristine. You can't help but love this man and his music.

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Complete Brownie McGhee by Brownie McGhee
Brownie McGhee is another damn fine, and downright essential Piedmont blues guitarist. His recordings, and especially his recordings with his friend and Harpist Sonny Terry, are warm and rich and endearing as hell. He was an accomplished guitarist in the blues style and he was always able to breathe life and interest in to some of the greatest and most familiar folk songs.

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Blues Singer 1932-1936 by Josh White
Josh White's career is interesting. He was a major member of the crowd that pushed forward the folk revival. And he became his most polished and popular in the 50s and early 60s in such a way. But earlier he was actually a major figure in this here piedmont style blues thing in the 30s. This dude was an apprentice of sorts to legends such as Blind Blake and even the legendary Blind Lemon Jefferson (aka the King of the Country Blues). He was absolutely a fine guitarist with a nice, emotive and sweet voice.

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Chocolate To The Bone by Barbecue Bob
Robert Hicks (Barbecue Bob) is a very notable and impressive early Atlanta blues figure. He was important in establishing and popularizing for the first time the blues in Atlanta. His skills as a slide and 12 string guitarist is on nice display throughout these beautiful (and pretty roughly recorded and worn) recordings.

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Georgia Guitar Wizard 1928-1935 by Curley Weaver
Curley has been and was mostly overshadowed by his peers whom he played along side such as Blind Willie McTell, Barbecue Bob and Buddy Moss, and that is unfair. Because he was an extremely gifted piedmont style guitarist. Nicely jumping from straight blues, to ragtime-style numbers as well as being a good singer to boot.

************

As always you can find some more good blues albums on my deep blues chart 50 shades of the Deep Blues by Mercury

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Anonymous — Wed, 6 Aug 2014 18:53:53 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 08/06/2014 22:53

Great thread Mercury, thanks for sharing. I think it could help me a lot. I also loved the examples you gave to repo, I think they fit in for what you explained about guitar style. (and I really loved them, too)
Keep it going!

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Mercury — Wed, 6 Aug 2014 18:18:28 GMT

Author: Mercury

Posted: 08/06/2014 22:18

Yeah those are both totally classic early blues men. The scrapper deserves more credit as being one of the most technically skilled of the early piedmont/east coast guitarists.

Re: Genre Extravaganza: COUNTRY BLUES/DEEP BLUES

Skinny — Wed, 6 Aug 2014 13:20:13 GMT

Author: Skinny

Posted: 08/06/2014 17:20

Very cool opening post. Would definitely like to mention Scrapper Blackwell, as he is the artist who pops into my head immediately when I think of a halfway point between blues and country.

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Mr. Scrapper's Blues by Scrapper Blackwell

Link

Also, Blind Willie McTell's final session definitely has a countrified feel to it.

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Last Session by Blind Willie McTell

Link