The good Reverend is a fucking mythological musician. Seek out anything else by the man if you ever want to hear a terrific song.
Anyway, I love country blues, so excuse me for a moment to wax verbosily for a couple dozen paragraphs.
If we're talking acoustic/country blues -- which, Naples, Big Bill Broonzy strictly isn't, because though he draws a lot from the Mississippi style, he's more of a Chicago/electric blues musician than a straight acoustic/country -- then you really can't get much better than the Devil himself, Robert Johnson -- which, Naples, you're super correct about, woo! Johnson, though himself one of the last musicians to play in the pure Mississippi style, invented many of the motifs that most would identify as country blues archetypes, plus his entire catalog is very brief, unfortunate for history but fortunate for easy, marathon listening. My favorite songs by Johnson: "Come into My Kitchen," "Hellhound on My Trail," "Preachin' Blues," "Love in Vain."
Out of the slightly older crop of Mississippi musicians, one of my favorites is definitely Skip James. He sings with an incredibly sad yet solid falsetto and plays slide guitar with a slightly-off finger-picking technique that makes his style impossible to pin down, at an anomalous point in between the likes of Texas bluesmen like Blind Lemon Jefferson (oh boy, I like BLJ, but I'll get to him in a minute) and the next guy I love... Mississippi John Hurt! He also plays with a remarkable, fragile finger-picking style, but with a little less slide and more emphasis on his absolutely angelic tenor. Well, maybe it's just that I have trouble paying attention to anything but his voice, which I have reason to believe may actually soundtrack souls ascending to Heaven, when I listen to his music. I can safely say that I love Hurt more than Johnson, or any other country bluesman for that matter, and his '60s re-recordings of his original '20s discography is an essential purchase for anyone wishing to get into the blues. The original recordings are excellent, too, but the rough production doesn't do justice to Hurt's musical and vocal gifts.
If Hurt has the voice of an angel, then Blind Willie Johnson has the voice of the devil. And what a fantastic voice the devil has, and how ironic that he should sing almost exclusively religious lyrics. Willie Johnson, like Son House, was a man of contradictions who sublimated his ethical turmoils by incorporating religious themes into blues, "the devil's music," and Johnson's blues are some of the best. A wicked slide, that gravelly growl, and that loping pulse that keeps you in all the way through. Johnson's music is sweet, painful addiction.
Those are just my favorite gents from pre-war Mississippi (to say nothing of other incredible bluesmen like Bukka White, Son House, or Tommy Johnson -- I leave out Charlie Patton because his recordings are really too rough for me, I can definitely appreciate them for the influence but would never listen to them over a clearer tune by Hurt or House from the same era), but that doesn't even touch upon the equally vibrant East Coast and Texas traditions. Blind Lemon Jefferson is the unquestioned king of the Texas blues, a jazzy style that had a much stronger focus on guitar runs and , often throwing the entire concept of rhythm to the dogs. It's worth listening to Blind Lemon Jefferson, or his contemporary Texas Alexander, just to grasp this strange, dead styling of blues, but its beauty is much more powerful than simple strangeness. Jefferson's guitarwork is unparalleled for his generation, his lonesome moan rivals any Mississippi star. I'm not too keen on other Texas musicians, but BLJ is an essential for any blues fan. Favorite songs: "That Black Snake Moan," "Jack O'Diamonds Blues," "Prison Cell Blues," "Matchbox Blues."
One of my favorite bluesmen isn't quite from Mississippi or Texas, but actually from Georgia. Barbecue Bob plays in a similar style, with mean slide guitar stylings, but locality during the country blues era really made a hell of a difference. Bob's music, from Georgia, is lighter and dancier, a blend of Mississippi and ragtime tradition. Whatever the origin, the combination is ridiculously infectious.
The closer you got to the East Coast, the stronger ragtime influenced your blues. I'm a big early jazz and ragtime fan already, so this upbeat style of dance blues is very welcome to my ears, though it is very different from the public perception of acoustic blues as strictly sad, strictly moaning. Guys like Barbecue Bob who bridge the gap are few and far between; one of these few guys, Blind Willie McTell, is perhaps the most famous musican to emerge from the scene. Singing in a high register that could easily be mistaken for a woman, at times, McTell mastered the art of 12-string slide guitar for both emotional blues and lively dances. No matter what he sang, he always played in a ridiculously tight, fluid style that revered rhythm, bold direct music that rewarded people with twitchy toes over introspective, close listeners. Favorite songs: "Travellin' Blues," "Statesboro Blues," "Georgia Rag."
Tampa Red - brought country blues to Kansas, where it would be warped into boogie woogie (a whole 'nother story entirely). I'm a bigger fan of his contemporary Lonnie Johnson, though, whose majestic guitar skills were heavily influenced by Blind Lemon Jefferson. Key song: "It's Tight Like That" (Tampa Red), "She's Only a Woman" (Lonnie Johnson)
Blind Blake and Blind Boy Fuller - more East Coast blues musicians, more infectious ragtime blues. Key song: "Blind Arthur's Breakdown."
Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee - these two guys played an instrumental role in reviving public interest in country blues during the 1960's by continuing to play harmonica blues through World War II, when new jazzy forms threatened to eliminate the old traditions almost entirely. Terry is a harmonica virtuoso the likes of which the world has never seen before nor after. Truly incredible musicians, both. Key song: "Blues with a Whoop," just as a showcase for Terry's harmonica.
Sonny Boy Williamson - there were actually 2 Sonny Boy Williamsons, but both played charismatic harmonica country-influenced blues. Huge influences on Muddy Waters. Key songs: "Good Morning Little Schoolgirl," "Eyesight to the Blind."
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