Instructions

Please use the archive to the right to navigate through the project. The archive is ordered to present the project in the most logical way. Click on the song title to hear song via hyperlink to either youtube.com or grooveshark.com.

Conclusion

The blues has influenced many popular artists and songs from a variety of genres including funk, rock, pop, and rap among others. Specifically, the twelve bar blues is one of the most popular, if not the most popular, chord progressions in history, and its versatility is shown by just how many popular songs have taken the twelve bar blues form. It has been reworked into countless versions and has influenced a countless number of musicians.

46. Afroman: Because I Got High

Artist: Afroman
Title: Because I Got High
Album: The Good Times
Year Released: 2001
Record Label: Universal
Catalog #: 014979









Surprising, whether knowingly or unknowingly, Afroman has also drawn from blues influences in his song "Because I Got High". If he did this knowingly, it shows just how far reaching blues influences are. If this was done unknowingly, it still shows that the blues does not just actively influence artists and songs, but also passively influences them. By drawing influences from artist who were influenced by the blues, artists are indirectly influenced by the blues.

It is also important to note that raps are most often in a sixteen bar form, a form that comes from the jazz and blues soloing of the sixteen bar blues. Although this is not a chord progression, the length of many rap verses have been very much influenced by the blues.

45. Amy Winehouse: Rehab

Artist: Amy Winehouse
Title: Rehab
Album: Back To Black
Year Released: 2006
Record Label: Universal Republic
Catalog #: 000842802








This is another recent pop song is influenced by the twelve bar blues. Although the verse is not a twelve bar blues, the chorus is a traditional twelve bar blues.

44. John Mayer: Mercy

Artist: John Mayer
Title: Mercy
Album: [None]
Year Released: 2008
Record Label: [None]
Catalog #: [None]








(image from johnmayer.com)

For his past summer tour, John Mayer has taken Duffy's song and reworked it into a more traditional electric twelve bar blues. Although John Mayer is a pop star, he has said, before playing "Mercy" at his concert in Columbia, Maryland on 7/13/08, that he tries, "To bring blues and pop music together as much as possible...I went to the top 100 or whatever and I looked at what songs of the day, sort of, still echo that sentiment of R&B and blues, and I've found this song and it sits pretty nice."

43. Duffy: Mercy

Artist: Duffy
Title: Mercy
Album: Rockferry
Year Released: 2009
Record Label: Mercury
Catalog #: 001082202









Duffy's hit single "Mercy" from 2008 shows that blues is still very much alive today, and is also a prominent force in pop music. The chorus for the song is a traditional twelve bar blues, however, the verse is a slight variation. The verse chords do not go to the IV chord, and repeat the progression V-IV twice in measures 8-12, making the progression a fourteen bar blues instead. Also, the bridge of the song just stays on the I chord. Although there are slight variations, this song is very much in the style of a twelve bar blues.

42. U2: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For

Artist: U2
Title: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
Album: The Joshua Tree
Year Released: 1987
Record Label: Island
Catalog #: 001028502








One of U2's most popular songs, "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" is a twelve bar blues. Although U2 does not use the traditional dominant seventh chords, favoring major chords instead, the progression is still a twelve bar blues.

41. Stevie Ray Vaughan: Superstition

Artist: Stevie Ray Vaughan
Title: Superstition
Album: Live Alive
Year Released: 1986
Record Label: Epic
Catalog #: 40511








Stevie Ray Vaughan's version of "Superstition" accentuates the bluesy-ness of the song. Stevie Ray Vaughan was fundamental in the revival of blues music during the 1980s.

40. Stevie Wonder: Superstition

Artist: Stevie Wonder
Title: Superstition
Album: Talking Book
Year Released: 1972
Record Label: Motown
Catalog #: 157354









This 70s pop/funk song is a twelve bar blues.

39. The White Stripes: Death Letter

Artist: The White Stripes
Title: Death Letter
Album: De Stijl
Year Released: 2000
Record Label: Warner Brothers
Catalog #: 512135








This cover of Son House's staple song shows the blues' influence in alternative music. The White Stripes have been a fundamental act in the rise of indie alternative rock.

38. Son House: Death Letter Blues

Artist: Son House
Title: Death Letter Blues
Album: Father of the Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions
Year Released: 1965
Record Label: Legacy
Catalog #: 48867







Son House's recording of "Death Letter Blues", first penned in 1930, shows pure emotion. House attacks the guitar when he strums and sings as if he's just lost his love.

37. Joe Satriani/Eric Johnson/Steve Vai: Going Down

Artist: Joe Satriani/Eric Johnson/Steve Vai
Title: Going Down
Album: G3 Live In Concert
Year Released: Epic
Record Label: 1997
Catalog #: 67920








This rendition of Freddie King's song, played by three of the most famous guitarists in metal and instrumental music is played as such. This shows the influence of blues music in both these genres.

36. Freddie King: Going Down

Artist: Freddie King
Title: Going Down
Album: The Best of Freddie King: The Shelter Years
Year Released: 1990
Record Label: The Right Stuff
Catalog #: 27245








This Freddie King classic is a slight variation of the traditional twelve bar blues. It is a blues in D, but has the chord progression D-C-G-F in measures two, five, and ten. This gives the song more of a hard rock feel.

35. Van Halen: Ice Cream Man

Artist: Van Halen
Title: Ice Cream Man
Album: Van Halen
Year Released: 1978
Record Label: Warner Brothers
Catalog #: 47737








This song by Van Halen, a band that had major influence in the metal genre, starts as a traditional acoustic twelve bar blues, but launches into a more metal song towards the end of the piece when the electric guitar comes in.

34. Aerosmith: Dude Looks Like A Lady

Artist: Aerosmith
Title: Dude Looks Like A Lady
Album: Permanent Vacation
Year Released: 1987
Record Label: Geffen
Catalog #: 493096








The blues influence in Aerosmith's song "Dude Looks Like a Lady" is much more explicit than in Prince's song, however, both these eighties rock anthems are in the form of a twelve bar blues.

33. Prince: Purple Rain

Artist: Prince
Title: Purple Rain
Album: Purple Rain
Year Released: 1984
Record Label: Warner Brothers
Catalog #: 25110








"Purple Rain" sounds like the typical 80s slow dance song, however, it is also a twelve bar blues.

32. The Doors: Riders on the Storm

Artist: The Doors
Title: Riders on the Storm
Album: L.A. Woman
Year Released: 1971
Record Label: Rhino
Catalog #: 101155








This hit is a straight forward minor twelve bar blues, and shows more blues influence in the psychedelic rock genre.

31. Queen: Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Artist: Queen
Title: Crazy Little Thing Called Love
Album: The Game
Year Released: 1980
Record Label: Hollywood
Catalog #: 161063








Queen has influenced a variety of rock subgenres including hard rock, progressive rock, and also neo-classical metal. Their interpretation of the twelve bar blues is set to a rockabilly feel, and incorporates breaks that are not part of the blues chord progression (although the majority of the song is).

30. The Clash: Should I Stay Or Should I Go

Artist: The Clash
Title: Should I Stay Or Should I Go
Album: Combat Rock
Year Released: 1982
Record Label: Legacy
Catalog #: 63896








Although The Clash were one of the most influential bands in the creation of punk rock music, an anti-establishment music, they did not seem to mind the traditional twelve bar blues, exhibited in their recording of "Should I Stay Or Should I Go."

29. The Beatles: Why Don't We Do It in the Road?

Artist: The Beatles
Title: Why Don't We Do It in the Road?
Album: The Beatles (White Album)
Year Released: 1968
Record Label: Capitol/EMI
Catalog #: 746443








Although The Beatles wrote "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?", they have recorded covers of many blues songs such as Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Match Box Blues" (renamed "Matchbox" by The Beatles), "Roll Over Beethoven", and "Tutti Frutti".

28. Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited

Artist: Bob Dylan
Title: Highway 61 Revisited
Album: Highway 61 Revisited
Year Released: 1965
Record Label: Legacy
Catalog #: 92399








Bob Dylan was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century and was portrayed as a folk singer. He, however, was also influenced by the blues. Examples of this are his songs "Highway 61 Revisited", "Tombstone Blues", and "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat".

27. Elvis Presley: Blue Suede Shoes

Artist: Elvis Presley
Title: Blue Suede Shoes
Album: The King of Rock 'N' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters
Year Released: 1992
Record Label: RCA
Catalog #: 66050








Elvis Presley, the "King of Rock and Roll", often incorporated many twelve bar blues progressions in his repertoire. These include "Blue Suede Shoes", "That's All Right", and "Hound Dog".

26. Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Goode

Artist: Chuck Berry
Title: Johnny B. Goode
Album: His Best, Volume 1
Year Released: 1997
Record Label: Chess
Catalog #: 9371











"Johnny B. Goode", first released in 1958, is one of the most famous rock and roll songs. It incorporates early country playing into a blues progression.

25. Johnny Cash: Folsom Prison Blues

Artist: Johnny Cash
Title: Folsom Prison Blues
Album: At San Quentin
Year Released: 1969
Record Label: Legacy
Catalog #: 66017








Folsom Prison Blues is a classic American country song by Johnny Cash that is also a twelve bar blues.

24. James Brown: Papa's Got A Brand New Bag

Artist: James Brown
Title: Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
Album: 20 All Time Greatest Hits
Year Released: 1991
Record Label: Polydor
Catalog #: 511326









The "Godfather of Soul" also had his influences in blues music. "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" is a traditional twelve bar blues progression as is his hit song "I Feel Good".

23. Herbie Hancock: Watermelon Man

Artist: Herbie Hancock
Title: Watermelon Man
Album: Head Hunters
Year Released: 1973
Record Label: Legacy
Catalog #: 65123









The composition "Watermelon Man" by Herbie Hancock first appeared on his album Takin' Off (1962, Blue Note, catalog # 830556) is a traditional sixteen bar blues set to a Latin rhythm (listen here). During his tenure with Mongo Santamaria, the composition was reworked with a heavier Latin feel and became funkier (listen here). Drawing from Mongo Santamaria's influence and funk influences such as Sly & The Family Stone, Herbie Hancock reworked his piece yet another time, this time to give it a jazz/funk fusion feel. This shows the blues influence in funk as well as jazz fusion (Head Hunters is a defining moment is jazz fusion). The techniques Herbie Hancock pioneered on this album also influence much electronic music that is produced nowadays.

22. Charlie Parker: Au Privave

Artist: Charlie Parker
Title: Au Privave
Album: Bird's Best Bop on Verve
Year Released: 1995
Record Label: Verve
Catalog #: 527452








Although "Au Privave" may not sound like a twelve bar blues at first, upon closer inspection, we can see how this song has been changed from a twelve bar blues into a more complicated jazz song. Charlie Parker has taken the twelve bar blues and incorporated "bebop" changes which include chord changes within the key of different chords and temporarily modulating to these keys (for example, for the section with a I chord in a twelve bar blues, Parker uses chords that are in the major mode of that chord, for the IV section he uses chords that are in the major mode of the IV chord, etc.). The most common chord change for a modulation includes a ii-V-I progression. A copy of the chord changes can be found here.

The key of the blues progression is F. The first three measures are spent in F major and incorporates a ii-V-I progression (Gmin7 to Cdom7 to F major). The fourth measure is spend using a ii-V progression in the key of Bb. The next two measures are spent in Bb major (with a ii-V progression of Ab major at the end to facilitate returning the F major). The seventh measure is in the key of F. The eighth measure is a ii-V of G major, but it deceptively resolves to Gmin7 in measure nine. Measure ten is the V chord of the twelve bar blues (Cdom7). The eleventh measure is in F major, and the twelfth measure is a ii-V of F.

21. Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser

Artist: Thelonious Monk
Title: Straight, No Chaser
Album: Monk's Blues
Year Released: 1968
Record Label: Legacy
Catalog #: 724314








Thelonious Monk's "Straight, No Chaser" is also a twelve bar blues in the bebop genre and incorporates some bebop changes, although it is a much more straight forward blues than Charlie Parker's blues compositions. A copy of the chord changes can be found here.

The first seven measures of the song are a standard twelve bar blues progression with a quick change in the key of F. The eighth measure is a ii-V in the key of G major which, like "Au Privave", resolves deceptively to a Gmin7 chord in measure nine. The tenth measure is the V chord (a Cdom7), and the eighth and ninth measure make up a ii-V progression of F which is played for the remaining two bars of the twelve bar progression.

20. Miles Davis: All Blues

Artist: Miles Davis
Title: All Blues
Album: Kind of Blue
Year Released: 1959
Record Label: Legacy
Catalog #: 64935









This is another jazz song that takes the form of a twelve bar blues. It is also notable that "Freddie Freeloader", a song off of the same album is a twelve bar blues as well. A copy of the chord changes can be found here.

This song is very similar to a traditional twelve bar blues in G. The song is in 6/8 time and has a chromatic alteration from the V chord (Cdom7) to Dbdom7 for the first two beats of the tenth measure.

19. John Coltrane: Mr. P.C.

Artist: John Coltrane
Title: Mr. P.C.
Album: Giant Steps
Year Released: 1959
Record Label: Atlantic
Catalog #: 1311









When a jazz musician is asked what the hardest piece to play is, the response is almost always John Coltrane's "Giant Steps". The song modulates in a way only Coltrane could dream of. In addition, the whole record is played at a blisteringly fast pace. On the album is also "Mr. P.C.", a straight forward minor twelve bar blues. Even on the record that facilitated the change from bebop jazz to modal jazz, there exists a twelve bar blues, accentuating just how influential this progression is.

18. Glenn Miller: In The Mood

Artist: Glenn Miller
Title: In The Mood
Album: Greatest Hits
Year Released: 1996
Record Label: RCA Victor
Catalog #: 68490








This big band classic is a twelve bar blues.

17. John Scofield: What'd I Say

Artist: John Scofield
Title: What'd I Say
Album: That's What I Say: John Scofield Plays the Music of Ray Charles
Year Released: 2005
Record Label: Verve
Catalog #: 000436002







In this cover of Ray Charles' blues tune, jazz guitarist John Scofield brings in influences from funk, even more jazz, and sets the song to a Latin rhythm.

16. John Mayall & The Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton: What'd I Say

Artist: John Mayall & The Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton
Title: What'd I Say
Album: John Mayall & The Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton
Year Released: 1966
Record Label: Polydor
Catalog #: 882967






By covering Ray Charles' blues song, John Mayall & The Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton fused hard rock with jazz while still retaining blues roots.

15. Ray Charles: What'd I Say

Artist: Ray Charles
Title: What'd I Say
Album: The Best of Ray Charles: The Atlantic Years
Year Released: 1994
Record Label: Rhino
Catalog #: 271722








Ray Charles brought a soulful sound to the blues. His big band orchestration also gave his blues songs a jazzy feel.

14. B.B. King: Sweet Sixteen

Artist: B.B. King
Title: Sweet Sixteen
Album: Electric B.B. King - His Best
Year Released: 1968
Record Label: MCA
Catalog #: 11767








B.B. King was an electric blues player that started in Memphis, Tennessee. His blues songs often take a jazzy direction. He often incorporates horn sections in his songs, and favors the major pentatonic scale while still using the minor sextatonic blues scale to give his playing a more jazzy feel.

13. The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Killing Floor

Artist: The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Title: Killing Floor
Album: Live At Monterey
Year Released: 1987
Record Label: Geffen
Catalog #: 000984302








At the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, Jimi Hendrix reworked Howlin' Wolf's tune to give it a much faster and more psychedelic feel. Jimi Hendrix, arguably the greatest guitar play to ever live (as named by Rolling Stone magazine) was very influenced by the blues. Blues songs that he has both written and covered include "Red House", "Catfish Blues", "Manish Boy", and "Born Under A Bad Sign". "Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)", one of Hendrix's most popular songs, although not a twelve bar blues, is certainly influenced by Muddy Waters' blues song "Rolling Stone" - Hendrix takes many lyrics from Waters' song.

"I was largely influenced by blues artists when I first started," said Hendrix. "When I was upstairs at home the grownups had parties, listening to Muddy Waters, Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, and Ray Charles. That sound was really not evil, just a thick sound. The first guitarist I was aware of was Muddy Waters." - Jimi Hendrix, from the liner notes of the album Jimi Hendrix: Blues (released in 1994, MCA, catalog # 11060).

12. Led Zeppelin: The Lemon Song

Artist: Led Zeppelin
Title: The Lemon Song
Album: Led Zeppelin II
Year Released: 1969
Record Label: Atlantic
Catalog #: 82633









Although the title is different, this song is essentially a cover of Howlin' Wolf's "Killing Floor". It has been reworked into a hard rock song. Led Zeppelin's influences are rooted in the blues, noted by the several blues songs they have written, including "You Shook Me", "I Can't Quit You Baby", and "Rock and Roll".

11. Howlin' Wolf: Killing Floor

Artist: Howlin' Wolf
Title: Killing Floor
Album: The Definitive Collection
Year Released: 2007
Record Label: Geffen
Catalog #: 000878402








A blues standard by the great Howlin' Wolf that has also been reworked by many artists.

10. The Allman Brothers Band: Stormy Monday

Artist: The Allman Brothers Band
Title: Stormy Monday
Album: Live At The Fillmore East
Year Released: 1971
Record Label: Capricorn
Catalog #: 531260








The Allman Brothers Band reworked T-Bone Walker's tune, embellishing the jazzy aspect of the song by adding more jazzy chords - the IV chord is not just a seventh chord, but is a ninth chord, the chord after the first return to the I chord is a half-step chromaticism of the I chord, and there is a minor progression to get to the V chord, which is also minor.

9. T-Bone Walker: Call It Stormy Monday

Artist: T-Bone Walker
Title: Call It Stormy Monday
Album: Stormy Monday
Year Released: 2001
Record Label: Lester Recording Catalog
Catalog #: 20035








Another great electric blues tune. T-Bone Walker was heavily influenced by Blind Lemon Jefferson. This song has been reworked by many artists including Eric Clapton, B.B. King, and most famously The Allman Brothers Band. It is important to note the instrumentation of the song and the horn section. This pushes the song into more jazzy direction.

8. Rolling Stones: Love In Vain

Artist: Rolling Stones
Title: Love In Vain
Album: Let It Bleed
Year Released: 1969
Record Label: Abkco
Catalog #: 719004








The Rolling Stones reworked Robert Johnson's twelve bar blues into a song that much more of a pop song than a blues song. This has been a trend of many artists - to take blues songs and make them less bluesy while putting their own touch on the song. The form of the song, however, is very much related to a twelve bar blues.

The Rolling Stones also took their name from the Muddy Waters song of the same name, showing just how influenced they were by the blues.

7. Robert Johnson: Love In Vain

Artist: Robert Johnson
Title: Love In Vain
Album: The Complete Recordings
Year Released: 1990
Record Label:Legacy
Catalog #: 46222








Another twelve bar blues by the "King of the Delta Blues". Notice the effect achieved by finger pick is that there is a bass line and separate melody line even though there is only one guitar.

6. Eric Clapton: I'm Tore Down

Artist: Eric Clapton
Title: I'm Tore Down
Album: From The Cradle
Year Released: 1994
Record Label: Reprise
Catalog #: 45735









This is cover of Freddie King's classic recording by Eric Clapton. This CD, From The Cradle, is a disc of blues covers reworked by Clapton. He releases covers of blues tunes in a effort to familiarize his audience (a predominantly white audience) with the blues - which he has done quite successfully.

5. Freddie King: I'm Tore Down

Artist: Freddie King
Title: I'm Tore Down
Album: The Very Best of Freddy King Vol. 1
Year Released: 2002
Record Label: Collectables
Catalog #: 2824








A great electric blues recording by the "Texas Cannonball", the song first appeared on Freddie King Sings in 1961 (Record Label: Modernblues, Catalog #: 722)

4. John Mayer & Eric Clapton: Crossroads

Artist: John Mayer & Eric Clapton
Title: Crossroads
Album: [None]
Year Released: 2007
Catalog #: [None]






This version of "Crossroads" was played in 2007 at Bryant Park in New York City, and is a cover of the Cream version of the song. It is important to note that many contemporary artist, such as John Mayer, are deeply influenced by the blues, and that blues music (whether it be in the traditional sense or not) is still very much alive today.

3. Cream: Crossroads

Artist: Cream
Title: Crossroads
Album: Wheels of Fire
Year Released: 1968
Record Label: Polydor
Catalog #: 531812








Cream's cover of Robert Johnson's "Cross Road Blues" is probably the most famous rendition of the song. It is much faster than Johnson's recording, and includes distorted electric guitar, electric bass, and a drum kit. It also includes a quick change (notice the IV chord on measure two). Cream has covered many older blues songs including Robert Johnson's "Outside Woman Blues", Howlin' Wolf's "Spoonful", and Albert King's "Born Under a Bad Sign", and are deeply influenced by blues music.

2. Robert Johnson: Cross Road Blues

Artist: Robert Johnson
Title: Cross Road Blues
Album: The Complete Recordings
Year Released: 1990
Record Label: Legacy
Catalog #: 46222








Robert Johnson's recordings have influenced artists such as the Rolling Stones, Cream, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and Bob Dylan among many others. His playing is the "standard" sound that people associate with Mississippi Delta Blues. " Cross Road Blues" is a twelve bar blues and has more structure than Match Box Blues, yet retain a very loose feel.

1. Blind Lemon Jefferson: Match Box Blues

Artist: Blind Lemon Jefferson
Title: Match Box Blues
Album: The Best Of Blind Lemon Jefferson
Year Released: 2000
Record Label: Yazoo
Catalog #: 2057








Blind Lemon Jefferson was the first true "bluesman". This version of "Match Box Blues" has been covered by fellow bluesman Leadbelly and also The Beatles. Jefferson's playing on this recording is some of the first recorded blues music using the twelve bar progression (although it does not have a completely "structured" sound).

The Playlist

1. Blind Lemon Jefferson: Match Box Blues
2. Robert Johnson: Cross Road Blues
3. Cream: Crossroads
4. John Mayer & Eric Clapton: Crossroads
5. Freddie King: I'm Tore Down
6. Eric Clapton: I'm Tore Down
7. Robert Johnson: Love In Vain
8. Rolling Stones: Love In Vain
9. T-Bone Walker: Call It Stormy Monday
10. The Allman Brothers Band: Stormy Monday
11. Howlin' Wolf: Killing Floor
12. Led Zeppelin: The Lemon Song
13. The Jimi Hendrix Experience: Killing Floor
14. B.B. King: Sweet Sixteen
15. Ray Charles: What'd I Say
16. John Mayall & The Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton: What'd I Say
17. John Scofield: What'd I Say
18. Glenn Miller: In The Mood
19. John Coltrane: Mr. P.C.
20. Miles Davis: All Blues
21. Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser
22. Charlie Parker: Au Privave
23. Herbie Hancock: Watermelon Man
24. James Brown: Papa's Got A Brand New Bag
25. Johnny Cash: Folsom Prison Blues
26. Chuck Berry: Johnny B. Goode
27. Elvis Presley: Blue Suede Shoes
28. Bob Dylan: Highway 61 Revisited
29. The Beatles: Why Don't We Do It in the Road?
30. The Clash: Should I Stay Or Should I Go
31. Queen: Crazy Little Thing Called Love
32. The Doors: Riders On The Storm
33. Prince: Purple Rain
34. Aerosmith: Dude Looks Like A Lady
35. Van Halen: Ice Cream Man
36. Freddie King: Going Down
37. Joe Satriani/Eric Johnson/Steve Vai - Going Down
38. Son House: Death Letter Blues
39. The White Stripes: Death Letter
40. Stevie Wonder: Superstition
41. Stevie Ray Vaughan: Superstition
42. U2: I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
43. Duffy: Mercy
44. John Mayer: Mercy
45. Amy Winehouse: Rehab
46. Afroman: Because I Got High

Purpose

The blues, and more specifically the twelve bar blues, is one of the most influential musical identities in music today. In this playlist I will document both traditional and non-traditional forms of the twelve bar blues, and will attempt to bridge the gap between the two by showing how these two forms of the blues are related.

The first portion of the playlist is spend familiarizing the listener with the twelve bar blues and blues songs in general. The playlist is structured to take the listener from the more traditional blues songs into songs that were either influenced by specific songs - in which case both songs, traditional and nontraditional, are placed close together - or the blues progression is reworked into another genre - in which case the songs are ordered from most bluesy to least bluesy.

Genres exhibited in this playlist include (in order of appearance) acoustic blues, blues rock, electric blues, hard rock, psychedelic rock, jazzy blues, big band, jazz, jazz fusion, funk, soul, country, country/blues influenced rock, punk, progressive rock, 80s rock, metal, alternative rock, pop, and rap.

History of the Blues

Although the era of blues recording started in the 1920s, it was not until Blind Lemon Jefferson's debut in 1926 that there was popular star of blues music. The 1910s marked first occurrence of the blues, although up until Jefferson's debut, most blues music was played on the vaudeville stage - a mockery of black culture of the time. Also, before Jefferson, almost all blues music was sung by females, or duets where male singers would accompany female singers (Evans 2000). And, as Abbot and Seroff note, "Although a few male blues singer-pianists became well known on the vaudeville circuit prior to 1920, solo performers with guitar are virtually unreported in this setting" (Abbot and Seroff 1996).

From the popularity of Blind Lemon Jefferson came an outburst of blues musicians such as Eddie "Son" House, Leadbelly, and perhaps most importantly, Robert Johnson.

According to David Evans, "The Mississippi bluesman Robert Johnson is often given credit for adapting the harmonic and rhythmic ideas, as well as specific melodic patterns, of pianists and swing bands to the guitar in his remarkable 1936 and 1937 recording sessions" (Evans 2000). These harmonic and rhythmic ideas have adapted into the twelve bar blues known today. Robert Johnson's influence can be heard in the music of Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, and others who have carried on the blues tradition.

By the 1950s, the blues had become popular in cities such as Chicago, Detroit, Memphis, and St. Louis. With the migration of blues from the rural areas of the south to urban settings came the implementation of amplified instruments such as the electric guitar. This type of electric blues, otherwise known as Chicago blues, was popularized by artists such as Elmore James, Muddy Waters, BB King, Freddy King, and Albert King (no relation). The audience of these artists were predominantly black, however.

With many of the artists of the British invasion of the 1960s and 1970s, who were influenced by early blues artists, came an increase in the white audience of the blues. Bands such as John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, The Rolling Stones, Cream, and The Yardbirds popularized the blues for a white audience. In is important to note that Eric Clapton was a member of three of these influential bands, and was one of the most facilitating figures for a "white" blues. These bands often reworked songs by American bluesmen such as the ones mentioned, and added their own twist - most commonly, a distorted guitar. Stevie Ray Vaughan further popularized the blues for a more diverse audience in the 1980s.

At the same time blues was evolving, jazz was evolving as well. This often meant that many jazz artists, such as John Coltrane and Charlie Parker crossed over into the blues, while some blues artists, such as BB King put a jazzy spin on the blues as well.

Today, the blues and bluesy influences can be observed in almost every genre of popular music, from blues to jazz to rock to pop and even to rap. The twelve bar blues has survived as, still, one of the most popular chord progressions in popular music.





Abbott, Lynn, and Doug Seroff. 1996. "They cert'ly sound good to me": Sheet music, southern vaudeville, and the commercial ascendancy of the blues. American Music 14, no. 4: 402-454.

David Evans. "The Musical Innovations in the Blues of Blind Lemon Jefferson". Black Music Research Journal. Vol. 20, No. 1, Blind Lemon Jefferson (Spring, 2000), pp. 83-116. Published by: Center for Black Music Research - Columbia College Chicago and University of Illinois Press

Introduction to the 12 Bar Blues

Definition of blues by Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary:

Main Entry:

blues

Pronunciation:

\ˈblüz\

Function:

noun plural but singular or plural in construction

Etymology:

blue devils

Date:

1741

1 : low spirits : melancholy blues>
2 : a song often of lamentation characterized by usually 12-bar phrases, 3-line stanzas in which the words of the second line usually repeat those of the first, and continual occurrence of blue notes in melody and harmony
3 : jazz or popular music using harmonic and phrase structures of blues

("blues." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009.Merriam-Webster Online. 2 April 2009 )


The Twelve Bar Blues:

The twelve bar blues is one of the most common chord progressions in music. It consists of a pattern of I, IV, and V chords. These chords are traditionally played as dominant sevenths (a major triad with a flatted seventh above it), although many artists have adapted the chords into both major and minor keys, and with or without the dominant seventh. The traditional progression consists of four measures of the I chord, followed by two measures of the IV chord, then two more measures of the I chord, then two measures of the V chord, and two measures of the I chord:

I ---- I ---- I ---- I ---- IV ---- IV ---- I ---- I ---- V ---- V ---- I ---- I

This chord progression can be played in any key, which facilitates just about any vocalist's range. Variations on the twelve bar blues include a quick change at measure two (where the I chord is replaced with a IV chord), replacement of the second V chord with a IV chord, and a turnaround at the end of the progression (ending on the V chord) among many others. The eight bar blues (which has many variations), the sixteen bar blues (where the V to IV variation is used, and is played three times before going back to the I), and many other variations of the twelve bar blues are common in popular music. Also, in jazz music, many composers use more complex music theory applied to a blues progression as I will discuss later on.