Performers in the blues style range from primitive, one-chord Delta players to big bands to country music to rock and roll to classical music.
Contents |
Early country blues
- Alger "Texas" Alexander (1900-1954)
- Pink Anderson (1900-1974)
- Barbecue Bob (1902-1931)
- Scrapper Blackwell (1903-1962)
- Black Ace (1907-1972)
- Blind Blake (c. 1893-c. 1933)
- Big Bill Broonzy (1893/1898-1958)
- Richard "Rabbit" Brown (c. 1880-c. 1937)
- Bumble Bee Slim (1905-1968)
- Butterbeans & Susie
- Gus Cannon (1883-1979)
- Leroy Carr (1905-1935)
- Bo Carter (1893-1964)
- Sam Collins (1887-1949)
- Floyd Council (1911-1976)
- Ida Cox (1896-1967)
- Gary Davis (1896-1972)
- Sleepy John Estes (1904-1977)
- Blind Boy Fuller (1908-1941)
- Jesse Fuller (1896-1976)
- Billy Garland (1918-1960)
- Jazz Gillum (1904-1966)
- Shirley Griffith (1908-1974)
- Arvella Gray (1906-1980)
- Smokey Hogg (1914-1960)
- Lightnin' Hopkins (1912-1982)
- Son House (c. 1902-1988)
- Peg Leg Howell (1888-1966)
- Alberta Hunter (1895-1984)
- Mississippi John Hurt (c. 1893-1966)
- Jim Jackson (c. 1884-1937)
- Skip James (1902-1969)
- Blind Lemon Jefferson (1893-1929)
- Blind Willie Johnson (1897-1945)
- Lonnie Johnson (1894-1970)
- Robert Johnson (1911-1938)
- Tommy Johnson (1896-1956)
- Lead Belly(c. 1889-1949)
- Furry Lewis (1899-1981)
- Mance Lipscomb (1895-1976)
- Cripple Clarence Lofton (1887-1957)
- Robert Lockwood, Jr. (1915-2006)
- Mississippi Fred McDowell (1904-1972)
- Brownie McGhee (1915-1996)
- Blind Willie McTell (1901-1959)
- The Memphis Jug Band
- Big Maceo Merriweather (1905-1953)
- Memphis Minnie (1897-1973)
- Charlie Patton (1891-1934)
- Ma Rainey (1886-1939)
- Tampa Red (1904-1981)
- Bessie Smith (1894-1937)
- Victoria Spivey (1908-1976)
- Frank Stokes (c. 1888-1955)
- Sonny Terry (1911-1986)
- Henry Townsend (1909-2006)
- Sippie Wallace (1898-1986)
- Washboard Sam (1910-1966)
- Curley Weaver (1906-1962)
- Peetie Wheatstraw (1902-1941)
- Bukka White (1909-1977)
- Josh White (1914 or 1915-1969)
- Sonny Boy Williamson I (1914-1948)
Early Urban Blues
- Gladys Bentley (1907-1960)
- Lucille Bogan (1897-1948)
- Georgia Tom Dorsey (1899-1993)
- Lil Green (1919-1954)
- Lucille Hegamin (1894-1970)
- Alberta Hunter (1895-1984)
- Papa Charlie Jackson (c.1890-1938)
- Ma Rainey (1886-1939)
- Clara Smith (c. 1894-1935)
- Mamie Smith (1883-1946)
- Bessie Smith (1894-1937)
- Sippie Wallace (1898-1986)
- Ethel Waters (1896-1977)
Pre-World War II jazz blues
- Albert Ammons (1907-1949)
- Pink Anderson (1900-1974)
- Louis Armstrong (1901-1971)
- Sidney Bechet (1897-1959)
- Leroy Carr (1905-1935)
- Pee Wee Crayton (1914-1985)
- Floyd Council (1911-1976)
- Walter Davis (1912-1963)
- Johnny Dodds (1892-1940)
- Champion Jack Dupree (c. 1909-1992)
- Ivory Joe Hunter (1914-1974)
- St. Louis Jimmy Oden (1903-1977)
- Meade Lux Lewis (1905-1964)
- Little Brother Montgomery (c. 1906-1985)
- Big Maceo Merriweather (1905-1953)
- Joe McCoy (1905-1950)
- Papa Charlie McCoy (1909-1950)
- Jay McShann (born c. 1916)
- Roy Milton (1907-1983)
- Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941)
- Jimmy Rushing (1902-1972)
- Roosevelt Sykes (1906-1983)
- Big Joe Turner (1911-1985)
- Sam Taylor (born 1916)
- T-Bone Walker (1910-1975)
- Washboard Sam (1910-1966)
Postwar jazz blues
- Mose Allison (born 1927)
- Charles Brown (1922-1999)
- Roy Brown (1925-1981)
- Ray Charles (1930-2004)
- Pee Wee Crayton (1914-1985)
- Floyd Dixon (1929-2006)
- Champion Jack Dupree (c. 1909-1992)
- Wynonie Harris (1915-1969)
- Louis Jordan (1908-1975)
- Little Willie Littlefield (born 1931)
- Percy Mayfield (1920-1984)
- Memphis Slim (1915-1988)
- Amos Milburn (1927-1980)
- Pinetop Perkins (born 1913)
- Jimmy Witherspoon (1923-1997)
Kansas City blues
- Walter Brown (1917-1956)
- Jay McShann (c.1916-2006)
- Arnold Moore (1914-2004)
- Jimmy Rushing (c. 1902-1972)
- Big Joe Turner (1911-1985)
Later styles
- Little Hatch (1921-2003)
- Lee McBee (born 1951)
Chicago/Detroit Blues
- Luther Allison (1939-1997)
- Paul Butterfield (1942-1987)
- John Henry Barbee (1905-1964)
- Eddie Boyd (1914–1994)
- James Cotton (born 1935)
- Bo Diddley (born 1928)
- Willie Dixon (1915-1992)
- David Honeyboy Edwards (born 1915)
- Buddy Guy (born 1936)
- Earl Hooker (1929-1970)
- JB Hutto (1926-1983)
- Big Walter Horton (1918-1981)
- Elmore James (1918-1963)
- Albert King (1924-1992)
- Freddie King (1934-1976)
- John Lee Hooker (1917-2001)
- Charlie Musselwhite (born 1944)
- Robert Nighthawk (1909–1967)
- Pinetop Perkins (born 1913)
- Jimmy Reed (1925-1976)
- Soko Richardson (1939 - 2004)
- Jimmy Rogers (1924-1997)
- Otis Rush (born 1934)
- Magic Sam (1937-1970)
- Johnny Shines (1915-1992)
- Magic Slim (born 1937)
- Otis Spann (1930-1970)
- Hound Dog Taylor (1915-1975)
- Eddie Taylor (1923-1985)
- Little Walter (1930-1968)
- Muddy Waters (1915-1983)
- Carl Weathersby (born 1953)
- Junior Wells (1934-1998)
- Howlin' Wolf (1910-1976)
- Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller) (c. 1899-1965)
Modern blues (post 1950s)
- James Anthony (Pecchia) (born 1955)
- Etta Baker (1913-2006)
- Marcia Ball (born 1949)
- Elvin Bishop (born 1942)
- Bobby Blue Bland (born 1930)
- Rory Block (born 1949)
- Michael Bloomfield (1944-1981)
- Blues Brothers
- Lonnie Brooks (born 1933)
- Clarence Gatemouth Brown (1924-2005)
- Roy Buchanan (1939-1988)
- Eric Clapton (born 1945)
- Albert Collins (1932-1993)
- Johnny Copeland (1937-1997)
- Al Copley (born 1952)
- Robert Cray (born 1953)
- Willie Dixon (1915-1992)
- Snooks Eaglin (born 1936)
- Fabulous Thunderbirds
- Robben Ford (born 1951)
- Rory Gallagher (1948-1995)
- John Hammond (born 1942)
- Alvin Youngblood Hart [1](born 1963)
- Ted Hawkins (1936-1995)
- ZZ Hill (1935-1984)
- John Lee Hooker (1917-2001)
- Lightnin' Hopkins (1912-1982)
- Hot Tuna
- Colin James (born 1964)
- Etta James (born 1938)
- B. B. King (born 1925)
- Freddie King (1934-1976)
- Taj Mahal (born 1942)
- John Mayall (born 1933)
- Keb' Mo' (born 1951)
- Sam Myers (born 1936)
- Odetta (born 1930)
- Rod Piazza (born 1947)
- Lonnie Pitchford (1955-1998)
- Fenton Robinson (1935-1997)
- Roomful of Blues
- Bobby Rush (born 1940)
- Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women
- Seasick Steve Dates Unknown Mid 20th Century to Present
- Magic Slim (born 1937)
- Son Seals (born 1942)
- Arbee Stidham (1917-1988)
- Koko Taylor (born 1935)
- Tabby Thomas (born 1929)
- Rufus Thomas (1917-2001)
- Ali Farka Toure (1939-2006)
- Jimmie Vaughan (born 1951)
- Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954-1990)
- Kazumi Watanabe (born 1953)
- Johnny Winter (born 1944)
Blues in late 1960s rock music
- Allman Brothers Band
- The Animals
- The Jeff Beck Group
- Captain Beefheart (born 1941)
- Canned Heat
- Cream
- Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Fleetwood Mac
- Free
- Hot Tuna
- Jimi Hendrix (1942-1970)
- Johnny Winter (born 1944)
- Humble Pie
- Janis Joplin (1943-1970)
- Alexis Korner (1928-1984)
- Led Zeppelin
- The Doors
- John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
- The Pretty Things
- The Rolling Stones
- Santana
- Taste and Rory Gallagher
- Ten Years After
- Van Morrison (born 1945)
- The Yardbirds
- ZZ Top
Blues since 1990
- Ana Popovic (born 1976)
- Tab Benoit (born 1967)
- Deanna Bogart (born 1960)
- Joe Bonamassa (born 1977)
- Kenny Brown
- R. L. Burnside (1926-2005)
- Tommy Castro (born 1959)
- Claudia Carawan (born 1959)
- Joanna Connor (born 1962)
- Shemekia Copeland (born 1979)
- Guy Davis (born 1952)
- Darren Deicide
- Chris Duarte (born 1964)
- Ronnie Earl (born 1953)
- Tinsley Ellis (born 1957)
- Sue Foley (born 1968)
- Anson Funderburgh (born 1954)
- Anthony Gomes (born 1975)
- Alvin Youngblood Hart (born 1965)
- Jeff Healey (born 1966)
- Ron Holloway (born 1953)
- Colin James
- Gene Kelton
- Junior Kimbrough (1930-1998)
- Chris Thomas King (born 1964)
- Jonny Lang (born 1981)
- Harry Manx
- Keb Mo' (born 1951)
- Coco Montoya
- Kenny Neal (born 1957)
- North Mississippi All Stars
- Blind Mississippi Morris (born 1955)
- Charlie Parr
- Asie Payton (1937-1997)
- Kelly Joe Phelps
- Satan and Adam (Sterling Magee and Adam Gussow, born 1936 and 1958)
- Kenny Wayne Shepherd (born 1976)
- Bobby Sowell (born 1947)
- Susan Tedeschi (born 1970)
- Jimmy Thackery (born 1953)
- T-Model Ford (born 1924)
- Joe Louis Walker (born 1949)
- William Elliott Whitmore
- Bob Cobb (born 1965)
Blues in conventional pop music
- Harold Arlen, "Blues in the Night" and "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?"
- Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn, "I've Got It Bad and That Ain't Good"
- George Gershwin (1898-1937), "Porgy and Bess"
- John Mayer Trio, "Try!" 2005
Blues in country music
- Johnny Cash (1932-2003)
- Merle Haggard (1937)
- Jerry Lee Lewis (1937)
- Jimmie Rodgers (1897-1933)
- Hank Williams (1923-1953)
See also: rockabilly
Blues influence in classical music
- George Gershwin (1898-1937), "Rhapsody in Blue" and "Concerto in F"
- Honegger, "Pacific 231", the "train song" as concerto.
- William Grant Still, "Afro-American Symphony"
Blues in contemporary rock and pop music
- Bonnie Raitt
- G. Love & Special Sauce
- Moby (born 1965)
- The White Stripes
- Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
- The Black Keys
- Nick Cave (born 1957)
- Tom Waits (born 1949)
- Ben Harper (born 1969)
- Jon Spencer
- Los Lonely Boys
- Tesla
- Cinderella
- The Black Crowes
- Chris Thomas King (born 1962)
- Great White
- Glenn Danzig
Blues from Europe
- Alexis Korner
- Ana Popovic
- Barrelhouse
- Blues Breakers
- Cuby and the Blizzards
- Cyril Davies
- Elmore D
- Eric Clapton
- Hans Theessink
- Herman Brood
- John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
- Pee Dee River Blues
- Peter Green
- Rory Gallagher
- Steve Baker
- Led Zeppelin
- Cream
- Yavuz Çetin
- Peppe o Blues
