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Who's your favorite "blues" guitar player? (dead or alive)

Messages
19,096
Location
Funkytown, USA
Buddy Guy is right up there in my book.

I’ll also throw in a wild card ... Billy Gibbons. Perhaps not known as a blues guitarist, the man knows how to play the blues and their music is heavily influenced.

A lot of our Rock Guitar Gods have blues roots. I'm thinking Blackmore, Iommi, Page. Those sorts of guys. They could likely hang with the best of them.
 
Man, hard to pick just one. So many great blues pickers, from the early days, Delta, Chicago, Texas...all the way up to the British Invasion rock and roll and more modern players. I'd say the best are the ones with the distinctive sound...who you immediately recognize just from the tone of the guitar, even if you've never heard the song. Three players stand out to me in that regard: Robert Johnson, B.B. King, and Stevie Ray Vaughan. You can argue whether or not they were the greatest, but hear one note, and you know who it is. That's hard to do.
 

crawlinkingsnake

A-List Customer
Messages
419
Location
West Virginia
There's a young guy in Clarksdale, Mississippi that's outstanding. Christone "Kingfish" Ingram is 21 years old and has as what some would say "an old soul". Well worth searching out. He plays the Juke Joint Festival each April, and good lord willing and the Creeks don't rise, aka we're Covid free, he'll be there again in 2021.
 

DesertDan

One Too Many
Messages
1,578
Location
Arizona
So many great ones, can't pick just one as "best" or "favorite".
Warren Haynes deserves mention, phenomenal player and talented songwriter.

Also check out Watermelon Sim;
 

sal

One of the Regulars
Messages
237
Location
my own little slice of heaven
There's a young guy in Clarksdale, Mississippi that's outstanding. Christone "Kingfish" Ingram is 21 years old and has as what some would say "an old soul". Well worth searching out. He plays the Juke Joint Festival each April, and good lord willing and the Creeks don't rise, aka we're Covid free, he'll be there again in 2021.

agreed. He is a phenom. If he lives long enough he will be a “great”
 
Messages
10,342
Location
vancouver, canada
Not flashy, not a shredder by any means but just good ol blues guitar....John Hammond. I have been to 7 or 8 of his concerts...Not sure if he is still touring. I saw him at a local blues club on a hot summer's eve probably 15 years ago. The side door was open to increase air flow and they had a 20 something security guy on the door. John Hammond came strolling in through the door and the young guy accosted him by the arm and was about to escort him out. I leaned over from out table, tapped the security on the shoulder and advised him he should let the guy in as he was the headliner for the night and the reason we were all here. He apologized to Mr Hammond and let him pass.
 
Messages
19,096
Location
Funkytown, USA
Not flashy, not a shredder by any means but just good ol blues guitar....John Hammond. I have been to 7 or 8 of his concerts...Not sure if he is still touring. I saw him at a local blues club on a hot summer's eve probably 15 years ago. The side door was open to increase air flow and they had a 20 something security guy on the door. John Hammond came strolling in through the door and the young guy accosted him by the arm and was about to escort him out. I leaned over from out table, tapped the security on the shoulder and advised him he should let the guy in as he was the headliner for the night and the reason we were all here. He apologized to Mr Hammond and let him pass.

I've also seen him several times. He hasn't been to Funkytown for a while, tho.
 

crawlinkingsnake

A-List Customer
Messages
419
Location
West Virginia
Not flashy, not a shredder by any means but just good ol blues guitar....John Hammond. I have been to 7 or 8 of his concerts...Not sure if he is still touring. I saw him at a local blues club on a hot summer's eve probably 15 years ago. The side door was open to increase air flow and they had a 20 something security guy on the door. John Hammond came strolling in through the door and the young guy accosted him by the arm and was about to escort him out. I leaned over from out table, tapped the security on the shoulder and advised him he should let the guy in as he was the headliner for the night and the reason we were all here. He apologized to Mr Hammond and let him pass.

"not flashy, not a shredder"... good! As I'm sure you know, it's as much about the spaces between the notes as the notes themselves.
btw: great story. I love John Hammond but I've only seen him on TV or his video Searching for Robert Johnson.
 

MisterCairo

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,005
Location
Gads Hill, Ontario
"not flashy, not a shredder"... good! As I'm sure you know, it's as much about the spaces between the notes as the notes themselves.
btw: great story. I love John Hammond but I've only seen him on TV or his video Searching for Robert Johnson.

Reminds me of the film Ghost World. The scene where the Steve Buscemi character Seymour and the Thora Birch character Enid are at a "blues" bar, as Enid is trying to get Seymour to meet women, while Seymour wants to hear his true bluesman idol playing as the opening act for bombastic delta blues band "Blueshammer".
 

crawlinkingsnake

A-List Customer
Messages
419
Location
West Virginia
I agree "Kingfish" is very good, hope to hear more from him. I would like to add Michael Burkes "The Ironman" and Coco Montoya, they both are pretty good "string benders".

Had hoped to catch Kingfish again in April at Juke Joint Festival, Clarksdale, MS. However once again feel the need to cancel plans due to this frickin COVID thing. :mad: Even though there will be a JJF 2020, it will not look like the past, with mostly outdoor events, very limited inside venues, masks, etc. It's been extremely hard on musicians, venues, restaurants, bars, hotels, gas stations, museums, but still I totally understand. Right now we're hoping to get there for Sunflower Blues & Gospel Festival in August. We'll see what happens...... :oops:
 
Messages
12,422
Location
Germany
1965 hearing Paul Butterfield Blues Band....first album with Bloomfield on guitar was a revelation. It is still in my top 10 favourite albums....ever. I have worn out the record and now listen to it on CD.

Because of G. E. Smith on youtube, I looked out for the album and curiously found the album box in electronic chain store, a while ago. Sadly, I'm born in 1984, looong after the great time... :D
 

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