Home
Up
Rock 1: Guitar & Piano
Rock 2 Guitar & Piano
Blues: Guitar & Piano
Jazz: Guitar & Piano
Country: Guitar & Piano
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Blues: The Guitar and Piano
Many of the great blues artists were masters at successfully
incorporating guitar and piano into their arrangements, perhaps most
prolifically by the Chicago blues masters. This
page will highlight some of the better artists in this tradition. Stop
back for updates. We'd love your suggestions.
Willie
Dixon / Buddy Guy
/ Elmore James / Muddy Waters
/ Howlin'
Wolf
Unlike rock groups where personnel frequently stay
together or at least the main core does, many blues artists
used several different back-up bands. As a
result, many of best blues pianists have performed with many artists
so you'll see names like Lafayette Leake and
Otis Spann seemingly everywhere. A few of the music greats they've
recorded with include Chuck Berry, Willie Dixon, Muddy
Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Buddy Guy, John Lee Hooker, Bo Diddley, among many others.
For many
of the great blues artists we have found that the compilations are a
great way to collect their music, and there are usually choices
between single or multi-disc options to satisfy all tastes. A
live album is typically the perfect supplement.
The
Ultimate Blues
Sampler
The best album that overviews the Chicago blues scene era is Willie Dixon's two
disc box set on Chess records. This is a celebration of Willie
Dixon's songwriting, which is what he is known for. His
compositions were made famous by the likes of such blues legends as Howlin'
Wolf, Muddy Waters, Lowell Fulson, Koko Taylor, Sonny Boy
Williamson, Bo Diddley, and others whom Willie wrote songs for.
Beyond
the influence Willie Dixon had in blues, his mark on rock is quite
deep. The artists would be too numerous to name them all, but would
include the Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Led
Zeppelin, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray
Vaughan, ZZ
Top, and the Grateful Dead. On Willie Dixon's Box Set
there are at least eight songs that the Grateful Dead performed in
concert. A persuasive argument could be made that Led Zeppelin would
not have been without Willie Dixon. On their first two albums they have four
of his songs if you
include the rip off of "You Need Love" that incepted
"Whole Lotta Love."
Websites
The
history of Chess Records from the History
of rock of rock website
The history
of Chess records from Both
Sides Publications
|
| Willie Dixon |
Top |
|
Willie Dixon is best known for his
songwriting contributions to the great Chicago blues musicians
such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Koko
Taylor and countless others.
Do any of the songs below seem familiar?
"I'm Your Hoochie Coochie
Man," "Evil," "Mellow Down Easy,"
"I just Want to Make Love to You," "Spoonful,"
"I Ain't Superstitious," "You Need Love"
(The riff that is the foundation of Led Zeppelin's track
"Whole
Lotta Love"), "Little Red Rooster," "Back Door
Man," "You Shook Me," "Bring it on Home,"
Wang Dang Doodle," "The Same Thing." They
are all Willie Dixon compositions. You can get all of
these songs performed by the respective blues legends all on
Chess' two disc Willie Dixon Box Set.
If I had to limit myself to one blues album,
The Willie Dixon Chess Box Set would be it.
Read a brief Willie
Dixon biography provided by Djangomusic.
|
|
|
|
The Willie Dixon Chess Box Set is
the definitive blues album bar none. See above for
additional comments. |
|
|
The Big Trio is a
taste of Willie Dixon's start. Not a straight blues
album. |
|
|
Buddy Guy
|
Top |
|
Buddy Guy is undeniably one of the best
blues guitarist. Below are some great orientations to
his music if you are not familiar with his work. Buddy
has included pianist such as Lafayette Leake, Otis Spann,
Leonard Caston, Little Brother Montgomery, and others in his
recordings.
Read a brief Buddy
Guy biography provided by Djangomusic.
|
|
|
|
Live: This is Buddy Guy is
a superb live Buddy Guy record. It is included in its
entirety in the three disc The Complete Vanguard Recordings.
|
|
|
Buddy's Blues (Chess 50th Anniversary
Collection) is the best single disc introduction to Buddy
Guy. |
|
|
|
Damm Right I've Got the
blues Won a Grammy and includes guest appearances with
Eric Clapton, Mark Knofler, and others.
|
|
|
Alone and Acoustic Buddy
Guy and Junior Wells perform acoustic street-corner blues at
its best.
|
|
|
Elmore James |
Top |
|
Elmore James is best known for his innovation with the slide
guitar. His influence extends to such legends as Duane Allman,
Stevie Ray Vaughn, Keith Richards, and B.B. King. His back up band
the Broomsters featuring Little Johnny Jones on piano is top
tier. Better known tracks include Robert Johnson's
"Dust My Broom," "The Sky is Crying," and
"Done Somebody Wrong," a song that appears on the
Allman Brothers The
Fillmore Concerts.
Read a brief Elmore
James biography provided by Djangomusic.
|
|
|
|
The Sky is Crying is a
superb compilation of Elmore James' best tracks. |
|
|
Shake Your Moneymaker: The Best of the Fire
Sessions - recorded in New Orleans, Chicago, and New York
City between 1959 and 1961. |
|
|
Muddy Waters |
Top |
|
Muddy Waters, born McKinley Morganfield,
started his musical legacy in Mississippi and across the
Delta. He ventured to Chicago in 1943 and the rest is
history. In 1953 he teamed up with pianists Otis Spann
forming a partnership that would yield treasure after treasure
in the years to follow.
We included four ideas for Muddy Waters. The best
value is
the two disc Anthology. Close behind are the Chess
compilations that are single disc chronological
collections.
Read a brief Muddy
Waters biography provided by Djangomusic.
|
|
|
|
Anthology is a two disc
compilation of Muddy Waters music and the best
value. |
|
|
Muddy "Mississippi" Waters Live
- A solid but short collection of Muddy Waters.
|
|
|
|
His Best: 1947 to 1955 -
Part one of the Chess 50th Anniversary series honoring Muddy
Waters. |
|
|
His Best: 1956 - 1964
The second Muddy Waters installment of the Chess 50th
Anniversary. |
|
| Howlin'
Wolf |
Top |
|
Howlin' Wolf's, aka
Chester Burnett, material includes some of the
best sideman such as Buddy Guy, Herbert Sumlin, Otis Spann,
Lafayette Leake, Johnny Jones and others backing him up. His song list
have became staples and covers for both blues and rock
artists. A few of Wolfs' better known tracks are
"Smokestack Lightning," "Sitting on Top of the
World," "Wang Dang Doodle," "Back Door
Man, "Spoonful," "Red Rooster," "I
Ain't Superstitious," and "Killing Floor."
Read a brief Howlin'
Wolf biography provided by Djangomusic.
|
|
|
|
His Best from the 50th
Anniversary Chess series is a superb collection of his work
where the songs titles are household names. |
|
|
Box Set A three disc
comprehensive look; not for the casual fan. |
|
|
|
|
