Who's the best blues player who ever lived?

[Robert]

Very subjective question of course...

My #1 pick would be Albert King.

 

[duhvoodooman]

A very subjective question, indeed, but you know who my favorite is:

SRV!!!

 

[Robert]

You mean Scientific Remote Viewing ?

 

[Tone2TheBone]

Blues Player Hubert Sumlin. Blues singer Robert Johnson.

 

[duhvoodooman]

You mean Scientific Remote Viewing ?

Uh, no, but that is some impressive quasi-scientific mumbo-jumbo on that linked page! :whatever:

 

[SuperSwede]

+1 on Hubert Sumlin.. I love the stuff he did with Howlin Wolf!

 

[R_of_G]

Blind Willie Johnson. His "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" is, in my opinion, the most hauntingly beautiful piece of music ever recorded.

 

[LagrangeCalvert]

You mean Scientific Remote Viewing ?

SRV does NOT involve an out-of-body experience.

SRV does NOT use hypnosis.

SRV does NOT involve an altered state of consciousness.

SRV is NOT channeling.




LOL....he just destroys on the guitar using baddassery!

 

[duhvoodooman]

LOL....he just destroys on the guitar using baddassery!

Amen, bruddah. Actually, taken purely as a blues player, I'd definitely rank him way up there; top 5 all time, at least. But when you add his other playing abilities--flat out rock'n'roll like The House Is Rockin; jazz stylings a la Riviera Paradise or Chitlins Con Carne; the uncanny ability to channel Jimi Hendrix (geez, I guess SRV does involve channeling! )--then he goes to the head of the class. ude: IMO/YMMV!!

 

[pes_laul]

My pick is stevie ray vaughan or eric clapton

 

[t_ross33]

View attachment 1323

"Blues Boy" King

I think he was the first musician I recognized as a "blues" player.

SRV and those he was influenced by, like Albert King, came later. As did a deeper appreciation of blues-rock guitarists such as Clapton and Hendrix.

But when I hear BB, I immediately think: BLUES :AOK:

 

[navvid]

if you're talkin strictly blues, SRV without a doubt.

On the same note, I think the single most definitive blues song was possibly Son House's Death Letter.

 

[Jimi75]

When I started listening to the blues and learning the history of the blues there was a flood of players I was all of a sudden confronted with, starting from SRV and ending with delta players like Skip James. All the names you hear so often were and are great players without a doubt.

When the question is posed who is the greatest player I have to distinguish between blues influenced players, modern blues players, traditional players and maybe I have even to distinguish between the styles and techniques like slide, fingerpicking, open tuning etc.

If I pick one player out of that huge blues melting pot then it is a player who embodies the largest part of all of the above mentioned points and all of that that makes the blues the blues or at least makes me feel blue.

--> ALBERT KING <--
:AOK:

 

[mrmudcat]

LEAD ENUFF SAID!!!:beer:
Lets not forget Willie Dixon.
Buddy Guy
R.l Burnside


I could go on and still never completly come to the conclusion of who is or was the best.

 

[tunghaichuan]

R.l Burnside

I saw him twice, 20 years ago in a craphole bar in Wichita, Kansas. He killed. I skipped a couple of classes and went with one of my college professors, who was a killer Mississippi Delta-style player.

tung

 

[tunghaichuan]

While I believe there is no "best," my two favorite players are Muddy Waters and Johnny Winter. When they recorded and played together, well, it just doesn't get any better than that for me.

tung

 

[navvid]

Too bad Buckethead doesn't play the blues, huh tung?

 

[Big_Rob]

T-Bone Walker, The FATHER of the electric blues~!~!~

 

[chordshredder]

Ry Cooder

 

[R_of_G]

Ry Cooder

+1 for Ry Cooder. If you like Cooder, check out Bill Frisell's "Good Dog, Happy Man" album for some great playing by Ry, Frisell, and Greg Leisz.

 

[mrmudcat]

+++++11111 for RYude:

 

[Bloozcat]

Yes, to all the above.

The best blues players who ever lived....:AOK:

It's just too hard to pick one.

And let me add Freddie King to round out the "three kings"...

 

[Steffe1973]

SRV or the wonderchild de luxe,Mr Joe Bonamassa.

Strong contenders is of course Eric Clapton, Greg Koch
and the feel of feels with attitude Jonny Lang

Steffe

 

[ZMAN]

Wow this is an old thread, I am surprised I never saw it.
Of all the guitar Blues players I would say Buddy Guy is the best all around player. He can play down and dirty Delta, of course Chicago and he can get really spacey and electronic some times.
And I hate to say it but SRV copied Albert King almost note for note on some of his songs. I am a big fan of Stevie and his Texas style of blues, he would come in as a tie for second with Albert King in my ratings. Then Eric Clapton.
Remember the original question was "Best blues Player" .

 

[dws]

Pure blues: B.B. King

Blues-based, et al: Clapton

 

[scgmhawk]

My faves would be SRV and BB. The amazing thing about BB King is you only have to hear him play 1 note to know it's him.

 

[Robert]

My faves would be SRV and BB. The amazing thing about BB King is you only have to hear him play 1 note to know it's him.

Same goes for Mr. Albert King.

 

[Brian Krashpad]

Robert Johnson, or the Devil wouldn't've took him.

Just sayin.

 

[Blaze]

Robert Johnson
Skip James
John Lee Hooker
Johnny Winter
Robben Ford

Blazes:dude:

 

[sunvalleylaw]

I don't think I could pick a "best". Maybe a favorite. But even that would change.

I suppose it would be among:

B.B.
SRV
Buddy Guy



And (off topic now, these are not best of all time at this point for sure) though they are just pups, I really enjoy Bonamassa and Mayer. Mayer's chord voicings and changes are really interesting to me, and in my opinion, are developing his own sound to break him out of SRV clone status.