Blues Progressions

Everything you love about a screaming guitar solo — the bends, the sustain, the cry — was invented by blues players teaching electricity how to sing. Episode 2 of our instrument series: the electric guitar, from a Delta bandstand to the arena.

The blues gave rock a lot of things — but the crying voice might be the most human of all. Episode 1 of our new instrument series traces slide guitar from a knife on a Delta porch to Duane Allman soaring over the Fillmore

The finale. The blues came home to the Delta — into the hands of a Clarksdale kid born in 1999, mentored by Buddy Guy himself. Episode 6 of ”The Bones of It All”: Bonamassa, Gary Clark Jr., Kingfish, Marcus King, Larkin Poe, and the unbroken 100-year chain from the porch to right now. Same bones. New hands. Every time. Who’s the modern player carrying the torch for YOU?

The summit of blues rock — Cream’s blues jams, Hendrix’s electric church, Johnny Winter’s Texas fire. Episode 3 of ”The Bones of It All.” Under Cream’s biggest jam is a Robert Johnson song; under Hendrix’s cosmic feedback is a slow twelve-bar blues; and Johnny Winter turned around and put Muddy Waters back on the throne. The further out they flew, the deeper the roots ran. Who’s YOUR guitar god?

The blues never died in the ’80s — it went underground and waited. Episode 5 of ”The Bones of It All”: the lean years, the faithful who kept the flame in small clubs, and the glorious revival — Bonnie Raitt, Gary Moore, Buddy Guy, Clapton going back to the cradle. Plus the host’s own years running sound for a blues cover band when the radio had moved on. What’s the music YOU never stopped loving?

The blues comes home to Texas. Episode 4 of ”The Bones of It All” — ZZ Top, Antone’s, and the man who, at the exact moment the business declared the blues dead, dragged it back into the center of American culture: Stevie Ray Vaughan. This one’s personal — it’s the player who made the host need to know where the blues came from. Where were you when you first heard SRV?

The blues left America, got amplified in England, and came home a god. Episode 2 of ”The Bones of It All” — Alexis Korner, the Bluesbreakers factory, the Beano tone that defined rock guitar, the Yardbirds that launched Clapton, Beck AND Page, and the honest story of the credit owed to Willie Dixon and the Chess giants. What’s the cover you loved before you knew it was a cover?

A room full of English kids in 1963 playing a Muddy Waters song like their lives depend on it — about to hand America its own music back, louder than it left. That’s the fuse. It’s called blues rock, and this episode lights it.

Announcement of ouir next series

Series finale. A porch sound from the Deep South is now a sold-out global language — Blackberry Smoke, Marcus King, the actual sons of the Allmans and Bettses, Tedeschi Trucks, European festivals, a whole new young audience. Six episodes, one line, from a juke joint to a stadium. It’s all one river. It’s all blues progressions. Thank you for riding Southbound with us.

In 1980 they wrote Southern Rock’s obituary. They were dead wrong — it went underground, and the faithful kept it alive in the small rooms. I was one of them, behind the board for a Jersey cover band. Episode 5 of Southbound: the fall, the survival, and the 90s revival that brought it roaring back. What did YOU keep the faith on when the world moved on?

The hardest episode we’ve made. How “classic rock” radio froze Southern Rock into a postcard — and what got frozen with it: the flags, the myths, the arguments. No dodging, including my own history with the flag. Landing place: Southern Rock is about the music, not the symbols. Can you love a piece of art and still be honest about the baggage it carries? (Go listen to Southern Rock Opera.)

Everybody knows “Free Bird” — it’s a punchline now, the thing people yell as a joke. But that song, and a dozen like it, came out of one white-hot five-year explosion of Southern music. This is the peak: Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, Charlie Daniels — and the fire that took some of the best of them.

A grieving manager who’d just buried Otis Redding bets a whole record label on a band with two lead guitarists and two drummers. The town is Macon. The label is Capricorn. This is the room where Southern Rock got its name.

A brief summary of the roots of Sourthern Rock and it’s connection to traditional blues

The Blues are the roots of a tall musical tree. One of those branches is Jazz. In this episode we take a short journey through the influence of the Blues on the creation and evolution of Jazz.

Another quick update prior to relaunch

Quick note on the delay of new episodes

In this episode, we again explore the Great Migration as we look at how the Blues traveled from the Deep South to the West Coast. We also look at how the genre changed and took on a region flavor along the way.

An exploration of the youth movement of the Blues. We will discuss the number of Blues artists that were discovered as kids and often mentored by the previous generation(s). Lookin forward we see the Circle has been unbroken as the next generation gets a boost as well

Welcome to Season 2! In this episode we talk about Blues Societies and thier role in keeping the Blues relevent

Season 2 is coming soon!

In this Episode we will highlight the late Hubert Sumlin. We will also recap Season 1 and Preview Season 2. This is the Season finale of Season 1. Please visit our website for playlists and other information

In Episode 9, we explore the Electronification Blues Music and how it changed and grew the genre.

In Episode 8 we explore the Blues Brothers (Band and Movies). We will discuss who they were and why they are so important to the genre.

With the recent release of the Slash (and friends) album ’Orgy of the Damned’, it brought forward some fantastic Blues covers. Along this vein we will explore great and most common covers of Blues songs.

This is not a traditional episode but is a tribute to the late John Mayall whom we lost this week. We will cover his amazing impact on the Blues (specifically the British Blues).

This episode will cover the historical record of the Blues through a review of the visionaries that saw the importance of this part of American History

The very long part 2 of our exploration into Women of Blues Music

Episode 4 covers the early women of the blues and the incredible impact they had on the genre

This episode explores the Great Migration of both the population and thier music from the deep South to Chicago - This episode has been remastered. Due to some mic issues it is a bit rough.

The 12-bar blues is the canvas for so many music genres, shaping their harmonic structures, rhythms, and emotional expression. Just some of the influences are: Rock ‘n’ Roll: The 12-bar blues progression is a cornerstone of early rock music. Artists like Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, and Little Richard incorporated blues elements into their rock hits. Songs like “Johnny B. Goode” and “Hound Dog” feature the familiar 12-bar structure. Jazz: While jazz often explores more complex harmonies, the blues remains an essential part of its vocabulary. Jazz musicians frequently incorporate blues scales, bends, and phrasing into their improvisations. The bluesy feel can be heard in both traditional jazz and fusion genres. R&B (Rhythm and Blues): As the name suggests, R&B owes much to the blues. Artists like Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, and Stevie Wonder infused their R&B hits with bluesy chord progressions and soulful vocal delivery. The emotional depth of the blues resonates in R&B ballads. Soul Music: Soul music emerged from gospel, R&B, and blues traditions. Artists like Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, and James Brown drew from the 12-bar blues to create soulful melodies and heartfelt lyrics. The raw emotion and call-and-response style are hallmarks of soul. Country Music: Country music shares common roots with the blues, especially in its early forms. Country artists often use the 12-bar progression, adapting it to their storytelling lyrics. Honky-tonk tunes and country ballads owe a debt to the blues. Hip-Hop and Rap: While not immediately obvious, hip-hop and rap have absorbed blues influences. Whether through sampling old blues records or infusing lyrics with themes of struggle and resilience, the blues spirit lives on in urban music. Pop Music: Even in the world of catchy pop hits, traces of the blues can be found. Whether it’s a bluesy guitar riff, a soulful vocal run, or a melancholic chord progression, pop artists occasionally nod to the blues tradition. Learn more: Wikipedia: The Wikipedia article on Twelve-bar blues provides an overview of the origins, structure, and variations of the 12-bar blues. It covers topics like the basic progression, shuffle blues, and the role of seventh chords. University of Puget Sound: The University of Puget Sound’s page on the 12-Bar Blues offers insights into the progression’s historical context. It highlights its use in various musical genres, including Swing Era tunes and early Rock ‘n’ Roll hits. Music Production Glossary: The article on “What is 12-Bar Blues?” delves into the origins of the 12-bar blues. It traces its roots back to field hollers, work songs, and spirituals brought to America by enslaved Africans. Music Fans Stack Exchange: For a discussion on the origins, check out this Music Fans Stack Exchange post. It provides additional insights into the development of the 12-bar blues in the Deep South of the United States. The 12 Bar blues is a simple concept with endless outcomes. It is the back bone of American music and the canvas for so many artists.

A brief history of Robert Johnson, the man, the legend, the recordings and the impact he has had on many forms of entertainment and culture

A quick intreoduction to Blues Progressions