wILL wILde

will wildE, multi aWar D nominate D blues har P Player recently release D his secon D album, raW blues. WilDe starte D PlayinG the blues at 16 an D creates a soun D Which is both stee Pe D in blues heritaG e an D ForWar D thinkinG soNNY BoY WIllIAMsoN

Help Me

This was the song that ultimately made me want to be a harmonica player, which is why I have listed it as my number one. This record speaks to me. It’s got a cool groove and a mean bite. Sonny Boy’s voice and harp playing are distinctive. His harp has a voice all of its own. This song has been covered a lot; Canned Heat, Van Morrison and Bacon Fat’s versions are among my favourites, but nothing compares to the original Sonny Boy version.

luRRIE BEll

SMokin’ DynaMite

This song was originally a Buddy Guy tune titled A Man and the Blues but Lurrie Bell recorded it as Smokin’ Dynamite. This is without a doubt my favourite blues guitar track of all time. His guitar style is raw here but every note feels heartfelt and powerful. His voice is soulful and cuts you to the bone. When he says, “What can a poor man do, when the blues keep following him around” we know that Bell has lived what he sings. He battled personal demons for years, ending up homeless. At one point in his career Lurrie Bell didn’t even own a guitar. But he still found his way into blues clubs at night to play alongside his peers and became one of Chicago’s top blues guitarists. He cuts loose in this song and it sends shivers down my spine. If you haven’t heard this track before I urge you to do so, you won’t be disappointed.

JoHN lEE HooKER

Boogie at RuSSian Hill

Boogie at Russian Hill is more or less an instrumental track featuring Albert Collins on lead guitar, with John Lee ad-libbing over the top. The song stays on one chord without changing for the full four and a half minutes, and yet at the end you still leave wanting more! I would imagine this was just a jam, thrown together at the last minute (Russian Hill is the name of the studio in San Fransisco where it was recorded) but in my opinion it is one of the most exciting pieces of music ever committed to tape. The band all flow together as one, you can’t help but move to it, the groove is relentless.

04 JIMMY RoGERs

Walkin’ By MySelf

This has always been a favourite of mine. It’s got that South Side Chicago blues sound but its catchy chorus is what sets it apart. Rogers is probably best known as Muddy Water’s sideman guitarist, but I think he’s often overlooked as a singer and songwriter in his own right. He had his first success as a solo artist with Chess Records in 1950, with That’s All Right, but he stayed with Muddy until 1954. Walkin’ By Myself was his biggest hit. Apparently Good Rockin’ Charles was originally booked to play harmonica on the recording but was replaced last minute by Big Walter Horton. Walter’s solo in this is one of my favourite harp solos of all time. It’s unrelenting from start to finish with huge tone and a big distorted sound. It’s a good job Good Rockin’ Charles didn’t show up because Walter nailed it!

05

FlEETWooD MAC

SoMetHing inSiDe of Me

Most of the blues I listen to tends to be from across the pond, but if you do find me listening to British blues, it will most likely be Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. This particular track was written and fronted by Danny Kirwan on vocals and lead guitar. I am a big Peter Green fan but I also love Kirwan’s playing. It amazes me that he isn’t talked about more amongst guitar players. He had a unique style and the most incredible vibrato I’ve ever heard. Peter Green once said in an interview that “Danny was so into it that he cried as he played”. This doesn’t surprise me; his playing on Something Inside of Me is truly transcendent. Kirwan didn’t have a typical soulful blues voice, but he still made it work in his own way. During the late 70’s Kirwan’s mental health deteriorated. He finally snapped over an argument about guitar tuning, smashing his beloved Les Paul against a wall and getting fired from the band. He ended up destitute, living on the streets, in hostels and mental wards. He was the flame that burned too bright and flickered out, but Something... shows Kirwan at his best.

BuDDY GuY

SMell a Rat

This is a Buddy Guy track from 1979. The track lasts for nine and a half minutes and features two blistering guitar solos with sudden drops from loud to soft. His playing here is Ferocious; it sounds like he’s having a fight with his guitar. You hear him grunting and snarling between phrases as he prepares to unleash his next attack on the fret board. Guy sings with gentle menace throughout, he is a master of tension and release. This song inspired the track Paranoia on my new album, Raw Blues 07 lights, big city” like Jimmy Reed did before him. He’s the first of the younger generation of 21st century blues men that’s really got me excited.

sAM CooKE

tRouBle in MinD

EARl THoMAs

SoulSHine

It was hard for me to decide which Earl Thomas track to choose for this list, as I love them all. I recently recorded Earl’s song Get Me Some for my new album. The Soulshine album and See It My Way , with Paddy Milner and the Big Sounds are two of my favourite contemporary blues/soul records. Earl’s voice is the perfect blend of blues, soul and gospel and I think he’s one of the best singers of his generation. Soulshine was originally composed by Warren Haynes of the Allman Brothers Band, but Earl took it and made it his own. It’s a simple song with a beautiful sentiment that everyone can relate to. I was lucky enough to sing it with Earl and Sista Monica on the 2012 Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise.

GARY ClARK

BRigHt ligHtS

Gary Clark’s Bright Lights a great contemporary blues song. The sound is noise-soaked, psychedelic and shape-shifting, with the guitar owing as much to Kurt Cobain as Buddy Guy, and all held together by a big fat hip hop beat. Clark sings, “Ended up with the bottle, taking shots, waiting on tomorrow, trying to fill up what’s hollow,” over a snarling distorted groove, confessing his intoxication with “bright

Trouble in Mind is a slow eight-bar_blues song written by jazz pianist_Richard M. Jones. The song became an early blues standard, with versions by Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Big Bill Broonzy, Dinah

Washington and Nina Simone. Sam recorded a great version in 1961 as a swinging blues with an orchestral accompaniment for his album My Kind of Blues . Sam Cooke is my favourite singer. He could be singing the phone book and he’d still sound great. His voice soars like a homesick angel and takes all your troubles with it. I love his melisma; his trademark “Woa-oa-oa-oa-oah”, he always had complete control, his voice was perfect.

lITTlE WAlTER

JuSt youR fool

As a harmonica player, I couldn’t write a top ten list without including a Little Walter tune. As Charlie Parker is to saxophone and Hendrix is to guitar, Little Walter is to the harmonica. He was a pioneer, pushing the instrument to its very limits; wringing it out for everything it could give. His daring instrumental innovations were fresh, in your face, and ahead of their time. Blues harmonica wouldn’t be what it is today without little Walter because he changed people’s expectations of what is possible from the instrument. Just Your Fool was first recorded by bandleader/pianist Buddy Johnson in 1953. Little Walter recorded a Chicago blues adaptation of the song in 1960. This song swings like the clappers, with Walter on top form.