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The dominant gene in the DNA of rock ’n’ roll comes from the blues, which is just one reason why many believe it’s the most important musical genre of the last 100 years. Everyone from Chuck Berry to The Beatles to Led Zeppelin has used the basic 12-bar blues chord progression as the underlying structure for their music. Indeed, it’s difficult to imagine much of contemporary music without it.
Cognizant of this fact, the Rock and Roll Museum inducted blues legend Robert Johnson into its Hall of Fame in 1986, the institution’s very first year. The following year it added Johnson acolyte Muddy Waters to its ranks, along with bluesmen B.B. King and Big Joe Turner. In subsequent years, blues artists such as Lead Belly, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Jimmy Reed, and Willie Dixon, among others, have been inducted into the hallowed hall.
For vinyl record collectors, blues records are particularly appealing because the style spans so many years and formats. For example, collectors of antique 10-inch 78 RPM discs on Okeh and other labels look for Bessie Smith tunes such as “Safety Mama” or “Blind” Lemon Jefferson songs like “How Long, How Long.” In the 1920s, Jefferson’s music was so popular that some of his records enjoyed as many as 750,000 pressings...
The Depression knocked some of the stuffing out of the blues market, and World War II forced many labels to cease operations altogether as raw materials were husbanded for the war effort. But a parallel upheaval was happening in the blues, as artists moved from the Mississippi Delta region in the south to urban areas up north.
In Chicago, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and John Lee Hooker all made their mark, trading their acoustic Martin guitars for electric ones made by Gibson and others (B.B. King’s black ES-335, which he named Lucille, remains one of the most identifiable instruments in music).
One of Chicago’s leading blues artists was Willie Dixon. He performed extensively in the postwar era, but he also wrote a lot of tunes recorded as 45s on Chess Records, by performers from locals Waters and Wolf to England’s Rolling Stones—their 45 single of Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster” was recorded in Chicago for Chess in 1965.
In fact, in the 1960s, rock bands would regularly weave blues numbers by Dixon, Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Bo Diddley into their repertoires. First pressings of “East-West” by the Paul Butterfield Blues Band are prized, as are mint mono LPs of the 1966 “Blues Breakers with Eric Clapton” album—the leader of that band, John Mayall, was one of the greatest champions of the U.S. blues in England.
Then there were the Yardbirds, a blues-inspired pop outfit that launched the careers of not only Clapton (good luck finding a seven-inch single of their 1965 hit, “For Your Love”) but also Jeff Beck (the U.K. release of “Roger the Engineer” is much sought after) and Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page (look for “Little Games”).
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Howlin' Wolf Self Titled Killer Blues Lp On Chess Lp-1469! Nice 1st Press Chess!
Bluebird 5861 Bo Carter Old Show Blues/let Me Roll Your Lemon 1935
Great Bessie Smith W/louis Armstrong Columbia 14090-d Second Fiddle (nyc 1925)
Curtis Fuller Quintet Blues-ette Savoy Hifi-12141 Mono Original Mint
Muddy Waters - Best Of Killer Blues Lp On Chess Lp-1427! Nice 1st Press Chess!
Rare Blues, Mississippi John Hurt, Okeh, Nobody's Dirty Business/ Frankie
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds Abattoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus 2
Over 200 - Soul - R & B - Blues - Mixed - 45's
Rockabilly Blues--little Johnny Jones--"hoy Hoy"--hear Both--1954 Atlantic
Rockabilly Garage Blues--link Wray--"mary Ann"--two Sider--hear Both--1960 Epic
78 - Skip James - Four O'clock Blues (herwin 92402)
Charlie Jordan Santa Claus Blues 10" 78 Workingman's Blues 23304
Rare Delta Blues 78, Memphis Jug Band, Victor 
78 - Skip James - Drunken Spree / Illinois Blues (herwin 92403)
Sealed Blues Breakers John Mayall Eric Clapton Mfsl Vinyl Lp Mobile Fidelity
John Lee Hooker - I'm John Lee Hooker Killer Blues Lp On Vj Lp-1007!! 1st Press
Lum Guffin The Walking Victrola 1973 Flyright Blues Lp Original 1st Uk Pressing
12 Blues Lp Lot# 1 W Muddy Waters, Hooker, Hurt, Wells & Robert Johnson 2 Cd Set
Blues + Blues Rocker--johnny Wright W/ Ike Turner--hear Both--1955 Rpm
12 Blues Lp Lot# 2 W Lightnin Hopkins, Dixon, King, Alligator 2 Cd Set/hooker Cd
Tampa Red I'm Gonna Put You Down 45 Rare & Killer Blues/rnb Rca Promo Nm Listen!
Rare Signed Bo Diddley Is A Gunslinger Checker 2977 Mono Autographed
V.a. / "red Wax" Blues Anytime Jp Eric Clapton Lp E5128
Rockabilly --lawson Rudd--"blues On The Run"--hear Both--1958 Starday Custom
Lightnin Hopkins Shining Moon / Ida May Gold Star Blues 78 Clean
Mega Rare Buddy Holly Ep Bo Diddley Spain Ep Epc 94 911 In Excellent Condition!
Rockabilly 45 - Charlie Feathers Deep Em Blues Holiday Inn 114 Promo
Ringo Starr Beaucoups Of Blues Brazil Rare Mono Lp Apple Orig Gatefold Beatles
Ringo Starr Beaucoups Of Blues Lp Excellent +++ 
Canned Heat - Living The Blues - 1968 *mint/sealed* German 1st Press Double Lp
B.b. King- Lucille Mfsl 1-235 Lp Rare Blues Soul Pop Audiophile Half Speed
John Lee Hooker 1959 I'm John Lee Hooker Vee-jay Lp 1007 Mono 1st Pressing Blues
John Dummer Blues Band Cabal 1969 Uk 1st Press Mercury Blues Rock Lp Ex Rare!
Rare Blues-lonnie Johnson On Okeh 8937-men Get Wise To Yourselfs/sam, - Listen
The Piano Blues Volumes 1-21 Full Lp Set, Magpie Records Leroy Carr Etc, Mint
Booker Ervin - The Blues Book Lp Prestige 7340 Blue Trident Van Gelder Vg+
Domnerus/sj
Abner Jay-swaunee Water And Cocaine Blues-private Blues-brandie Records-shrink
Original Rocker 45 Bo Diddley On Checker 850 Cops & Robbers Down Home Special
Arti & Mestieri - Children's Blues Italian Prog Lp Pfm Weather Report Jazz Rock
Z.z. Top's First Album Lp Original 1st Press London Ps 584 Zz Hard Blues Rock Ex
The Modern Jazz Quartet-blues At Carnegie Hall-original Master Recording, Mfsl
Famous Hokum Boys / Big Bill Broonzy Vocalion 03265 Blues 78 Rpm Record E+
Barrel House Pete Columbia 14308 Blues 78 Rpm Record E/e- Piano Solo
Sam "stovepipe" Jones Harmony 5100 Blues 78 Rpm Record V/v+ King David's Jug
Cow Cow Davenport & Sam Theard Vocalion 1408 Blues 78 Rpm Record V/v-
Paul Butterfield Blues Band - East-west, Rare 1966 Uk Mono Lp....clean Copy
V/a South Mississippi Blues 1973 Rounder Orig 1st Press Lp W/booklet David Evans
Chicago Soul Funk Blues 45 Willie Brown Jr. "at Christmas"mega Rare;private,
V/a High Water Blues 1974 Uk Flyright Lp W/insert Mississippi Louisiana Blues
Cleo Page Leaving Mississippi 1979 Rare Blues Lp Original Uk Jsp Hear It!
The Blues - A Real Summit Meeting / Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab (mfsl 2-518) 2 Lp
R&b Rocker Bw/ Blues Jiver--andre Williams & Gino Parks-hear Both-1957 Fortune
Oiginal Duke Blues 45 - I Wanna Ramble - Little Junior Parker - Killer Bopper
Rare Blues-lee Green On Decca 7016-memphis Fives / 44 Blues - Listen
Howlin Wolf ~ Smoke Stack Lightning. 1956 Blues 78 Rpm On Chess 1618
The Blues Busters Wings Of A Dove Reggae Lp On Ua
Sam Chatmon Hollandale Blues Field Recordings Scarce 1977 Italian Lp W/booklet
Original Herald 45 - Lightnin's Stomp / Hear Me Talkin' - Lightnin' Hopkins
Top Topham Ascension Heights 1970 Blue Horizon Original 1st Uk Press Lp Blues
Recent News: Blues Records
Source: Google News
Sparks Fly On E Street: Bruce Springsteen, “All Or Nothin' At All” (1992)
Something Else! Reviews, May 20thAll those old country blues records were steeped in innuendo, which is part of why they're all so great. Did Bruce have to dig all the way down into “squeeze my lemon” territory? Maybe not, but this idea of a woman who can't commit is kind of suburban...Read more
Review: Mark Knopfler at Newcastle's Metro Radio Arena
ChronicleLive, May 20thHe is currently promoting his latest album, Privateering, which was released in September last year; a rootsy Blues records with murmured folk tales and strong country influences. View gallery. " " " " " " " " " " Mark Knopfler at Metro Radio Arena...Read more
The Jim Jones Revue Reveal Dates For October UK Tour & Tickets
Stereoboard.com (blog), May 17thlimited pressing of 7' vinyl from Rough Trade and to download from iTunes. The track is the latest to be taken from the band's third album, 'The Savage Heart', which was released on October 12th 2012 through Punk Rock Blues Records / PIAS Recordings...Read more
Legendary bluesman John Mayall to play SLO Brew
The San Luis Obispo Tribune, May 15th“My father had a few blues records mixed in with his jazz records,” Mayall said. After his discharge from the British army in 1955, Mayall formed his first band, the Powerhouse Four, which he played in while working as a graphic artist at an ad agency...Read more
60 years on Racine's red carpet -- Post Prom memories remain as fresh as a ...
Journal Times, May 11thShe remembers the red carpet and the DJ who spun their favorite rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues records. “We didn't just dance all by ourselves like they do now,” she says. “We swinged — we fast danced but we held each others' hands.” To Price...Read more
Marshall mentors musicians: How local businessmen helped Mike Henderson ...
The Marshall Democrat-News (blog), May 8thO.C. used to save the blues records from the Juke Box for Mike. Mike said he grew up wearing Bob James' Levis passed down to him from his father, Buddy James. Otherwise, he wore bib overalls and tried to hide the bibs and straps over the shoulders with...Read more
Paul Rodgers on Bad Company Tour: 'It's Good to Be Back Together'
Ultimate Classic Rock, May 8thA lot of those old soul and blues records were great because they were so spontaneous. And they might have been recorded in some hotel room with a microphone stuck in front of them, and the quality might not be great, but the spirit of the thing, it...Read more
The Pines bring a quiet, sparse sound
South Bend Tribune, April 25th“We both were big fans of old blues records. That was the catalyst.” Blues is just one part of the equation in the makeup of The Pines' music. It also blends in indie-rock, folk and other forms of American roots music. “I believe the blues is in there...Read more