The Blues started as a genre of African American folk and popular music.  Blues singing, rooted in various forms of black American slave song, was widespread in the southern U.S. by the late 19th century. Singers typically accompanied themselves on guitar or harmonica. As years passed, lyric and musical forms became largely standardized, and singers often worked with  a jazz band or piano. Blues and jazz overlapped, sometimes almost indistinguishably, and blues was considered a nurturing form for early jazz, but blues also developed independently. In the 1940s singers such as T-Bone Walker and Louis Jordan performed with big bands or with ensembles based on electric guitar, acoustic string bass, drums, and saxophones; the electric organ also came into use about this time. After 1950 B. B. King, Ray Charles, and others used improved electric guitars (allowing manipulation of sustained tones) and louder, electric basses; brass instruments often replaced saxophones. Record companies applied the terms rhythm and blues and, later, soul to blues and non blues music in these "urban" blues styles.

Nowadays, the Blues became as widespread and as popular around the World as Pop and Rock music and is no longer reserved to black 'depressed' musicians. People  like Eric Clapton, Johnny Winter, the late Stevie Ray Vaughan, Gary Moore and many others have forged a mark in today's modern Blues music that has literally destroyed the Black only slogan that has been synonymous with the genre for so many decades. With these influences, a new form of Blues Music termed as Rock Blues has emerged, making the music ever more popular among ever more people especially in Europe. In fact Blues greats like B.B. King, the late Albert King and Albert Collins and others have had equal success when touring in Europe.

No one can deny the influence of Blues Music on today's most famous bands and soloists. The Rolling Stones, U2, The Jeff Healey Band, Joe Cocker, Tina Turner, Gary Moore, Mark Knopfler and many more have all collaborated with the best Blues Artists both on and off the stage.  You will find more and more Blues or Blues derived tracks on many modern albums.

On the following pages I am going to talk about some of my favorite modern Blues performers and their work together with suggested listening. Sit back, listen and enjoy yourselves.