Latest Blues

Catfish Keith

“What Captured Me Early on Was the One-Guitar-as-Orchestra Kind of Approach”: Catfish Keith Has Copious Licks in His Bag of Tricks

By Jimmy Leslie published

From slide to fingerstyle, Catfish Keith’s modern technical virtuosity makes old-time country blues simmer with new flavors

Guy performs on the Blues Tent stage during the 40th annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, May 3, 2009.

“I’ve Dedicated My Life to the Blues, and a Lot of Other People Have, Too. What Did We Do to Be Treated Like That?”: Buddy Guy Has, Most Definitely, Still Got the Blues

By Gary Graff published

“I’ve kept doing it so people don’t forget Muddy and Wolf, B.B. – all the rest of ’em,” says the Strat-toting blues guru

The Rolling Stones in 1963 (L-R): Bill Wyman, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Brian Jones.

Watch the Rolling Stones' Iconic Television Performance of Willie Dixon’s “Little Red Rooster”

By Guitar Player Staff published

Video The producer, bassist and immensely prolific songwriter was responsible for some of the blues’ – and popular music’s – most enduring hits

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Robert Johnson and Gibson L-1

“In the Canon of the Blues, His Songs Are Really Top of the Heap”: Walter Trout Explains Why Robert Johnson Is Considered in a League of His Own

By Guitar Player Staff published

Covered by the likes of Led Zeppelin, the Rolling Stones and Eric Clapton, Robert Johnson’s originals are the ground zero of recorded Delta blues

Gary Moore performs in London in 1973.

Watch Gary Moore Shred the Blues

By Guitar Player Staff published

Video The late bluesman from Belfast demonstrates his world-class technique and explains what makes a great electric guitar

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Led Zeppelin perform live

“I Owe It to All of Them”: Jimmy Page Explains How His Love of the Blues Fueled the Fire for One of Rock’s Biggest Bands

By Guitar Player Staff published

“It was just an undeniable element of everything that was going on in Led Zeppelin,” says the guitarist

Lead Belly playin 12-string acoustic guitar

He Escaped From a Chain Gang, Charmed His Way out of Prison, and Was Immortalized in Music History: How Lead Belly Became a Guitar Legend

By Guitar Player Staff published

The forefather of rock and roll was charming and dangerous in equal measure

Howlin' Wolf (1910 - 1976) performs at the Cafe Au Go Go in New York City, 6th December 1967.

Watch Howlin’ Wolf’s Electrifying “Smokestack Lightning” Performance Featuring Hubert Sumlin on Guitar

By Guitar Player Staff published

Video The biggest, baddest voice of the Chicago blues scene, Wolf was a far-reaching inspiration

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Blues Hall of Fame inductee Charlie Musselwhite, guitar detail, performs onstage at Lisa Smith Wengler Center for the Arts at Pepperdine on January 17, 2023 in Malibu, California.

The Mixolydian Blues Scale Could Be the Most Useful Scale of All

By Guitar Player Staff last updated

This scale reigns supreme as the chief source for carving those major/minor blues-based licks that sound so good over dominant 7th chords

The New Breed of Blues logo

21 Top New Blues Guitarists As Chosen By You

By Mark McStea, Jimmy Leslie, Joe Bosso, Matt Thayer published

Meet the young guitarists who are shaping the blues for a new generation of players

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