Women in Blues

I think that women in blues are generally under appreciated. Sure, there was Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and a great number of others women who pioneered vocal blues. But there are still great women performing blues. Women who play guitar with the best of them; croon and moan with the best of the men. The next few posts will be an effort to introduce these women to you.

A few weeks ago a buddy of mine recommended I check out Bonnie Raitt. His blues knownledge is really extensive, so I decided to give her a listen. I hopped right online and started downloading an album. I hadn't listened to it until just a few nights ago as I've been so busy sifting through tons of other music. But I was driving somewhere and I figured, why not? And then, to my surprise and excitement, I found that the album I had found was a live performance of her album "I Ain't Blue" recorded right here at Syracuse University in 1971. Pretty awesome, huh?

See?! I told you!

Anyway, enough about me. I really dig this gal, and today I have her version of a Robert Johnson tune, "Rollin' and Tumblin'." You may recognize some of the lyrics, as Johnson's lyrics, and lots of blues lyrics in general, are often reused by later artists.



I Ain't Blue