British Blues
Located in 3 routes
British Blues is the UK reinterpretation of American blues through skiffle, jazz clubs, folk collecting, amplified guitar bands, and rock youth culture. Its sound ranges from acoustic revivalism to hard electric blues-rock, but the family is defined by reverence for Chicago, Delta, and postwar American records filtered through British ensemble attack and guitar heroics.
History
British Blues grew from trad jazz, skiffle, record collecting, and club scenes led by figures such as Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies before exploding through John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Fleetwood Mac, Savoy Brown, and Cream. British musicians reintroduced American blues repertoire to mass rock audiences, helped elevate electric guitar as a lead instrument, and fed directly into blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, progressive rock, and later UK blues revivals.
Sub-genres in this family
15 sub-genres · 15 written up
Defining artists
Essential listening
- All Your Love — John Mayall & the BluesbreakersSpotifyYouTube
- Need Your Love So Bad — Fleetwood MacSpotifyYouTube
- Little Red Rooster — The Rolling StonesSpotifyYouTube
- Smokestack Lightning — The YardbirdsSpotifyYouTube
- Crossroads — CreamSpotifyYouTube
- I Got My Brand on You — Alexis Korner's Blues IncorporatedSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Roberta Freund Schwartz, How Britain Got the Blues
- Dick Heckstall-Smith, The Safest Place in the World
- Bob Brunning, Blues: The British Connection
- AllMusic