Funk Blues
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Funk Blues leans slightly more funk-first than blues-funk: grooves, bass lines and rhythm guitar define the track, while blues guitar, vocal grit and lyrical trouble give it roots. It can include Moog bass, wah-wah, horn charts, slap bass or funk-rock energy. The tag fits artists who cross from blues into funk without losing their blues identity entirely, especially when the singer still phrases like a blues performer.
History
Johnny "Guitar" Watson's 1970s reinvention is the clearest model: a blues guitarist and singer using funk production, humor and streetwise R&B style. Bobby Rush, Little Milton, Albert King, Freddie King and later artists in soul-blues and jam-blues settings also treated funk as an extension of blues showmanship. The style remains useful wherever blues players need a danceable pocket.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- funk-blues discographies
- artist biographies
- R&B/funk crossover references
- streaming/video checks