Texas Funk Blues

tagStarted 1960s-1970s Texas electric blues meeting funk, soul and R&BPeak 1970s-1990sLast big hit active through Texas blues-rock, funk-blues guitar and festival circuitsFrom Texas, United States

Located in 1 route

Blues → Blues-Funk / Groove Blues

Texas Funk Blues applies funk and soul grooves to Texas blues guitar language: sharp attack, stinging bends, shuffles that lean into backbeat, and showy vocals or guitar breaks. It draws from T-Bone Walker's elegance, Albert Collins' ice-pick tone, Johnny "Guitar" Watson's funk reinvention and the Texas blues-rock pipeline. Compared with Chicago funk blues, it often feels brighter, leaner and more guitar-forward.

History

Texas blues has long mixed swing, jump, R&B and guitar flash, so funk entered easily. Johnny "Guitar" Watson moved from Texas-rooted blues into 1970s funk; Albert Collins brought percussive attack and stage groove; Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimmie Vaughan, Anson Funderburgh, Gary Clark Jr. and Eric Gales-adjacent festival players kept Texas blues rhythmically current. The sound remains a live-show favorite.

Defining artists

Johnny "Guitar" WatsonSpotify YouTube
Albert CollinsSpotify YouTube
Freddie KingSpotify YouTube
Jimmie VaughanSpotify YouTube
Stevie Ray VaughanSpotify YouTube
Anson FunderburghSpotify YouTube

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Gary Clark Jr.Spotify YouTube
Chris DuarteSpotify YouTube

Essential listening

A Real Mother for Ya — Johnny "Guitar" WatsonSpotify YouTube
Frosty — Albert CollinsSpotify YouTube
Going Down — Freddie KingSpotify YouTube
Boom-Bapa-Boom — Jimmie VaughanSpotify YouTube
Couldn't Stand the Weather — Stevie Ray VaughanSpotify YouTube
Rack 'Em Up — Anson FunderburghSpotify YouTube

Show 2 more

Don't Owe You a Thang — Gary Clark Jr.Spotify YouTube
My Way Down — Chris DuarteSpotify YouTube

← Explore Blues

Sources

Texas blues histories
artist discographies
blues-funk references
streaming/video checks