I never will go back to Alabama, that is not the place for me (2x)

You know they killed my sister and my brother,

and the whole world let them peoples go down there free

In the late sixties, the so-called West Side blues emerged in Chicago with Magic Sam, Magic Slim and
Otis Rush. In contrast with the early Chicago style, this style is characterized by a strong rhythm support
(a rhythm and a bass electric guitar, and drums). Talented, new musicians like Albert King, Freddy King,
Buddy Guy, or Luther Allison appeared.

However, what made blues really come across to the young white audiences in the early 1960s was the
Chicago-based Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the British blues movement. The style of British blues
developed in England, when dozens of bands such as Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers,
The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, and Cream took to covering the classic blues numbers from either the
Delta or Chicago blues traditions. The British blues musicians of the early 1960s would ultimately inspire
a number of American blues-rock fusion performers, including Canned Heat, Janis Joplin, Johnny Winter,
The J. Geils Band and others, who at first discovered the form by listening to British performers, but in
turn went on to explore the blues tradition on their own. One blues-rock performer, Jimi Hendrix, was a
rarity in his field at the time: a black man who played psychedelic blues-rock. Hendrix was a virtuoso
guitarist, and a pioneer in the innovative use of distortion and feedback in his music. Through these artists
and others, both earlier and later, blues music has been strongly influential in the development of rock
music.

Blues from the 1980s to the present

Since 1980, blues has continued to thrive in both traditional and new forms through the continuing work of
Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder and the music of Robert Cray, Albert Collins, Keb' Mo' and others such as Jessie
Mae Hemphill or Kim Wilson. The Texas rock-blues style emerged based on an original use of guitars for
both solo and rhythms. In contrast with the West Side blues, the Texas style is strongly influenced by the
British rock-blues movement. Major artists of this style are Stevie Ray Vaughan, The Fabulous
Thunderbirds and ZZ Top. The '80s also saw a revival of John Lee Hooker's popularity. He collaborated
with a diverse array of musicians such as Carlos Santana, Miles Davis, Robert Cray and Bonnie Raitt.
Eric Clapton, who was known for his virtuoso electric guitar within the Blues Breakers and Cream, made a
remarked comeback in the '90s with his MTV Unplugged album, in which he played some standard blues
numbers on acoustic guitar.

Around this time blues publications such as Living Blues and Blues Revue began appearing at
newsstands, major cities began forming blues societies and outdoor blues festivals became more
common. More nightclubs and venues emerged. In the 1990s and today blues performers are found
touching elements from almost every musical genre, as can be seen, for example, from the broad array of
nominees of the yearly Blues Music Awards, previously named W. C. Handy Awards Contemporary blues
music is nurtured by several well-known blues labels such as Alligator Records, Blind Pig Records, Chess
Records (MCA), Delmark Records, and Vanguard Records (Artemis Records). Some labels are famous
for their rediscovering and remastering of blues rarities such as Arhoolie Records, Smithsonian Folkways
Recordings (heir of Folkways Records), and Yazoo Records (Shanachie Records). (Courtesy of
Wikipedia)

"The Blues Progression, which consists of only three chords, is widely used as the basis for rock, jazz,
and blues songs. There are eight, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, and twenty-four bar Blues progressions. The
two most common Blues forms are the twelve bar chord progressions shown below. The main difference
between the two is that the second progression includes what is known as the Quick Change to the F7
chord in the second bar.

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