Blues Rock

Primary Stylistic Influences:

• Rock & Roll, Blues (especially Electric Blues)

Secondary Stylistic Influences:

• The British Invasion, some later bands were influenced by Jazz and Psychedelic Rock

Blues Rock is a separate genre of Blues music that appeared in The '60s in the UK and the USA, though largely created by British bands. Blues-rock is basically a hybrid between 12-bar blues and rock, with frequent use of Improv and jamming and an overall heavier sound. The style eventually evolved into Hard Rock, which is basically heavier Blues rock at its core.

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While arguably the genre's specific guitar style was invented by Lonnie Mack with his 1963 single "Memphis", this discovery went unnoticed at the time. The genre itself basically came about when the British became exposed to Blues imported from the USA and started their own bands. These bands quickly gained the edge in one area traditional Blues music lacked: volume. By cranking their amps Up to Eleven, bashing the hell out of their drums and worshipping the almighty Epic Riff, bands such as John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Yardbirds, Cream, Led Zeppelin and the UK-based Jimi Hendrix decisively established blues-rock as a genre in its own right.

During The '70s, a subgenre known as Boogie Rock, which emphasized the repetitive, driving "boogie" rhythms rather than extended improvisation or solos, became popular. This subgenre is best represented by artists like George Thorogood, Cactus, Bad Company, Status Quo, ZZ Top and Foghat. Another offshoot, based in the American South and referred to as Southern Rock, combined Blues Rock with Country Music, Gospel Music and Rockabilly (and occasionally Jazz, Folk Music or even Cajun influences), also became popular in The '70s.

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Thanks to its emphasis on volume and Epic Riffs, blues-rock became one of the key influences on the development of Heavy Metal, with many blues-rock acts being considered to this day to be 'proto-metal' (especially the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Led Zeppelin and The Yardbirds).

Not to be confused with Psychedelic Rock, with which it is very often confused and crossed with, especially by modern stoner rock acts.

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Blues-rock bands:

• Alexis Korner (who might even be an Ur-Example. He's often referred to as "the founding father of British Blues")
• The Allman Brothers Band
• The Animals
• Bachman Turner Overdrive
• Bad Company
• Band Of Gypsys
  • 1970 - Band of Gypsys
• Big Brother And The Holding Company.
  • 1968 - Cheap Thrills
• The Beatles frequently dabbled in this style, particularly on their final-released album Let It Be.
• The Black Crowes
• The Black Keys (a rare modern example)
• Black Sabbath (The key link between Blues Rock and Heavy Metal)

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• Blodwyn Pig
• Blue Cheer
• Blues Project
• Blues Traveler (another modern-ish example, and a Jam Band to boot)
• Buffalo (overlaps with early Traditional Heavy Metal)
• Cactus
• Canned Heat
• Captain Beefheart
  • Safe as Milk
  • Strictly Personal
  • Clear Spot
  • Bongo Fury (with Frank Zappa)
  • Ice Cream for Crow
• Captain Beyond
• Chicken Shack
• Joe Cocker
  • 1968 - With a Little Help from My Friends
  • 1970 - Mad Dogs and Englishmen
• Cream
  • 1967 - Disraeli Gears
• Creedence Clearwater Revival
  • 1969 - Willy and the Poor Boys
• Danzig (Can also be considered doom metal)
• Deep Jimiandthe Zep Creams
• Derek and the Dominos
  • 1970 - Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
• Dire Straits (particularly their first two albums; later material mixes in elements of art rock, Progressive Rock, pop rock, and jazz rock)
  • 1978 - Dire Straits (Album)
  • 1982 - Love Over Gold
  • 1985 - Brothers in Arms
• DOROTHY — hybridized with metal
• The Doors (also played psychedelic rock)
  • 1967 - The Doors
  • 1967 - Strange Days
  • 1971 - L.A. Woman
• Downliners Sect
• Eric Clapton
  • 1994 - From the Cradle
• The Fabulous Thunderbirds
• Faces (but not The Small Faces)
• Fleetwood Mac (early on when Peter Green was in the band)
• Foghat
• Free
• George Thorogood And The Destroyers
• Gov't Mule
• Graham Bond Organization
• Grand Funk Railroad
• Greta Van Fleet
• Ferre Grignard
• The Groundhogs (combined with Psychedelic Rock)
• The Guess Who
• Head Machine
• Hot Tuna
• Humble Pie
• The James Gang
• Janis Joplin
• The Jeff Beck Group
• Jethro Tull (but only on their first album)
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience
  • 1967 - Are You Experienced
  • 1967 - Axis: Bold as Love
  • 1968 - Electric Ladyland
• John Hammond Jr
• Howlin' Wolf
  • The Howlin' Wolf Album
• John Mayalls Bluesbreakers
• Johnny Winter And Edgar Winter
• Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
• Kid Rock (in a Genre Roulette with Country Music, Hip-Hop, Southern Rock, Soul, Hard Rock, Rap Rock and more)
  • 2001 - Cocky
  • 2003 - Kid Rock (2003)
• Led Zeppelin (Also one of the premier Hard Rock bands. Considered very influential in the Heavy Metal scene, although they are generally not considered to be a metal band themselves)
  • 1969 - Led Zeppelin
  • 1969 - Led Zeppelin II
  • 1970 - Led Zeppelin III
  • 1971 - Led Zeppelin IV
  • 1973 - Houses of the Holy
  • 1975 - Physical Graffiti
  • 1976 - The Song Remains the Same
• Little Feat
• Lynyrd Skynyrd
• Mad Season (While considered part of the Grunge scene by association with its members , they more fit with this genre)
• Mountain
• Muddy Waters:
  • Electric Mud (1968)
• The Paul Butterfield Blues Band
• The Pretty Things
• Radio Moscow
• Bonnie Raitt
  • Give It Up (1972)
• The Rival Sons
• Resurrection Band
• The Rolling Stones
  • 1964 - The Rolling Stones
  • 1965 - The Rolling Stones No. 2
  • 1965 - Out of Our Heads
  • 1966 - Aftermath
  • 1967 - Between the Buttons
  • 1967 - Their Satanic Majesties Request
  • 1968 - Beggars Banquet
  • 1969 - Let It Bleed
  • 1971 - Sticky Fingers
  • 1972 - Exile on Main St..
  • 1973 - Goats Head Soup
  • 1974 - It's Only Rock 'N' Roll
  • 1976 - Black and Blue
  • 1978 - Some Girls
  • 1980 - Emotional Rescue
  • 1981 - Tattoo You
  • 1983 - Undercover
  • 1986 - Dirty Work
  • 1989 - Steel Wheels
  • 1994 - Voodoo Lounge
  • 1997 - Bridges to Babylon
  • 2005 - A Bigger Bang
• Rory Gallagher
• Rumpelstiltskin
• Santana
  • 1970 - Abraxas
  • 2002 - Shaman
• Royal Blood (rare modern example)
• Savoy Brown
• Status Quo
• Stevie Ray Vaughan And Double Trouble
• Ten Years After
• Them (Van Morrison's first group)
• Vanilla Fudge
• ZZ Ward
• The White Stripes (well, some of the time, anyways)
  • 2001 - White Blood Cells
  • 2003 - Elephant
• The Who
  • 1965 - My Generation
  • 1966 - A Quick One
  • 1967 - The Who Sell Out
  • 1969 - Tommy
  • 1971 - Who's Next
  • 1973 - Quadrophenia
• Dennis Wilson
  • 1977 - Pacific Ocean Blue
• Witchcult
• Wolfmother (Also Stoner Rock)
• The Yardbirds
  • 1964 - Five Live Yardbirds
  • 1965 - For Your Love
  • 1965 - Having a Rave Up
  • 1966 - Roger the Engineer
  • 1967 - Little Games
• Frank Zappa (in a genre roulette with chamber music, jazz fusion and progressive rock)
• ZZ Top
  • 1983 - Eliminator