Blues rock is a subgenre of rock which developed in the late-1960s and which emphasizes the traditional, three-chord blues song and instrumental improvisation. The first original blues rock artists such as Cream, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and Canned Heat actually borrowed the idea of combining an instrumental combo with loud amplification from rock and roll, and also attempted to play long, involved improvisations which were commonplace on jazz records and live blues shows. As blues rock gained popularity, bands that followed immediately were louder and more riff-oriented, giving birth to both heavy metal and Southern rock, which both used basic blues riffs and featured extended solos. In the early 1970s, the lines between blues rock and hard rock were barely visible, as bands including ZZ Top began recording rock-oriented albums that tended to obscure their blues roots. However, blues rock soon distinguished itself from hard rock and acts continued to play or rewrite blues standards, as well as write their own songs in the same idiom. In the 1980s and 1990s, blues rock was more roots-oriented than in the 1960s and 1970s, even when artists such as the Fabulous Thunderbirds and Stevie Ray Vaughan flirted with rock stardom.[1]
Solo artists are listed alphabetically by last name, and groups are listed alphabetically by the first letter (not including the prefix "the", "a" or "an").
^Furniss, Matters (2012). Aerosmith – Uncensored on the Record. Coda Books Ltd. ISBN978-0-7434-4876-5. A combination of balls-out rock and roll and well-defined blues influences, Aerosmith could still be deemed a success in that it laid the foundations for the band's signature blues rock sound.
^ abCooper, Lana (6 November 2008). "Queen + Paul Rodgers: The Cosmos Rocks". PopMatters. Retrieved 16 September 2014. In 2004, Brian May informally jammed with Paul Rodgers, formerly of British blues-rock outfits Free and Bad Company.
^Milward 2013, p. 208: The label's most famous act turned out to be the Black Keys, a blues-rock duo from Akron, Ohio, that hit the big time with its 2010 Nonesuch album, Brothers.
^ abAdelt 2010, p. 137: Vaughan's short career and highly publicized death in a plane crash in 1990 accelerated the careers of a number of white blues-rock guitarists like Walter Trout and Joe Bonamassa.
^Sanneh, Kelefa (16 November 2006). "What Is Ailing Pop Music? Depends Whom You Ask". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 September 2014. Doyle Bramhall II, a blues-rock guitarist and singer, talks about his frustrating years in the music industry.
^Larkin, Colin (1995). Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. Guinness Publishing. p. 369. ISBN1-56159-176-9. Long Cold Winter established a more individual sound, as Cinderella adopted a classy blues rock style that ideally suited Keifer's throaty tones
^Whitburn 2009, p. 50: Blues-rock band from Stafford, England
^Fisher, Greg (20 March 2013). "Clutch – Earth Rocker". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 15 November 2013.
^Noth, Pierre-Rene (27 August 1975). "Sounds of the Times". The Milwaukee Journal. The stylish, white blues rock singer continues his come back bid with "Jamaica Say You Will" on A&M
^Smith 2006, p. 15: The Oakland-based Creedence Clearwater Revival are more associated with straight-up blues rock than with psychedelia, but they too were part of the scene.
^Hoffmann 2005, p. 598: Their laid-back blues-rock, accented by subtle, often sly, lyrics and Mark Knopfler's Dylanesque vocals, was nearly overwhelmed by the flood of disco and punk (later, postpunk) recordings beginning in the late 1970s.
^Perkins, Jeff (2011). Rainbow – Uncensored on the Record. Coda Books. ISBN978-1-908538-57-4. Elf was essentially a blues-rock band performing material that gave Dio the perfect opportunity to display his impressive vocal talent
^"Van Dyke Parks Interview". Clash. 21 November 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2014. Inara George, singer with the Bird and the Bee and daughter of blues-rock legend Lowell George
^Hasudungan, Putera (10 April 2011). "Gugun Blues Shelter: Reviving blues". The Jakarta Post. Retrieved 1 November 2013. Perhaps, he said, GBS didn't play pure blues as widely known in Delta, Mississippi backed in 1930s. But, at least they played with their blues-rock.
^Adler, Steven; Spagnola, Lawrence J. (2010). My Appetite for Destruction: Sex, and Drugs, and Guns N' Roses. It Books. pp. 94–95. ISBN978-0-06-191711-0.
^Deming, Mark. "Warren Haynes – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2014. Top blues rock sideman of the '80s on, whose solo work reflects his wide breadth of interest.
^Marten, Neville (2007). Guitar Heaven: The Most Famous Guitars to Electrify Our World. Collins Design. p. 10. ISBN978-0-06-135944-6. Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience were both three-piece blues-rock bands but, whereas Clapton with his Gibson SG or ES-335 made huge, dark, distorted tones, Hendrix's Strat was generally cleaner and sweeter.
^Ratiner, Tracie (2008). Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music. Vol. 64. Gale. p. 30. the blues-rock revisionism of the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
^Cooper, Kim; Smay, David (2005). Lost in the Grooves: Scram's Capricious Guide to the Music You Missed. Routledge. ISBN0-415-96998-0. The heaviest blues rock in Houston, Josefus was a fabled freeshow monster
^Larkin, Colin (2002). "Juicy Lucy". The Virgin Encyclopedia of 70s Music (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 206. ISBN978-1-85227-947-9. Their brand of blues-rock became more predictable as one by one the original cast dropped out.
^"The Rolling Stones Biography". The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. Retrieved 19 September 2014. Alexis Korner, a key figure in the early London blues-rock scene
^Ratiner, Tracie (2007). Contemporary Musicians: Profiles of the People in Music. Vol. 61. Gale. p. 109. A rarity in the modern music business, the Los Lonely Boys are a free-wheeling blues-rock outfit that have built a national reputation on the Adult Contemporary charts.
^Hunter 2010, p. 152: Too often forgotten in the pantheon of great originators, Lonnie Mack is considered by many to be the first genuine blues-rock guitarist
^"John Mayall – No More Interviews". Billboard. Vol. 91, no. 49. 8 December 1979. p. 64. ISSN0006-2510. A veteran of the rock wars and an innovator in the blues-rock vein, Mayall returns with a stylish blend of rock and blues.
^Skelly, Richard. "Popa Chubby – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 September 2014. A blues-rock veteran known for his blistering live shows, working-man politics, and fierce Hendrix covers.
^Britannica Book of the Year 2012. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 2012. p. 275. ISBN978-1-61535-618-8. Hirsute Canadian blues-rock quartet the Sheepdogs became the first unsigned act to grace the cover of Rolling Stone magazine after winning a readers' contest.
^Buckley 2003, p. 1004: the band re-emerged with the British hit single "Down The Dustpipe" (1970), which signalled their move towards twelve-bar blues-rock.
^Hoffmann 2005, p. 875: "Status Quo had their first hits with Pye, and their debut hit, the psychedelic cult classic "Pictures of Matchstick Men" showed very few hints of the hard working-class blues-rock band they were to evolve into the next decade"
^Bukszpan, Daniel (2003). The Encyclopedia of Heavy Metal. Sterling. p. 282. ISBN978-0-7607-4218-1. This photograph documents six-piece Whitesnake in its early blues-rock incarnation
^Cartwright, Garth (3 December 2005). "Obituary: Chris Whitley". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
^Dillon, Charlotte. "David Wilcox – Artist Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved 14 November 2013. After a few years, Wilcox decided to move on and formed a band called the Teddybears, before trying his luck at performing solo, doing both blues-rock and roots rock at the time.
^Blake, Mark (2011). Is This the Real Life?: The Untold Story of Queen. Da Capo Press. p. 111. ISBN978-0-306-81959-9. Previously Queen had supported Wishbone Ash, the denizens of progressive blues-rock, notable for having two lead guitarists.
^Petridis, Alexis (20 October 2010). "Ronnie Wood – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 September 2014.