80 tracks from the hallowed names of Muddy Waters, Booker T, Etta James, Chuck Berry, John Lee Hooker, BB King, Howlin Wolf and many more.
THE STORY OF THE SOUL OF AMERICA
A FATHER’S DAY ESSENTIAL ITEM!
America is the home of the blues, born in the wilderness, the deltas of Mississippi, the stoops of the deep South, under the searing sun. GOT THE BLUES is a historic and iconic collection of the best of the American Blues.
The 4CD boxset kicks off with one of the very best: ‘Mannish Boy’ by the ‘Father of modern Chicago blues’, Muddy Waters. First recorded in 1955, it was written as an answer song to Bo Diddley’s ‘I’m a Man’. This Rock and Roll Hall of Fame listed song inspired – and continues to inspire – the greatest musicians. ‘When I heard him, I realized the connection between all the music I heard,’ Keith Richards said of Waters. ‘He was like the code book.’
 
There are many other true classics: John Lee Hooker ‘Boom Boom’ – described as ‘The greatest pop song he ever wrote’ by UK blues journalist Charles Sharr-Murray. B.B. King ‘Rock Me Baby’ was B.B’s first single to enter the US Billboard chart in 1964, reaching No.34. It is one of the most recorded blues standards of all time. B.B re-recorded the song in 1997 with Eric Clapton for his ‘Deuces Wild’ album. There is Buddy Guy’s classic ‘Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues’: this evergreen bluesman has been described by Eric Clapton as the ‘greatest guitar player alive.’
An earlier guitar legend – possibly the most important of them all – Robert Johnson, is featured with ‘Sweet Home Chicago’. This was first recorded by Johnson in 1936 – over 80 years ago(!) – and just two years before his untimely death in 1938.
 
Booker T and the MG’s ‘Green Onions’ was written by Booker T Jones whilst he was still in high school! A massive hit in 1962, this is a blues groove like no other. Following its use in the film ‘Quadrophenia’, the song entered the UK chart, peaking at no.7 in 1980. And, like Buddy Guy, Booker T Jones continues to play and record, having spent over fifty years in the business.
 
Just a few of the highlights have been mentioned – we’ve not touched upon Etta James, or Chuck Berry, or John Lee Hooker, or Howlin Wolf – but they’re all here; all in their fifty fabulous shades of blue, from delta roots, to full bloodied crescendo: the horns, the keys, the steel guitar. It’s the story of the soul of America.
Got the Blues – Track List
Disc: 1
  1. Muddy Waters – Mannish Boy
  2. Booker T. & The MG’s Mo Onions – Green Onions
  3. John Lee Hooker – Boom Boom
  4. Ray Charles, The Count Basie Orchestra – Georgia On My Mind
  5. Nina Simone – Feeling Good
  6. B. B. King – The Thrill Is Gone
  7. Buddy Guy – Damn Right, I’ve Got The Blues
  8. Bo Diddley – I’m A Man
  9. Howlin’ Wolf – Moanin’ At Midnight
  10. Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton – Hound Dog
  11. Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup – That’s All Right
  12. Fontella Bass – You’ll Never Know
  13. Etta James – I Just Want To Make Love To You
  14. Hadda Brooks – Need A Little Sugar in My Bowl
  15. Freddie King – I’m Tore Down
  16. Guitar Slim – The Things That I Used To Do
  17. Little Milton – Walking the Backstreets
  18. Sonny Terry – Walkin My Blues Away
  19. Big Joe Turner – Flip, Flop and Fly
  20. Soloman Burke – Cry to Me
Disc: 2
 
  1. B. B. King – Rock Me Baby
  2. Albert King – Born Under A Bad Sign
  3. Chuck Berry – Reelin’ & Rockin’
  4. J. J. Cale – Cocaine
  5. Elmore James – Dust My Broom
  6. Robert Johnson – Sweet Home Chicago
  7. Ramsey Lewis – Wade in the Water
  8. Roscoe Holcomb – Mississippi Heavy Water Blues
  9. Blind Willie Johnson – Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground
  10. Sonny Boy Williamson – Fattening Frogs For Snakes
  11. John Fahey – Sunflower River Blues
  12. Billie Holiday – God Bless The Child
  13. Ruth Brown – 5
  14. Memphis Minnie – Looking The World Over
  15. Lowell Fulson – Reconsider Baby
  16. Little Walter – My Babe
  17. Jimmy Reed – Bright Lights, Big City
  18. Jimmy McCracklin – The Walk
  19. Memphis Slim – Mother Earth
  20. Big Maceo Merriweather – Worried Life Blues
Disc: 3
1. James Brown and the Famous Flames – Messing with the Blues
2. Jimmy Reed – Take Out Some Insurance
3. Bo Diddley – Before You Accuse Me
4. Ray Charles – I Can’t Stop Loving You
5. Fats Domino – Blueberry Hill
6. Lee Hazlewood – If It’s Monday Morning
7. John Hammond – I’ve Got Love If You Want It
8. Bukka White – Fixin To Die Blues
9. Robert Lockwood Jr – Little Boy Blue
10. Eric Bibb – With My Maker I Am One
11. Scrapper Blackwell – Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out
12. Mississippi John Hurt – Candy Man Blues
13. Eddie Boyd – Third Degree
14. Jimmy Rogers – Walking by Myself
15. Slimp Harpo – I’m A King Bee
16. Big Joe Williams – Baby Please Don’t Go
17. Otis Spann – Someday
18. Sonny Terry – Better Day
19. Dinah Washington – Back Water Blues
20. Lightnin Hopkins – Mojo Hand
Disc: 4
 
  1. Gary Moore – Still Got The Blues
  2. Steppenwolf – The Pusher
  3. John Lee Hooker – One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer
  4. Freddie King – Going Down
  5. Eddie Taylor – Ride ‘Em On Down
  6. Koko Taylor – Wang Dang Doodle
  7. T – Bone Walker
  8. Willie Dixon – Back Door Man
  9. Big Maybelle – So Good To My Baby
  10. Lowell Fulsom – Tramp
  11. Dale Hawkins – Suzie Q
  12. Terry Evans – Get Your Lies Straight
  13. Clarence Frogman – Ain’t Got No Homes
  14. John Fahey – Sligo River Blues
  15. Big Bill Broonzy – Get Back
  16. Skip James – Devil’s Got My Woman
  17. Jimmy and Walter – Easy
  18. Pops Staples – I Shall Not Be Moved
  19. Champion Jack Dupree – Junker’s Blues
  20. Ray Charles, Betty Carter – Goodbye / We’ll Be Together Again