Originally Posted by: gypsyblues73Very well-written and thought-provoking article! I was surprised to see the mention of Tommy Johnson in regards to the soul-selling legend, since many have no idea where that originated from (and it's actually a scene in the movie "Oh Brother, Where Art Though?"). I agree somewhat with your assessment that the "original" blues has died out...how could they not? Those times have long past. They were long gone even when a young Hendrix and Clapton (especially via the Bluesbreakers) stumbled upon them, but that didn't stop them from creating compelling blues tunes of their own, or their versions of the old standards.
I have to take issue with the statement "John Mayer, Kenny Wane Shepherd and Johnny Jang appeared as blues players for a while carrying on the tradition but what has become a all to common theme, they essentially abandoned the blue dream in an effort to become commercially viable." Kenny changed his sound to a more "modern" rock style for all of one album (for whatever reason), and promptly returned to the blues. He also has an excellent documentary called "10 Days Out: Blues from the Backroads", with Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown, B.B. King, and many others. Jonny Lang (no H) is still very much a blues staple, although his sound has taken on a more gospel feel in recent years. As for John Mayer, he has actually grown more bluesy over the years, having taken the opposite approach: make pop radio-friendly tunes to get attention and get established, to the point where he can play whatever he wants without anyone dictating it. His more recent albums are his bluesiest thus far.
If you're seeking "authentic" blues, per your vision of it, you're not going to find it; I don't know anyone who's ever been a slave, or been whipped while picking cotton for 14 hours a day. However, if you're looking for good blues, there's still plenty around, you just have to look for it. Check out the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Gary Clark Jr., Alvin Youngblood Hart, Joe Bonamassa, Hans Theessink, Walter Trout, Chris Juergensen, the Buddaheads, the reunited Arc Angels (as well as any of Doyle Bramhall III's solo stuff), Richie Kotzen's more recent albums (including the excellent "Bi-Polar Blues"), Gugun Blues Shelter, Sonny Landreth, Chris Rea's phenomenal 11-disc "Blue Guitars" project, Jon Amor, Eric Gales, Luther Allison, Chris Aaron, the Vargas Blues Band, Wes Jeans, and Tyler Bryant and the Shakedown.
I saw Buddy Guy in concert once (just think, he's 76 now, and even HE never endured many of the hardships that you attribute to making the blues "authentic"), and at the end, he gave a stirring, impassioned speech to all of us that even though the blues has seen its share of ups and downs, it's up to every generation to pass it along, and he implored everyone there to keep the blues alive long after he's gone.

P.S.: Great article all around, looking forward to more!

Thank you Gypsy. You make some solid points for sure. I had completely forgotten about Kenny Wayne's documentary but you're right. He sought out the blues and he did an excellent job of it. You've named some terrific players out there now and I would be totally wrong to say differently. I would never disagree that there are a lot of solid players coming up. But my point was that those desperate, aching primarily acoustic blues are pretty much gone. What these gutsy players do now is different and, as you pointed out, they need to be different. Those old hard dirt blues are gone now only to show up again in tribute or almost as a novelty.

You mention Buddy Guy. I have seen him a number of times myself and I find his to be one of the best live shows ever. When I wrote about him a while back I remember the story he tells of when he relocated to Chicago from Louisiana. Trying to find work, he was desperate. Down to his last few dollars he was ready to call his Dad for money to return home when he was spotted by the Godfather of Chicago blues, Muddy Waters. Muddy fed him a sandwich and vouched for him, helping him getting gigs which allowed him to stay in Chicago. Buddy's life hasn't been easy but man, how glad are we he didn't return home?

Thanks again for reading, the kind words and for the points you've brought up. I appreciate it.