The great blues artists talked, the savviest rockers listened. Without the blues there’d be no rock’n’roll, but certain tracks were especially pivotal. Either they were famously covered, or the licks got borrowed, or they schooled the rockers in style and attitude. Many of the most influential blues songs reverberate to this day, and a few were probably covered by a local band in your town last weekend. Suffice to say that if Robert Johnson had never gone to the crossroads, or if BB King was still feeling a thrill, the world would be a poorer place.
While you’re reading, listen to our Best Blues Songs playlist here.
