Just watched a Walter Trout DVD, that was great, if he counts ;)
I don't think he does, actually. Blues is also about memory and pain, something generic white "bluesmen" are not very good at TBH. Someone who does those two things (and plays a mean acoustic guitar) is Otis Taylor who, I'm reliably informed, will be playing in Tooting on the 13th.
Maybe you should watch the DVD then as I think you will find he introduces every song with a background story first, mostly all involving memory some pain too. Personally I don't think race comes into it, if you have vivid memories and have experienced pain in your life then that will come through in the music (if that is the artists intentions). It's true that African-American Bluesman have developed a very unique style of recalling in their pain, if that's what you like then great, but lets not get into the snobery of the matter
It's not snobbery, there are many great musicians of all races and genres, but blues (to me, at least) is specific. That said, Dock Bogs was white, but if I hadn't been told I wouldn't have known. If you haven't already, visit the Alan Lomax Collection on the Rounder site and have a listen to the work songs.
Another guy you should look out for is Taj Mahal. He's black but grew up in California, so only fits half the criteria of a 'real bluesman'. I really like his self titled album "Taj Mahal," which is well worth a listen - and as an extra bonus the album's only 7 quid in Fopp.
Fred McDowell is well worth a listen..a great Delta bluesman. John Mayall is the Father of the blues in GB and was very influential in my tastes in music (my first gig was at the Alhambra in Woking if memory serves..line up Peter Green, J McVie, Aynsley Dunbar on drums); however, the shine was removed from these early memories when i heard a Freddy King album..an, um, uncannily similar vocal style (which predates Mayall)!
Nice to see these old threads revived! Freddie King was a huge influence on the British Blues scene of the sixties. I seem to remember EC mentioning FK as an "influence" ;-) At his best Peter Green really could make a guitar weep. He had soul and had pain. Plenty of pain. His best work reminds me almost as much of John Dowland as of the Three Kings. Wonderful music, that captures some of the deep elements of the Blues, but infuses them with a different kind of pain and a different - you could say English - musical sensibility. Jansch and Renbourn did something similar, though in a more obvious way. Now playing John Lee Hooker's VeeJay sides. The essential John Lee Hooker...
