Blues to the Max

Photo by Thomas Kelley on Unsplash

Welcome Back!

The wait is over. It’s once again Blue Wednesday! It’s been over a month since our last jam session and I’ve been storing some killer blues tunes for you for weeks now.

If you’re new here, welcome! We’d love for you to join us in the comments or on notes today. Here’s how Blues Wednesday works: Once a month, I share a few favorite songs of the blues genre and ask you to share your favorite blues (or bluesish) tunes with me. The collected songs will be added to the Blue Wednesday playlists on Spotify and YouTube.

Be warned, I have more songs to share today than usual. As Blue Wednesday has been dialed back from a weekly series to a monthly series, it’s given me more time to find new songs and drives me to share some others I’ve been holding on to.

New Finds

First up today is a song I discovered last week from a budding new country band, The Red Clay Strays.

First off, the band name is incredible. As a Georgia-native, anything that lifts up our infamous acidic red dirt is okay in my book. My red stained clothes as a child told me that a good time was had, but I probably owe many acts of penance for the number of times I drug my red arse across my mother’s light-tan carpet. And I know I ruined the floor of her SUV after our baseball games. Sorry, mom.

The song itself has the classic slow country-blues sound and could easily be played in a medley with other country-blues classics such as “Tennessee Whiskey.” The lyrics are relatable to most married men with a good head on their shoulders. Most men should thank their lucky stars they found a woman willing to marry them and praise God everyday for the unbelievable gift it is to be joined with an indefinable expression of God’s beauty.

My next new find came from me really trying to make a theme work for this round of Blue Wednesday. Initially, I tried to draw a line from The Red Clay Strays to artists from Georgia, where this soil is so prevalent. Of course, my plan was shot once I discovered the “Strays” are actually from Alabama. Oh well… Nobody’s perfect.

Anyway, in my attempt to stick to artists from Georgia, I turned to the ever-trusty Ray Charles, born in Albany, Georgia. I soon discovered a song I’d never heard performed by Charles and blues legend B.B. King. Check out “Sinner’s Prayer” below.

There’s really no need to expand on this song. What really needs to be said? It’s Ray Charles on piano and B.B. King on guitar. The two could jam for hours on names from the phonebook and it would be incredible. So let it play, and maybe say the Jesus Prayer afterward. It’s pretty close to the lyrics of the song.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son f God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Time to Share

There are still blues classics and contemporary blues tracks that have yet to be added to our playlists. These are songs I’ve known of and loved for a while but, for whatever reason have not been featured on Blue Wednesday. Until now.

First up is one of those rare covers that I would argue is better than the original. I mean no disrespect to the incredible Stevie Wonder, but the other Stevie, Mr. Stevie Ray Vaughan, took ownership of this song in 1986 and we should be forever thankful.

The song’s got everything. Funky guitar (rhythm and solo), stank bassline, hyped drums and Vaughan’s unique voice to tie the whole thing together. And that’s not even getting into the really dynamic progression taking one from the verses to the chorus. It’s an incredibly fun song and should be featured on all blues playlists.

My last song to share with you today is “Stand and Deliver” by Patrick Droney. I’m not sure when I first heard this song but it couldn’t have been too long after its release in 2019. While Droney is not a straight up blues musician, it’s obvious that his pop-rock sound has been influenced by John Mayer, Eric Clapton and ZZ Top. Droney even managed to have Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top featured on his 2021 album State of the Heart (The Deluxe Edition). “Stand and Deliver” has a solid message in the lyrics and is almost pop-like in its hook but lives in that cool weird space of blues-inspired modern rock. Not all artists do that well, but Dorney is one of the few. The guitar solo is the highlight of the tune. Be sure to pay attention just after the 2:30 mark to catch it.

Your Turn!

Alrighty friends, I’ve shared four songs. Now it’s time I heard from you. Leave your favorite blues tunes in the comments and let’s get a good thing going. I’ll see you for the next installment of Blue Wednesday on August 28.

Thanks for reading. May God bless you.