The Best of Blues Music in 2015

It’s been a great year for the blues, with a wide variety of new releases that have something for everyone. Here are some of the best blues albums of 2015.

Best Electric Blues Album:

Blues music has been around for a long time and 2015 was no different. There were many great electric blues albums released this year. Here are our picks for the best electric blues albums of 2015.

Joe Bonamassa- Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks

Released in 2015, Joe Bonamassa’s Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks was recorded live at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. The album features Bonamassa performing a number of classic blues songs originally made famous by Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.

Muddy Wolf at Red Rocks was well-received by critics and won the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.

Best Traditional Blues Album:

The Best of the Blues Music in 2015 went to Shemekia Copeland for her album, “Out of the Fire.” This was a great album that featured some of the most popular blues songs of the year.

Bobby Rush- Porcupine Meat

Porcupine Meat is the twenty-third studio album by American blues artist Bobby Bland. It was released on January 27, 2016, by Rounder Records. The album features Bland’s first new studio recordings in nearly ten years.

Porcupine Meat was nominated for Best Traditional Blues Album at the 59th Annual Grammy Awards.

Best Contemporary Blues Album:

The best contemporary blues album of 2015 is Trombone Shorty’s Say That to Say This. Trombone Shorty, real name Troy Andrews, is a New Orleans musician who originally picked up the trombone at age six. At only 28 years old, he’s already toured with some of the biggest names in music, including Lenny Kravitz, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Bruno Mars.

Tedschi Trucks Band- Let Me Get By

This album is a must-have for any blues fan. The Tedschi Trucks Band has quickly become one of the hottest contemporary blues bands around, and this album is a perfect example of why. With incredible guitar work from Derek Trucks and strong vocals from Susan Tedeschi, this album will have you hooked from the first track.

Best Blues Rock Album:

The Best of Blues Music in 2015 was a great year for the blues. There were a lot of great albums released and it was hard to choose just one. However, after much deliberation, we have decided that the best blues rock album of 2015 is “The Weight” by The Band.

Rival Sons- Great Western Valkyrie

Although it was released in June of last year, Rival Sons’ Great Western Valkyrie didn’t start making waves until the fall. It was then that the Long Beach, California quartet’s anthemic single “Electric Man” began to take off, quickly followed by the equally catchy “Open My Eyes.”

The album is packed with 13 additional tracks of fist-pumping, throwback blues rock that are each as good as anything on the radio today. If you’re a fan of Led Zeppelin, Creedence Clearwater Revival or any other classic rock band from the 1960s and ’70s, you need to check out Great Western Valkyrie.

Best Historical Album:

The best historical album this year is “The Best of Blues Music in 2015”. This album features some of the greatest blues musicians of all time. It includes tracks from Robert Johnson, B.B. King, and Muddy Waters. This album is a must-have for any blues fan.

Muddy Waters- The Anthology: 1947-1972

Muddy Waters was an American blues singer-songwriter and musician who is often cited as the “father of modern Chicago blues”, and an important figure on the development of the post-World War II electric blues sound. He popularized many songs that became standards in the blues genre, including “Hoochie Coochie Man”, “Mannish Boy”, and “Got My Mojo Workin'”. Waters’s style is characterized by his deep, raspy singing voice, his long-held notes, and his distinctive riffing.

Waters’s first recordings were made in 1947 for Columbia Records Egyptians. He then recorded for Aristocrat Records from 1947 to 1948. In 1948, he began recording for Chess Records; he would remain with Chess until his death in 1983.

Waters’s early years with Chess were devoted to electric blues and Rhythm & Blues, but he also delved into various other genres, including Gospel music, jazz, and even rock & roll. He achieved his greatest commercial success with his final album for Chess, 1972’s The London Muddy Waters Sessions; it became his only album to be certified Gold by the RIAA.