Similar to the old Route 66 that wound from the heart of the United States in Chicago to the west coast and captured some of the best of what America has to offer, the Ben Vee Roadhouse 66 song list meanders world wide from Africa to Europe to North and South America.. on then to Australia and up to Asia capturing the best blues songs of 2018. The roadhouse blues is situated at the crossroads of the blues and rock genres so there are plenty of upbeat tunes and a number of belly grinders on the list. The selection includes 15 female singers..a dozen blues rockers…several roots blues tunes and numbers of hot contemporary blues recordings…I hope you download and enjoy listening to all the songs!!
As a DJ, in 2018 I played over 200 sets and 500 hours of blues music or roughly 6,000 songs for listening audiences. On my 24 hour Roadhouse blues stream, I streamed thousands more. Picking the best 66 from my broadcasts was both a labor of love and a huge challenge. The position of the songs on the list is of little consequence…you might list them in a different order or include ones that I didn’t. The important thing is that these 66 tunes are a “top shelf” sampling of a vibrant and growing contemporary blues market. Don’t let ANYONE tell you that the blues are dead or dying!! I encourage you to turn your friends on to songs on the list and help spread the news that, as Buddy Guy said on his latest album, the blues is alive and well!!
1 | Joe Bonamassa | King Bee Shakedown |
2 | Anthony Gomes | Whiskey Made Me Do It |
3 | Lance Lopez | Blue Moon Rising |
4 | Larkin Poe | Bleach Blonde Bottle Blues |
5 | Billy F. Gibbons | Hollywood 151 |
6 | Danielle Nicole | Save Me ft. Kenny Wayne Shepherd |
7 | Boz Scaggs | Little Miss Night And Day |
8 | Buddy Guy | Cognac (feat. Jeff Beck & Keith Richards) |
9 | Shemekia Copeland | Ain’t Got Time For Hate |
10 | Widow Blue | Who’s Gonna Take Care of Lucille? |
11 | Bettye LaVette | Things Have Changed |
12 | Mike Zito | Mississippi Nights |
13 | Layla Zoe | Are You Still Alive Inside |
14 | Ray Bonneville | South of the Blues |
15 | Markey Blue Ric Latina Project | Raised in Muddy Water |
16 | Colin James | I Will Remain |
17 | Jim Allchin | Voodoo Doll |
18 | Tinsley Ellis | Nothing But Fine |
19 | Sean Chambers | All Night Long |
20 | Ryan McGarvey | Ain’t Enough Whiskey |
21 | The Nick Moss Band | The High Cost of Low Living |
22 | Teresa James & The Rhythm Tramps | The Day The Blues Came To Call |
23 | Delta Moon | Skinny Woman |
24 | Chris Smither | Maybelline |
25 | Janiva Magness | Down Below |
26 | Curtis Salgado/Alan Hager | You Got to Move |
27 | Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats | Coolin’ Out |
28 | The Record Company | Roll Bones |
29 | Travis Bowlin | Vicksburg Blues |
30 | Damon Fowler | Ain’t Gonna Rock With You No More |
31 | Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa | Give It Everything You Got |
32 | Dana Fuchs | Ready To Rise |
33 | Ben Harper & Charlie Musselwhite | The Bottle Wins Again |
34 | Sue Foley | The Lucky Ones (ft Jimmie Vaughan) |
35 | Anthony Geraci | Why Did You Have to Go |
36 | Joe Goldmark | Beautician Blues |
37 | Mud Morganfield | Oh Yeah |
38 | The Lucky Losers | The River |
39 | Fiona Boyes | Ember |
40 | Johnny & The Headhunters | Watch And Chain (Hey Gyp) |
41 | Hannah Wicklund & The Steppin Stones | Mama Said |
42 | The Reverend Shawn Amos | Moved |
43 | Dry Johnson | Drunk Girl With a Tamborine (feat Snit) |
44 | Tom Hambridge | This End of the Road (ft Sonny Landreth) |
45 | Anthony Gomes | Take Me Back Home |
46 | Ally Venable | Backwater Blues |
47 | Kat Danser | Hol’ Up Baby |
48 | Dan Patlansky | Judge A Man |
49 | Marcia Ball | Take a Little Louisiana |
50 | Sari Schorr | Thank You |
51 | Too Slim And the Taildraggers | Trouble |
52 | Jamie Lynn Vessels | Done Me Wrong |
53 | Lindsay Beaver | Dangerous |
54 | Steve Krase | Dirty Dirty |
55 | Black River Delta | Keeps Me Bleeding |
56 | The Marcus King Band | Side Door |
57 | Kris Barras Band | Wrong Place, Wrong Time |
58 | Dany Franchi | Wanna Know |
59 | Niecie | Thank God for Fools |
60 | Eric Steckel | We’re Still Friends |
61 | Luke Winslow King | Chicken Dinner |
62 | John Akapo | Maui Drive |
63 | Kat Riggins | A Girl in the Boys’ Club |
64 | The Bob Lanza Blues Band | Hey Baby |
65 | Kenny “Blues Boss” Wayne | That Raggedy Shack |
66 | Elvin Bishop | That’s the Way Willy Likes It |