The Top 10 Blues Songs on Acoustic Guitar

As part of my top 10 acoustic songs series here are my top 10 blues songs for acoustic guitar.

Of course this is very subjective and there will be plenty left off this list that others would have on theirs. For the sake of it I have put these in order but that by no means claims that one is better than the other. Each song is unique in its feel and style.

O.k. let’s get into the list.

Blues Song #10: Death Letter Blues – Son House

Death Letter Blues showcases Son House’s energetic driving rhythm, powerful emotional vocals and his abundant use of slide.

Son’s blues development didn’t start until he was 25, in 1927, before which he was a preacher. He has been said to have been a great influence on Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters amongst others.

Blues Song #9: Baby, Please Don’t Go – Lightnin’ Hopkins

A classic blues number, originally written by Big Joe Williams in 1935. This song has been covered countless times by who knows how many artists.

Probably the most popular of which are from Muddy Waters and the more rock influenced version by Van Morrison’s Them in 1964.

My favourite version, of those I’ve heard, is the Lightnin Hopkins version. See video below.

Blues Song #8: Devil Got My Woman – Skip James

I admittedly was introduced to this song by what I considered to be an otherwise boring movie. But watching the movie wasn’t a complete waste of time because it did unearth this gem.

Blues Song #7: Me and the Devil Blues – Robert Johnson

The first of two Robert Johnson numbers on this list, Me and the Devil Blues, is a classic Robert Johnson track illustrating his somewhat haunted and brief existence.

A member of the 27 club (died at age 27) his life was shrouded in mystery and there are many stories, the truth of which is hard to know due to his obscurity (he wasn’t a well known or popular artist in his lifetime). But the stories do add to the myth and offer intrigue to the music.

Blues Song #6: Charley Patton – I Shall Not Be Moved

Considered to be the father of Delta blues, it’s hard to quantify the influence that Charley Patton has had on music in all corners of blues and rock and beyond.

Blues Song #5: Hear my Train a Coming (12 string acoustic) – Jimi Hendrix

Though not typically known as an acoustic player and seldom seen performing with an acoustic, this acoustic version of Hear my Train a Coming shows the more subtle side of Hendrix’s repertoire.

Blues Song #4: Black Dog Blues – Blind Blake

Whilst Blind Blake is, strictly speaking, a rag time artist I don’t forsee a ragtime acoustic guitar top 10 and I wanted to include this extraordinary guitarist in somewhere. And with “blues” in the title of the song it certainly seemed a fitting choice for this list.

Blues Song #3: I Can’t Be Satisfied – Muddy Waters

Like Jimi Hendrix, Muddy Waters isn’t generally known as an acoustic player – but that doesn’t take away his ability on the instrument. The tune in the video below is testament to that.

Blues Song #2: God Moves Over the Water – Blind Willie Johnson

Known for his slide guitar (which is well prevalent in God Moves over the Water) and I guess you could say gospel-blues fusion style, Blind Willie Johnson, like many others of his era it seems, many stories exist but the truth of which are unverified.

However, as the name suggests he was blind. Just how he came to be blind is unknown though -although there are some theories surrounding this.

Blues Song #1: Robert Johnson – Hellhound On My Trail

And finally we have Robert Johnson’s second entry on the list, Hellhound on my Trail. A haunting tale of running from personal inner turmoil (or at least that’s my take on it!).

Or if you’d rather, running from the Hellhounds that were after him after making his deal with the devil at the crossroads in return for success. If that’s the case he got the raw end of the deal as he saw very little success in his lifetime. Only long after his death was Johnson recognized and became known.

Thanks for Reading

Thanks for reading my Top 10 blues songs list. Undoubtedly there are many others that belong here but this is what I came up with. What would you include on the list – and what would you remove to make room for it?

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below. Any other comments also more than welcome.

Check out more top 10 acoustic guitar song lists at the link below:

>>Acoustic Guitar Songs Top 10s

Photo Credits

Photo by Ray MacLean [CC BY 2.0], via Flikr