[For Beginners] A Collection of Famous and Popular Delta Blues Songs

Baby Please Don’t GoBig Joe Williams

Big Joe Williams – Baby Please Don’t Go

Big Joe Williams, known as a hot-blooded, wandering bluesman.

His performance style—featuring a unique nine-string guitar and powerful vocals—marks him as one of the icons of Delta blues.

This renowned masterpiece of his portrays the urgent feelings of a man in prison pleading with his lover, “Don’t go.” The soul-baring cry conveyed with only guitar and voice profoundly moves the listener.

Recorded in October 1935, the track is also listed among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.” It is also known for Them’s cover version being used in the film Wild at Heart.

This is a perfect song for those who want to savor the deep emotion at the roots of the blues.

Rock Me MamaArthur Crudup

Arthur Crudup – Rock Me Mama (Official Audio)

Arthur Crudup, who electrified Delta blues and laid the groundwork for rock ’n’ roll, is known as one of the “Fathers of Rock ’n’ Roll” and had a profound impact on the history of the blues.

The piece introduced here is one of his most acclaimed songs, showcasing the rustic resonance of acoustic guitar and richly emotive vocals.

It sings of intimate affection—a wish to be gently stirred by someone precious—and conveys the warmth characteristic of the blues.

First recorded in 1944, it reached No.

3 on the R&B chart the following year, 1945.

It’s a perfect work for anyone wanting to experience the depth of the blues.

Key To The HighwayBig Bill Broonzy

Big Bill Broonzy-Key To the Highway

Big Bill Broonzy, known as a bridge between country blues and the more urban Chicago blues, had an exceptionally wide musical range and influenced countless artists—so much so that Eric Clapton has called him a “role model for acoustic guitar.” The work we’re featuring today is one of his most celebrated songs.

It portrays the protagonist’s bittersweet resolve to leave a lover and hit the highway, conveyed through powerful vocals and guitar.

Recorded in May 1941, the song was later covered on Derek and the Dominos’ classic album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.

For anyone who wants to savor the blues’ blend of life’s joys and sorrows and the emotion of setting out on a journey, this is essential listening.

Fixin’ to Die BluesBukka White

Bukka White – Fixin To Die Blues

Bukka White, known as a master of Delta blues, was a guitarist whose powerful slide technique is said to have greatly influenced later rock musicians, including B.

B.

King.

Among the songs passed down as his classics is this piece.

It portrays the poignant feelings of a protagonist facing imminent death and thinking of his family, yet his gravelly voice and bottleneck guitar playing are strangely brimming with vitality.

The track was released in March 1940 and was later reappraised after being covered by Bob Dylan.

If you love soul-stirring blues, this is a must-check.

You gotta moveMississippi Fred McDowell

Mississippi Fred McDowell – You gotta move

Mississippi Fred McDowell, a blues musician who embodied Hill Country blues with its hypnotic groove and left a profound legacy, is our focus here.

The piece in question is one of the most highly regarded in his catalog.

Originally derived from gospel, this song speaks of a vast fate beyond human control.

The intertwining of its mournful yet beautiful slide guitar lines and vocals that seem to address the soul directly is the very essence of the blues’ deep emotion.

The track is also famous for being covered by The Rolling Stones on their album Sticky Fingers, with an anecdote that they needed 19 takes in December 1969 to finally capture its essence.

McDowell’s version was recorded in 1965, so comparing the two makes for a fascinating listen.

Spoonful BluesCharley Patton

Charley Patton – Spoonful Blues (Delta Blues 1929)

Charlie Patton, one of the world’s great bluesmen known as the “Father of the Delta Blues,” possessed a raw, formidable voice.

The blues he spun from that voice and his slide guitar would go on to profoundly shape what we now call rock.

Among Patton’s recordings, a must-listen is this track cut in June 1929.

Centered on the idea that a person will do anything for just one drink, it explores fundamental human desire and thirst; his gravelly voice renders that urgency with visceral immediacy.

The masterpiece that includes this track, Screamin’ and Hollerin’ the Blues, won three Grammy Awards in 2003.

It’s highly recommended for anyone who wants to experience the unvarnished emotions at the source of the blues.

Me and the Devil BluesRobert Johnson

Me and the Devil Blues

Speaking of Robert Johnson, he is a truly mythic figure known for the “Crossroads legend,” in which he is said to have sold his soul to the devil to gain his guitar prowess.

This work, which epitomizes his mystique, can be described as a song overflowing with diabolical allure.

Its lyrics—walking shoulder to shoulder with the devil at dawn and asking to have his body buried by the highway—leave a powerful impact on the listener.

The urgent vocals and razor-sharp guitar brilliantly express the protagonist’s profound loneliness and resignation to fate.

Released as a single in 1938 and included on the landmark album The Complete Recordings, the song also lent its title to a manga based on his life.

It’s a must-listen for anyone who wants to experience the primal narrative power of the blues.