And there you go. The final post in the blues countdown. The top ten. Enjoy!
As I’ve been DJing since 2007, and have had a pretty steep learning curve in that time, this will probably throw up some bizarre choices and guilty secrets. Where possible, I’ll put in links where you can listen to the tracks.
These are not necessarily my all-time favourite tracks, though it’s probably not far off it, and I can’t promise they’re all the best blues dance tracks ever. They’re just the ones I’ve played the most over the last thirteen years.
I’ve created a Spotify playlist to host all the tracks (or all the ones on Spotify anyway) – so each week, I’ll add the tracks for the week. You can listen to it here!
| Track | Artist | Album | Time | BPM | Plays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Wade In the Water | Michelle Shocked | To Heaven U Ride (Live) | 3:01 | 99 | 50 |
| For a … lot of reasons, I no longer play this one. From my more fusion days – Michelle Shocked and a hiphop crew, which is an unlikely combination for this mostly vocal version. No Preview Found |
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| 9 | Night Train | Buddy Morrow | Great Melodies Of The 50s | 3:06 | 83 | 50 |
| There’s a million versions of Night Train – but nothing beats the rawness of this one. From the tribal drumming to *that* sax chorus… it’s absolutely sublime. Listen on Spotify |
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| 8 | Blues Around Midnight | Lowell Fulson | Black Nights | 3:08 | 81 | 50 |
| Classic Chicago Blues at its finest. Listen on Spotify |
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| 7 | My Handy Man Ain’t Handy No More | Alberta Hunter | Amtrak Blues | 3:46 | 80 | 52 |
| At the age of eighty, Alberta Hunter could make the most innocent sounding comment sound like purest filth. This song is wonderful to listen to, but even better to watch her perform live… Listen on Spotify And it’s even better when you watch it…. |
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| 6 | Hear Me Talkin’ To Ya | Woody Allen;Eddy Davis;Greg Cohen;Simon Wettenhall;Jerry Zigmont;Todd Robbins;Rob Garcia | Wild Man Blues | 5:32 | 94 | 52 |
| Woody Allen, channeling Johnny Dodds with all his might – for this amazing slow-building blues. Listen on Spotify |
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| 5 | Dark Sunshine | Dr. Michael White | Blue Crescent | 5:45 | 86 | 55 |
| This is quite possibly the ultimate in dark brooding gorgeous jazzy blues. Listen on Spotify |
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| 4 | Big Long Slidin` Thing | Dinah Washington | The Definitive Dinah Washington | 2:59 | 76 | 55 |
| Almost everything about these lyrics is wonderfully, gloriously wrong. Great song, too. Listen on Spotify |
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| 3 | I Pity the Fool | Bobby Blue Bland | Blues Masters: I Pity the Fool | 2:43 | 76 | 61 |
| Another great heartbeat song. You just can’t go wrong dropping this into a set. Listen on Spotify |
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| 2 | Junker’s Blues | Champion Jack Dupree | Blues From The Gutter | 3:14 | 104 | 62 |
| Curious fact about Champion Jack Dupree – he got his musical start after being sent to the same “Waifs Home” in New Orleans where Louis Armstrong learned the cornet.. Listen on Spotify |
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| 1 | Ain’t Gonna Play No Second | Lavern Baker | Blues (LaVern Baker Sings Bessie Smith) | 4:05 | 87 | 62 |
| And in the top slot – a Bessie Smith classic from the amazing Laverne Baker. Listen on Spotify |
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