As this weekend’s Chicago Blues Festival approached, we asked readers what song perfectly captures the Chicago blues sound? Here’s what you told us, lightly edited for clarity (most references are to performers of the song, not necessarily the songwriter):
“‘Messin’ with the Kid’ by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells always just said ‘Chicago blues’ to me.”
— Brad Wilson
“’Dust My Broom,’ Elmore James.”
— Ty Jepson
“‘Sweet Home Chicago’ by Robert Johnson. It’s the unofficial soundtrack of the city. Everyone knows it, everyone sings along, and it captures the pride, energy and soul of Chicago. Pair it with a Chicago-style hot dog and you’ve got the full Chicago experience.”
— Courtney Cager
“‘Mannish Boy’ by Muddy Waters.”
— Erin Eileen
“’55th Street Boogie’ by Hound Dog Taylor. It captures the energy of the city — nobody is crying in their beer in this song.”
— Jeff Varda
“‘Spoonful’ by Howlin Wolf. Easy.”
— Kurt Tyler Meister
“‘Blue and Lonesome’ by Little Walter, because it is electric blues with a solid bond to the roots due to the harmonica sound. The lyrics express the sense of loneliness in a big city after the Great Migration from the South. Even the life and death of Little Walter is the personification of the blues.”
— Giovanni Taverna
“‘Chicago Bound’ by Jimmy Rogers.”
— Paul Petraitis
“Magic Sam’s ‘Sweet Home Chicago’ is the magnum opus from the artist who revolutionized the blues by pioneering the West Side Chicago blues sound.”
— Johnny Ramírez IV
“B.B. King ‘How Blue Can You Get?'”
— Jason Fico
“Johnny Winter’s ‘Tribute to Muddy’ from ‘The Progressive Blues Experiment.'”
— William Stiker
“Any Blues Brothers tune.”
— Richard T. Guidera Jr.