Folk/Blues Standards

[VTgreen81]

What are some folk or blues standards that any hack should be able to sit down and strum out on an acoustic guitar? Simple ones, nothing too complex.


maybe a few Dylan tunes? Willie Dixon, Robert Johnson?

 

[EddieRay]

Some standard blues tunes to get started:

Every Day I Have The Blues
Sweet Home Chicago
Stormy Monday
Bright Lights, Big City
The Thrill Is Gone
Blow Wind Blow
Before You Accuse Me

 

[Dani Pace]

The first one I remember learning was "Goin' Upstairs, Gonna Bring Down All My Clothes" by Howlin Wolf on the blues side. Folk was "Blowing In The Wind" by Peter, Paul and Mary. Another really easy one is "Knocking on Heaven's Door" Three chord songs, gotta love 'em.

 

[Mr songwriter]

Is 'Help me make it through the night' (Kris Krisofferson wrote it) Folk or country? anyway it's quite easy to make it sound good, works well in C.

 

[Bassman Brad]

Well, it's not exactly folk or blues, but EVERY acoustic guitar player should be able to play at least two or three Eagles songs. (In fact, I think that's a law in most states.)

Also, you should learn how to play the acoustic intro to Stairway to Heaven. Preferably, you should learn to play this really, really badly. And then, every time that you go to a music store, you should play your mangled rendition of Stairway to Heaven for the amusement of the store's sales staff. They've all heard THOUSANDS of horrid versions of that song, and I just KNOW that they'd love to hear you play it. (And he laughs his evil laugh. -- He, he he!!!!)

 

[Garry Sharp]

"You just call out my name, and you know, wherever I am..."

Very easy, just google "You've got a friend" + tab

It's off Carole King's Tapestry album

(I reckon if you can play guitar and sing that you'll get laid at every party on the entire planet )

 

[Light]

For folk, lets talk about actual folk music, not some middle class white kid from the sixties' idea of folk.


Start with Woody Guthrie:

This Land is your Land
Do Re Mi
Hobo's Lullaby
Muleskinner Blues (a Jimmie Rodgers song, but Woody did it)
Worried Man Blues

And then there is Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly):

Rock Island Line
Goodnight Irene
The Midnight Special

Pete Seegar is, of course, the dean of American folk music:

Where have all the Flowers Gone
Waist Deep in the Big Muddy
We Shall Overcome
Kisses Sweater than Wine
If I had a Hammer
and about 10,000 others (well, that is a bit of an exageration, but he has always said that he had about 6,000 songs memorized, most of which would be good to learn).

Then of course we have Joe Hill and the whole I.W.W. Little Red Book (the songs of the labor movement)

Casey Jones - The Union Scab
Bread and Rose
Solidarity Forever
We Have Fed you all for a Thousand Years


Then there are the classics which have as many versions as they have players

Barbara Allen
The Cookoo Song
The Water is Wide
John Henry



As for the sixties guys, such as Dylan and Tom Paxton

The Last Thing on my Mind - Tom Paxton
Blowin' in the Wind - Bob Dylan
MBTA - The Kingston Trio (not really, but most people learned it from their version)


And then you should go out and buy as many collections of John and Allen Lomax field recordings you can find, and find songs you can make your own.


Remember, folk music should never be static. When you learn a song, change it so it means more for you. Make them your own.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[Light]

Well, it's not exactly folk or blues, but EVERY acoustic guitar player should be able to play at least two or three Eagles songs. (In fact, I think that's a law in most states.)

Also, you should learn how to play the acoustic intro to Stairway to Heaven. Preferably, you should learn to play this really, really badly. And then, every time that you go to a music store, you should play your mangled rendition of Stairway to Heaven for the amusement of the store's sales staff. They've all heard THOUSANDS of horrid versions of that song, and I just KNOW that they'd love to hear you play it. (And he laughs his evil laugh. -- He, he he!!!!)

Bullshit



Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[ROblows]

Well, it's not exactly folk or blues, but EVERY acoustic guitar player should be able to play at least two or three Eagles songs. (In fact, I think that's a law in most states.)

"Aw, come on man. I've had a really tough night and I hate the fuckin' Eagles!"

Anyone care to name the movie?

 

[ROblows]

For folk, lets talk about actual folk music, not some middle class white kid from the sixties idea of folk...

Great post, Light.

Maybe this isn't quite what you're looking for, but learning Mississipi John Hurt's catalog, from easiest songs to hardest, would be like getting a masters degree in folk blues playing.

 

[onlyfingers]

lets talk about actual folk music, not some middle class white kid from the sixties' idea of folk.

Uh. That would be me.

My first 8-track was Hot Tuna's first release, and I got it 'cause I liked Hesitation Blues. 25 years later, I heard Rev. Gary Davis' version. The topic is of which version of a folk song is the "actual" version is one that has been and can be debated long and hard, as can the topic of the legitimacy of later adopters of a music genre, such as '60s British blues. We can say it's good to know about both without going to war, but many only make the first step, and hear recent releases. Nonetheless, those like Hot Tuna or the Kingston Trio who modify a classic tune (or genre) in a way that makes the music popular play important roles in the evolution of the genre as well as in introducing the curious to the classic repertoir.

Now, to the original post:

I like Little Red Rooster from Willie Dixon, and You Shook Me.
Robert Johnson? If you pick one, you leave out others. Cross Road and Dust my Broom, to name a couple.

Folk. I like Freight Train. Keeping with spirit of Light's post, see if you can track down Elizabeth Cotten's verison. (BTW, if you're going to Google, using Pete Seegar will narrow your search to about 6500 links. Seeger will give you 650,000.)

 

[Mr songwriter]

Kisses Sweater than Wine

Thanks. I'll have to look out for that one.

 

[Light]

Thanks. I'll have to look out for that one.

It's a great song.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi