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Good "female" blues songs

B

big_z_in_miami

Sep 8, 2009
47
0
Miami, Florida
#1
My band has a female singer, the band is strongly blues based, but play just about anything as long as we can groove and actually play it through. We do lean toward three chord basic structure stuff, so 12 bar forms are preferred out of simplicity.

We recently learned Give Me One Reason (Tracy Chapman) which is a quick IV 12 bar format and I would like to find other "low hanging fruit" to add to our blues list that a female vocalist can fit into to.

Any ideas or artists appreciated. Particularly sultry blues soul stuff fits our sound, but I look at anything.
 
#6
My last good band had two female vocalists. Here's a set list I just found yesterday with the songs the ladies sang.

1st Set
Get Ready (Temps)
Gimme Shelter
Gotta Serve Somebody (Dylan, we learned it from something with Booker T & The MG's)
Rock Steady (Aretha)
Son Of A Preacher Man (we worked from both Dusty Springfield and Joan Osborne)
Think (Aretha again)
Use My Imagination (Gladys Knight)
Knock On Wood/In The Midnight Hour (Eddie Floyd/Wilson Picket)
Crossroads (yeah, Robert Johnson via Cream)
Who's Makin' Love
RESPECT (Aretha)

Set 2
Down Home Blues (ZZ Hill?)
Midnight Train To Georgia (Gladys)
Proud Mary (Ike & Tina's version was the starting point)
Sweet Home Chicago
Chain of Fools (Aretha)
Beast of Burden (Stones)
Runaway (yeah, the old Del Shannon song, but listen to Bonnie Raitt's version)
I'm Losing You (Temps)
Love and Happiness (Al Green)
I Feel Good (GFOS)
Soul Man (Sam & Dave, Blues Bros.)
Brown Sugar (yes, a black woman wanted to sing this one)

Set 3
I've Got The Music In Me (Kiki Dee)
Give Me One Reason (Traci Chapman)
Can't Get Next To You (Temps again)
Play That Funky Music (Wild Cherry?)
I Will Survive (Disco at its "get the young girls out there shaking nubile young flesh" best!!)
Let's Stay Together (Al Green)
Come Together (The Beatles, but I think the drummer was coming from Joey Kramer more than Ringo)
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (Stones)
You Can Leave Your Hat On (Joe Cocker et. al.)
Closing Medley of "Life In The Fast Lane" (the Eagles) then "Thank You (Falletine Me Be Mice Elf, Again)" (Sly & The Family Stone), then "We Want The Funk (Tear The Roof Off...)" by P-Funk.

Dig into early Bonnie Raitt, Delany & Bonnie, and Joan Osborne stuff. Dig up some Shamekia Copeland, Johnny Copeland's daughter and find some stuff by Saphire, The Uppity Blues Women. Don't be afraid to cover songs traditionally sung by men.

John
 
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#14
I'm starting a new band with a girl singer from church. The songs she likes are blues and the singers seem to be Canadian or English, lol. Here are the songs we have "down" and YouTube links to the original artist:

Amy Winehouse - You Know I'm no Good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-I2s5zRbHg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DZ-V8VEWsQ

Corinne Bailey Rae - Put Your Records On
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gPD7kY1amE
Invalid Link Removed

Duffy - Mercy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C0jp8jpVUfA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqlLQRs-oXc

Melanie Fiona - Bang Bang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6HlYfbaWd0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6AoXQi9PKY

Melanie Fiona - Give It To Me Right
Invalid Link Removed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DKyAjJAI04
 
#18
BluesMan1 said:
Janis Joplin comes to mind.
Click to expand...
Since you're going down that road (e.g.I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!)
...add Cold Blood with Lydia Pense.

Bonnie Raitt is an obvious choice, too.

Joan Osborne (not her Pop stuff, per se) is a very capable R&B singer. Check out her version of "Smiling Faces Sometimes".
 

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