3 Gut-Wrenching Blues Songs From the 1960s That Became Standards

The history of blues music is drenched in melancholy. Merriam-Webster tells us the first known use was in 1741, originating from “blue devils.” So it’s no surprise when some of the most gut-wrenching blues tunes become standards, as countless people have often been in “low spirits” for generations.

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And when done right, with the right voice, guitar riff, groove, and lyric, feeling bad can end up feeling pretty good. Just the kind of thing to fight off the doldrums. So crank these gut-wrenching blues songs from the 1960s. And send those blue devils packing.

“The Thrill Is Gone” by B. B. King

This is the spark going out. Illuminating darkness with the absence of light. B. B. King’s rendition of “The Thrill Is Gone”, which was penned by Roy Hawkins and Rick Darnell, was released in late 1969. King admits to a lover that the joy, the ecstasy, the buzz, has gone. He knows his future is a lonely one, but whatever has happened between these two is insurmountable. Breakups are cruel. The ending of something, an entity, a duo. The history, their history, forever wrecked. Then King punctuates his pain with weeping guitar notes. This isn’t a blues tune, it’s a romantic dirge.

“The Sky Is Crying” by Elmore James

Inspired by a rainy day in Chicago, Elmore James began an impromptu jam that later became a blues standard. The recording features James’s iconic slide guitar work and aching vocals. In the song, the speaker’s entire world seems to fall apart under a downpour as he senses his lover may have moved on to someone else. Albert King’s 1969 cover led to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s virtuosic reading and the title track to Vaughan’s final studio album, released posthumously in 1991.

“Born Under A Bad Sign” by Albert King

Few emotions will give one the blues like feeling condemned from birth. William Bell and Booker T. Jones, using astrology lingo, wrote “Born Under A Bad Sign” for Albert King. It’s the title track to King’s second release on the Stax label. Reporting on his despair, King laments, “Been down since I began to crawl.” Even as a baby, he felt his only luck was the bad kind, and the adult mistakes that followed were only fated by the misfortune he was born into. It follows a tradition of doomed blues, with a similar sentiment found in Cousin Joe’s 1947 recording “Bad Luck Blues”.

Photo by Bill Carrier, Courtesy of Concord Music Group