There are lots and lots of national days, weeks, months and more on the world’s calendar, but few are as exciting as this one: International Blues Music Day. Let’s celebrate with some blues (and food) talk!

If you’re not already familiar, blues is a music genre that originated in the United States in the 1860s, specifically amongst African-Americans in the Deep South. A favorite genre of mine, ‘The Blues’ comes in many forms: Mississippi Delta Blues, Chicago blues, gospel blues, folk blues, swamp music, and lots more. This style of music has influenced almost every form of American music that has followed it or developed alongside it: jazz, rock & roll, hip hop and more: even ‘screamo’, a unique genre that has held a special place in my heart since middle school. Chances are, your favorite song or artist has the blues to thank for its existence!

There are many names associated with the blues, each of them incredible in their own right: Since you’re reading the blog of a local supermarket chain, I thought it’d be appropriate here to take a quick peek into the appetites and tastes of some of the genre’s iconic figures.

Howlin Wolf, legendary for his booming voice alone, a pioneer of ‘electrifying’ the blues from its acoustic origins and an influential figure in the structuring of songs into verse-chorus-verse structure, was big on food: he once stated that he had eaten more chicken than any man had ever seen.

One of my favorite blues musicians, Muddy Waters, was not only an incredible musician: he could throw down in the kitchen! Muddy’s family shares stories of his love for cooking (and eating) spicy food: try your hand at some Grilled Cajun Pork Tenderloin if you’re in the mood for some flavor from America’s blues music homeland. 

One of the most well-known figures in blues music, Eric Clapton is quite the foodie: he enjoys cooking, and once dined at the same Chicago restaurant 3 times in 2 days. Chicago has a rich history of blues music, and apparently some great restaurant food too!

I now find myself wondering about the favorite foods and dishes of some lesser-known, but incredible nonetheless, blues musicians: what did Reverend Utah Smith (gospel preacher and gospel blues guitar shredder) like to chow down on? Was Memphis Minnie a seafood fan? Did Houston Stackhouse enjoy breakfast for dinner? I’ll have to do some digging here and circle back to the Price Chopper & Market 32 Blog sometime in the future.

Stepping back from the tastes of the artists themselves, a variety of blues songs either are written about food, or contain food in their titles: Blueberry Hill by Fats Domino, Oreo Cookie Blues (paid partnership? I wonder!) by Lonnie Mack, and lots more. Cedell Davis, who learned to play the guitar with a butter knife after being struck by polio as a child and losing grip strength in his hands, does an awesome rendition of “Catfish and Cornbread”, as a spin on an old folk blues tune: check it out here.

So many songs and so much flavor!

Want to further wet your appetite for the blues? Check out our Blues Barbeque playlist on Spotify: it’s perfect for firing up the tunes while you’re firing up the grill. Listen here.

Long Live The Blues!