- Shortnin'-Henduck Othar Turner & The Rising Star Fife & Drum Band 2:52
- Long John Lightning & Group 5:25
- Crazy Blues Mamie Smith 3:29
- St. Louis Blues W.C. Handy 3:02
- Muddy Water Bessie Smith 3:08
- Match Box Blues Blind Lemon Jefferson 3:01
- Billy Lyons & Stack-O-Lee Furry Lewis 2:36
- 'ma' Rainey's Black Bottom Ma Rainey 3:03
- Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground Blind Willie Johnson 3:21
- Savoy Blues Louis Armstrong 3:27
- Downtown Blues Frank Stokes 3:10
- Frankie Mississippi John Hurt 3:24
- Fishing Blues Henry Thomas 2:43
- How Long How Long Blues Leroy Carr 3:06
- Canned Heat Blues Tommy Johnson 3:38
- Statesboro Blues Blind Willie Mctell 2:30
- It's Tight Like That Tampa Red & Georgia Tom 3:04
- Pine Top's Boogie Woogie Pine Top Smith 3:22
- Guitar Blues Lonnie Johnson 3:15
- Pony Blues Charley Patton 2:59
- Diddie Wah Diddie Blind Blake 2:58
- K.C. Moan Memphis Jug Band 2:32
- Standin' On The Corner (Blue Yodel #9) Jimmie Rodgers 2:39
- Sittin' On Top Of The World Mississippi Sheiks 3:04
- Preachin' The Blues Son House 3:02
Notes
Mar 2, 1927 - Apr 9, 2003
This five-disc, 116-track box set presents a sweeping history of the blues from its emergence in the early 1900s clear through to its various contemporary guises, and includes samples of country blues in all of its regional variations, as well as cuts from string bands, jug bands, jazz combos, gritty Chicago blues outfits, and a look at how rock artists like Bob Dylan and Jimi Hendrix incorporated the blues into their distinctive styles. Intelligently gathered and arranged, it treats the blues both from a historical perspective and from a working assumption that the form is still alive and well, continually morphing and transforming itself. There simply isn't a better or deeper survey of the blues on the market.