To kick off the launch, Spotify tapped The Black Keys to curate a portion of the inaugural list. The playlist dives into the history and heritage of the genre, a special regional style of the Blues specific to Northern Mississippi that inspired the The Black Keys’ new covers album, Delta Kream (out May 14 on Nonesuch).
The Black Keys hand-selected a variety of songs for the list, ranging from RL Burnside to Junior Kimbrough to Jessie Mae Hemphill. The playlist includes artists both renowned and obscure, honoring the hill country blues traditions that inspired the Black Keys’s inception. Listen HERE.
In the words of The Black Keys...
"There would be no Black Keys without this music. Hill Country Blues represents the concentric circle where we crossed over musically as teenagers. Artists like Junior Kimbrough, R.L. Burnside, Mississippi Fred McDowell and T-Model Ford are heroes to us. We made Delta Kream with Kenny Brown and Eric Deaton to remember where we come from and celebrate the music we love. The raw sound of Hill Country Blues and songs represented on this list are some that kept us going in those early days of touring, driving all night in the van. We hope fans can do a deep dive on these artists and realize how important they are to the canon of American Music.” – Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney
The Black Keys x Hill Country Blues Tracklist:
Jessie Mae Hemphill – My Daddy’s Blues (from album Feelin’ Good)
Junior Kimbrough – Sad Days, Lonely Nights (from album Sad Days, Lonely Nights)
Mississippi Fred McDowell – Write Me a Few Lines (from album You Gotta Move)
RL Burnside – Miss Maybelle (from album Mississippi Hill Country Blues)
Ranie Burnette – Coal Black Mattie (from album Ranie Burnette)
RL Burnside – Peaches (from album Too Bad Jim)
Robert Pete Williams – Graveyard Blues (from album The Sonet Blues Story)
T-Model Ford – Cut You Loose (from album Pee-Wee Get My Gun)
Mississippi Joe Callicott – Laughing to Keep from Crying (from album Ain’t Gonna Lie to You)
Little Jr. Parker – Feelin Good (from album Sun Record’s Epic Blues pt 2)
Jessie Lee Vortis – Miss Maybelle (from album The George Mitchell Collection vol. 7)
Uncle Ben and His Nephews – Mama, Look at Sis (from album Deep South Blues)
Mississippi Fred McDowell – I Got a Woman (from album Mama Says I’m Crazy)
Rosa Lee Hill – Roll & Tumble (from album The George Mitchell Collection)
Junior Kimbrough – Slow Lightning (from album All Night Long)
Asie Payton – I Love You – Solo (from album Worried)
Paul Jones – Rob & Steal (from abum Mule)
T-Model Ford – Nobody Gets Me Down (from album Pee-Wee Get My Gun)
RL Burnside – Shake ‘Em on Down (from album Too Bad Jim)
Junior Kimbrough – Meet Me in the City (from album First recordings)
Jessie Mae Hemphill – Standing in My Doorway Crying (from album She-Wolf)
The Black Keys – Crawling Kingsnake (from Delta Kream)
The Black Keys – Going Down South (from Delta Kream)
