“Farther Up the Road” – Bobby “Blue” Bland (Duke, 1957)

Though famed for soft, romantic blues ballads, Bobby “Blue” Bland could wail hard-hitting blues, too, as he did in 1957 with the Bill Harvey Orchestra on “Farther Up the Road.” Guitarist Pat Hare’s menacing fills and sizzling solo push the intensity even higher. The song was copyrighted by Joe Medwick Veasey and Duke Records owner Don D. Robey as “Further On Up the Road,” which is the way Bland sings it. Joe Medwick, who dropped the Veasey from his stage name, later recorded as a singer for Duke and other labels in Texas. (Duke, 1957)

Inducted in 2022 to The Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall of Fame.

– Jim O’Neal, BluEsoterica.com