# Punk blues > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Punk_blues > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Punk_blues.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_blues > Source revision: 1343440298 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|Music genre}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2024}} {{Use American English|date=February 2024}} {{Infobox music genre | name = Punk blues | stylistic_origins = * [Punk rock](/source/Punk_rock) * [proto-punk](/source/proto-punk) * [blues](/source/blues) * [garage rock](/source/garage_rock) * [blues rock](/source/blues_rock) | cultural_origins = Early 1980s, United States | regional_scenes = | other_topics = * [Timeline of punk rock](/source/Timeline_of_punk_rock) * [cowpunk](/source/cowpunk) * [garage punk](/source/Garage_punk_(fusion_genre)) * [psychobilly](/source/psychobilly) * [biker metal](/source/biker_metal) }} '''Punk blues''' (or '''blues punk''') is a music genre that mixes elements of [punk rock](/source/punk_rock) and [blues](/source/blues).{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=style|id=punk-blues-ma0000012191|pure_url=yes}} |title=Punk Blues |website=AllMusic |access-date=August 7, 2025}} [Punk blues musicians and bands](/source/List_of_punk_blues_musicians_and_bands) usually incorporate elements of related styles,[http://www.convulsions.com/ British Rhythm and Blues – The Convulsions: High-Energy Original British RnB and Punk Blues], Retrieved on May 21, 2008 such as [protopunk](/source/protopunk) and [blues rock](/source/blues_rock). Its origins lie strongly within the [garage rock](/source/garage_rock) sound of the 1960s and 1970s. Punk blues can be said to favor the common rawness, simplicity and emotion shared between the punk and blues genres. Chet Weise, singer/guitarist of [the Immortal Lee County Killers](/source/the_Immortal_Lee_County_Killers) stated, "Punk and blues are both honest reactions to life. It's blues, it's our blues. It's just a bit turned up and a bit faster".{{cite web |url=https://www.furious.com/perfect/immortalleecountykillers.html |title=Punk and the Blues Evolution: The Immortal Lee County Killers |website=furious.com |access-date=March 31, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714192915/http://www.furious.com/perfect/immortalleecountykillers.html|archive-date=July 14, 2014 |url-status=live}} [[File:Jon Spencer 2006.jpg|thumb|[Jon Spencer](/source/Jon_Spencer_Blues_Explosion)]] == Origins == Before the beginning of the [punk movement](/source/punk_movement) of the late 1970s, several important forerunners such as [the MC5](/source/the_MC5), [the Stooges](/source/the_Stooges), [the Rolling Stones](/source/the_Rolling_Stones), [the Who](/source/the_Who), [the Sonics](/source/the_Sonics), [Captain Beefheart](/source/Captain_Beefheart), and the [New York Dolls](/source/New_York_Dolls) displayed a fascination with American blues. [AllMusic](/source/AllMusic) states that punk blues draws on the influence of the "garage rock sound of the mid-'60s, the primal howl of early Captain Beefheart, and especially in the raw and desperate sound of [the Gun Club](/source/the_Gun_Club)'s landmark ''[Fire of Love](/source/Fire_of_Love_(album))'' LP from 1981". Also according to AllMusic, "punk blues really came to life in the early '90s with bands like the seminal [Jon Spencer Blues Explosion](/source/Jon_Spencer_Blues_Explosion), [the Oblivians](/source/the_Oblivians), [the Gories](/source/the_Gories) and the Gibson Brothers", and "continued into the 2000s with even more visibility thanks to the popularity of [the White Stripes](/source/the_White_Stripes)." [John Doe](/source/John_Doe_(musician)) of L.A. punk band [X](/source/X_(American_band)) claims that the Gun Club and their frontman [Jeffrey Lee Pierce](/source/Jeffrey_Lee_Pierce) invented a completely new style of music by mixing punk and blues.[http://ghostonthehighway.com/cast.html Ghost on the Highway – The "Cast"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211170236/http://ghostonthehighway.com/cast.html |date=February 11, 2012 }} thumb|PJ Harvey == Related bands == With their 1988 album ''[Prison Bound](/source/Prison_Bound)'', the punk band [Social Distortion](/source/Social_Distortion) began incorporating rockabilly, country, and blues influences into their music. In the same time period, [Rollins Band](/source/Rollins_Band) performed punk-inflected blues jams.{{cite web|url=http://business.highbeam.com/435553/article-1G1-62159350/rollins-band-forges-hot-punkblues-hybrid-mississippi|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306221722/https://business.highbeam.com/435553/article-1G1-62159350/rollins-band-forges-hot-punkblues-hybrid-mississippi|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 6, 2016|title=ROLLINS BAND FORGES HOT PUNK-BLUES HYBRID AT MISSISSIPPI NIGHTS.(Everyday Magazine)(Review – Music – Rock\Rollins Band\Apartment 26)(Review)}} In the early 1990s, British musician [PJ Harvey](/source/PJ_Harvey) also explored an [avant-garde](/source/avant-garde_music) variant of the style.{{cite magazine| last = Hermes| first = Will| title = Queen of Hearts| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=UAUQ04BGfpUC&pg=PA101| access-date = November 23, 2012| volume = 20|date=June 2004| magazine = [Spin](/source/Spin_(magazine))| pages = 101| quote = By her usual avant-punk-blues standards, it was polished and tuneful. }} American rock band [L.A. Guns](/source/L.A._Guns) have been associated with the blues-punk sound. Particularly on their EP Wasted. The Detroit garage rock scene that bore bands such as [the White Stripes](/source/the_White_Stripes), inspired by [Flat Duo Jets](/source/Flat_Duo_Jets), continues to thrive with punk blues musicians and bands that can be tied to the style, such as [the Detroit Cobras](/source/the_Detroit_Cobras), Geraldine, Mystery Girls, [Soledad Brothers](/source/Soledad_Brothers_(band)), [the Von Bondies](/source/the_Von_Bondies), and many others. The Memphis{{endash}}Asheville band [the Reigning Sound](/source/the_Reigning_Sound) and the Boston band [Mr. Airplane Man](/source/Mr._Airplane_Man){{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p468781 |title=Mr. Airplane Man Biography |first=Kathleen C |last=Fennessy}}. also plays in this style. The [indie rock](/source/indie_rock) bands [the Kills](/source/the_Kills)"... scuzz-loving blues-punk duo ..." – J.D., ''Rolling Stone'', issue 1125, March 3, 2011, p. 72. and [Deadboy & the Elephantmen](/source/Deadboy_%26_the_Elephantmen){{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p757424 |title=Deadboy & the Elephantmen Biography |first=James Christopher |last=Monger}}. have been associated by the media with a punk/blues sound. American rock band [The Steel Crows](/source/The_Steel_Crows) are the most prominent contemporary band to be associated with this sound. == See also == * [List of punk blues musicians and bands](/source/List_of_punk_blues_musicians_and_bands) * [Biker punk](/source/Biker_punk) * [Cowpunk](/source/Cowpunk) * [Noise rock](/source/Noise_rock) * [Psychobilly](/source/Psychobilly) == References == {{reflist}} {{Punk}} {{Blues}} Category:Punk blues Category:Blues music genres Category:Blues rock Category:Punk rock genres Category:Fusion music genres --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Punk blues](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_blues) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Punk_blues?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.