What if you could rock out at a blues jam with confidence? 

Or be able to play with other musicians and demonstrate some serious blues guitar skills? 

Well, if either of those sounds good to you, keep reading because, in this post, I'll share with you how to play "Everyday I Have The Blues" as recorded by B.B. King on guitar.

Who wrote Everyday I Have The Blues?

"Everyday I Have the Blues"  was written by the Sparks brothers, Pinetop and Milton. They used to perform the song in pubs and bars in St. Louis, Missouri. The tune follows a standard 12-bar blues chord progression and the original recording features Pinetop on piano and singing with a falsetto style tone. This first recording was done on July 28th, 1935. 

Throughout the decades it’s become a blues standard and has been recorded by countless famous blues musicians. 

This song became a staple in B.B. King’s repertoire. So much so that throughout his career, he made numerous recordings of it both live and in the studi...

THIS is a song that I struggled with learning for a while. It wasn’t the chords that I struggled with or the song form, those are both very common patterns. Where I got stuck was with the actual guitar part to play from the recording. 

It sounded like one guitar but I couldn’t quite get my part to sound like the recording. So for years, I played this song on gigs with just a common rhythm accompaniment that wasn’t like the guitar part on the recording. It wasn’t until later I finally went back and figured it out from the recording. It’s actually TWO guitars.

In this “Mustang Sally” guitar lesson, I want to share with you the chords, rhythms, and scales to start jamming it with ease today! I’ll break down the guitar parts from the recording and share how you can combine them to play a great pattern for this song on one guitar.

Also, it’s a valuable song to know because it comes up at many jam sessions and parties. A lot of people play it!

So with that said make sure you’re tuned ...

When the clock struck 9:55 P.M. every Friday night for six years, I played the same song.

"Wait, what!" you may be asking. "You played the same song at the same time every week for six years?"

"Yes!" 

"What song is it that you may be wondering?" Well, the answer is "Hide Away" by Freddie King. While this may sound a little crazy, let me fill you in on the backstory. Decades ago, I was sitting in a private guitar lesson with a great teacher I had at the time. In the lesson, he started playing this really cool blues in the key of E. I heard it and was immediately hooked.

I thought, "Wow," and asked my instructor, "What is that?" He said, "That's the Hide Away riff." He didn't really explain it; he just played the riff and said, "Yeah, it's a blues break tune I've been playing for decades." 

Then I said, "Awesome, what's a blues break tune?" And he said, "Well, it's a song you play at the end of your set when you are going to take a break. You know it's the one where ...

When guitar players think of blues chord progressions inevitably they often default to thinking about the typical 12-bar blues progression, however, there are a ton of other blues progressions that don’t get talked about as much. Today I want to share with you one of those progressions in this “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” guitar lesson.

“Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out” follows an 8-bar blues chord progression and has quite a different chord progression than just the typical I, IV, and V chord blues.

In this lesson, I’ll break down the chords, and different ways of strumming, fingerpicking, and even soloing over this blues classic. So get tuned up and let’s go! 

Who Wrote Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out?

"Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" has become a blues standard over the years but it was originally written by pianist Jimmie Cox in 1923. It was first performed in a Vaudeville-blues style. The song's lyrics tell of a wealthy person w...

Often when players begin learning to solo over blues progressions they start by learning the minor blues scale. Next, they’ll work out a few licks or make up some of their own and play them over some rhythm. 

This rhythm backing could be a blues shuffle into a looper or maybe even along with a backing track. 

In this post, I want to show you a simple way to take that information and get more from it by simply shifting how you think about licks on the neck.

So let’s say for example we were going to solo over a rhythm pattern like this:

This is a common blues rhythm used in countless tunes. Since this pattern is based on the A chord shape, we could use the A minor blues scale at the 5th fret like this:

These same strings and frets can be thought of like this as well:

6th string frets = 5, 8

5th string frets = 5, 6, 7

4th string frets = 5, 7

3rd string frets = 5, 7, 8

2nd string frets = 5, 8

1st string frets = 5, (8)

Here’s an example of a lick you can play over this rh...

Want to play blues licks like B.B. King?

In this post, I'll be sharing 3 B.B. King licks that capture specific elements of his guitar style. I'll break down each lick and examine the chords they go over, as well as the scales that are used behind the notes.

These licks will sound great when played over blues progressions, but they are not strictly limited to the blues. As you become more comfortable with these phrases, you'll find many other places to use them.

King is often regarded as one of the most iconic blues guitarists of all time, known for his soulful playing and signature vibrato. King was able to create so much music with so few notes, establishing an instantly identifiable style. He was a true master of blues phrasing and had exquisite taste in his choice of licks.

Lick #1

Lick #1 can be used for a blues in the key of G. Here we are playing over a G7 chord, but the shape I associate with this lick looks like this:

This chord looks like a barred-up open position C...

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61. Laundromat Blues On Guitar | Albert King

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate

Unlock this sliding 6ths riff used in countless slow blues tunes. This lesson is in the key of Bb. 

62. Leaving Trunk | Taj Mahal

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate

This blues uses a power-chord-based rhythm part in the key of Bb.

63. Life By the Drop | Stevie Ray Vaughan

Level: 🎸🎸🎸Advanced

If you’re looking to improve your 12-string blues guitar playing, look no further than this ‘Life By The Drop’ guitar lesson. In this post, I’ll share with you how to play the version of the song as recorded by Stevie Ray Vaughan. Vaughan’s recording was done on a 12-string acoustic guitar, and it is chock full of incredible blues guitar techniques, chords, scales, and concepts you can steal and add to your own guitar playing. Check out a longer lesson here.

64. Little Red Rooster | Howlin' Wolf

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate 

Break out the slide and tune your guitar to open G for this clas...

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81. See See Rider | The Animals

See See Rider | The Animals

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate

This blues is in the key of C but the tricky part is it stretches the form and plays everything double the length as a typical 12-bar blues.

82. Side Tracked | Freddie King

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate 

Here’s a great exercise for your picking hand. The majority of the melody of the song is played using a lot of triplets.

83. Side Tracked | Freddie King Solo

84. Spoonful | Cream

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate

This classic Willie Dixon tune being interpreted by Cream is chock full of great blues licks.

85. Steppin' Out | John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate

An uptempo blues instrumental featuring Clapton at a pivotal point in his career.

86. Steppin' Out | Solo Lesson | John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

Steppin' Out | Solo Lesson | John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate

And of course, the solo to go with it.

87. St...

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41. Got My Mojo Working | Muddy Waters

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate

"Got My Mojo Working" was written by Preston "Red" Foster, and it was first recorded in 1956 by R&B singer Ann Cole. This version has a great upbeat groove to it. The lyrics of the song describe something called mojo, which has been associated with hoodoo, an African-American folk magic tradition.

Later in 1957, Muddy Waters put his own spin on the arrangement and changed the lyrics just slightly. His most famous version of the song was actually recorded live in 1960 and this version received several awards from various publications and organizations.

At this point, it is now a blues standard and is a great one to add to your repertoire for blues jams and playing with other musicians. Check out a longer lesson here.

42. Green Onions | Booker T. and the MG's

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate 

"Green Onions" was first released on Stax Records in October 1962 as the title track on the ...

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21. Boogie Chillen | John Lee Hooker

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate

Discover this iconic blues jam by John Lee Hooker. This one uses a capo and is in an open A tuning. Check out a longer post about it here.

22. Boogie Woogie | Tommy Dorsey

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate 

Here’s a fun old-school blues in the key of E. The original riff was played on the piano in the key of F, but here is a great way to play it in the key E on guitar.

23. Boom Boom | John Lee Hooker

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate

John Lee Hooker originally recorded this tune in 1961, and music critics called it "the greatest pop song he ever wrote".

24. Born Under A Bad Sign | Albert King

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate 

The majority of this song is an 8-bar blues chord progression in the key of C#. It features biting leads and big string bends from the legend Albert King!

25. Bright Lights, Big City

Level: 🎸🎸Intermediate

Here’s a classic Jimmy Reed-style rhythm in the key of A. This gr...