Editing Blues (section)

===1980s to the present===
[[File:Zucchero 01 trim.jpg|thumb|left|Italian singer [[Zucchero Fornaciari|Zucchero]] is credited as the "Father of Italian Blues", and is among the few European blues artists who still enjoy international success.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dicaire |first=David |date=2001 |title=More Blues Singers: Biographies of 50 Artists from the Later 20th Century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SPvhCgAAQBAJ |publisher=McFarland |pages=232–248 |isbn=9780786410354}}</ref>]]
Since the 1980s, there has been a resurgence of interest in the blues among a certain part of the African-American population, particularly around [[Jackson, Mississippi]], and other [[deep South]] regions. Often termed "[[soul blues]]" or "[[Southern soul]]", the music at the heart of this movement was given new life by the unexpected success of two particular recordings on the Jackson-based [[Malaco Records|Malaco]] label:<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visitmississippi.org/press_news/Malaco%20Blues%20Marker%20April%208.pdf |title=Malaco Records to be honored with blues trail marker |author=Martin, Stephen |publisher=Mississippi Development Authority |date=April 3, 2008 |access-date=August 28, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080910032302/http://www.visitmississippi.org/press_news/Malaco%20Blues%20Marker%20April%208.pdf |archive-date=September 10, 2008 }}</ref> [[Z. Z. Hill]]'s ''Down Home Blues'' (1982) and [[Little Milton]]'s ''The Blues is Alright'' (1984). Contemporary African-American performers who work in this style of the blues include [[Bobby Rush (musician)|Bobby Rush]], [[Denise LaSalle]], [[Sir Charles Jones]], [[Bettye LaVette]], [[Marvin Sease]], [[Peggy Scott-Adams]], [[Clarence Carter]], [[Charles Bradley (singer)|Charles Bradley]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecharlesbradley.com/#bio|title=Charles Bradley Bio|website=Thecharlesbradley.com|date=February 19, 2024 | access-date=13 January 2025}}</ref> [[Trudy Lynn]], [[Roy C]], [[Barbara Carr]], [[Willie Clayton]], and [[Shirley Brown]], among others.

[[File:Eric Clapton 2.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|[[Eric Clapton]] performing at Hyde Park, London, in June 2008]]

During the 1980s, blues also continued in both traditional and new forms. In 1986, the album ''[[Strong Persuader]]'' announced [[Robert Cray]] as a major blues artist. The first [[Stevie Ray Vaughan]] recording ''[[Texas Flood]]'' was released in 1983, and the Texas-based guitarist exploded onto the international stage. [[John Lee Hooker]]'s popularity was revived with the album ''[[The Healer (John Lee Hooker album)|The Healer]]'' in 1989. [[Eric Clapton]], known for his performances with [[John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers|the Blues Breakers]] and [[Cream (band)|Cream]], made a comeback in the 1990s with his album ''[[Unplugged (Eric Clapton album)|Unplugged]]'', in which he played some standard blues numbers on acoustic guitar.

However, beginning in the 1990s, [[digital recording|digital multi-track recording]] and other technological advances and new marketing strategies, including [[Music video|video clip]] production, increased costs, challenging the spontaneity and improvisation that are an important component of blues music.<ref>Aldin, Mary Katherine. In ''Nothing but the Blues''. p. 130</ref> In the 1980s and 1990s, blues publications such as ''[[Living Blues]]'' and ''Blues Revue'' were launched, major cities began forming blues societies, outdoor blues festivals became more common, and [[Tedeschi Trucks Band]] and [[Gov't Mule]] released blues rock albums. Female blues singers such as [[Bonnie Raitt]], [[Susan Tedeschi]], [[Sue Foley]], and [[Shannon Curfman]] also recorded albums.

[[File:ETTA JAMES.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|[[Etta James]] career spanned multiple decades, and she continued to impact the blues world into the 1990s with her powerful voice and ability to blend blues with soul, gospel, and R&B.]]

In the 1990s, the largely ignored [[hill country blues]] gained minor recognition in both blues and [[alternative rock]] music circles with northern Mississippi artists [[R. L. Burnside]] and [[Junior Kimbrough]].<ref name="msbluestrail1"/> Blues performers explored a range of musical genres, for example, from the broad array of nominees of the yearly [[Blues Music Award]]s (previously named [[W.C. Handy]] Awards)<ref>{{cite web|title=Blues Music Awards information |url=http://www.blues.org/bluesmusicawards/ |access-date=November 25, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060429073938/http://www.blues.org/bluesmusicawards/ |archive-date=April 29, 2006}}</ref> or of the [[Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Blues Album|Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary]] and [[Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album|Traditional Blues Album]]. The ''Billboard'' Blues Album chart provides an overview of current blues hits. Contemporary blues music is nurtured by several blues labels such as [[Alligator Records]], [[Ruf Records]], [[Severn Records]], [[Chess Records]] ([[Music Corporation of America|MCA]]), [[Delmark Records]], [[NorthernBlues Music]], [[Fat Possum Records]], and [[Vanguard Records]] (Artemis Records). Some labels are famous for rediscovering and remastering blues rarities, including [[Arhoolie Records]], [[Smithsonian Folkways Recordings]] (heir of [[Folkways Records]]), and [[Yazoo Records]] ([[Shanachie Records]]).