50+ Legendary 12 Bar Blues Songs – The Essential List

Blues music paved the way for many other genres of music we know and love. Although blues music has evolved over time, a fundamental chord progression called the 12 bar blues still lives on. 12 bar blues songs are comprised of 3 chords: the I, the IV, and the V and are played using a pattern that ultimately ends up being 12 bars long.

Now, although it’s called the 12 bar blues and theoretically the pattern should be 12 bars long, there is room for variation. Like anything in music, you can use the principles of a certain concept and then alter it to your liking. You’ll see that in a few of the 12 bar blues songs below, they all more or less follow the standard 12 bar blues pattern although certain songs have variations that you might not expect.

You’ll also notice that in the list of 12 bar blues songs below, I’ve included 3 columns:

1. Song title and Artist (linked to the song on Spotify)
2. Chords/Tabs from Ultimate-Guitar
3. Guitar Pro tabs / Songsterr tabs if GP was unavailable.

If you’d like to learn these songs faster I’d highly recommend checking out Guitar Pro. It is a great software that allows you to actually hear the tabs being played in real-time, thus giving you a better sense of rhythm.

Last update on 2018-01-16 // Source: Amazon Affiliates

I tried to incorporate songs from various artists into this list to give readers a little more selection. However, certain artists such as B.B King, Chuck Berry, and Little Richard were a few of the leaders in the creation of 12 bar blues songs. If you’re looking for more 12 bar blues songs be sure to check them out. Furthermore, if you’d rather have an officially tabbed book of blues songs, I’d recommend checking out these popular Amazon options:

• Blues Guitar Songs – Book with CD
• Blues Guitar Songs For Dummies
• Blues Songbook: Guitar Chord Songbook (Guitar Chord Songbooks)

Otherwise, check out the list of 50+ legendary 12 bar blues songs below and happy blues playing!

Song / Artist	UG Chords/Tabs	Guitar Pro Tabs
1. Pride and Joy – Stevie Ray Vaughan	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
2. Rock and Roll – Led Zeppelin	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
3. Tush – ZZ Top	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
4. Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
5. Going Up The Country – Canned Heat	Chords / Tabs	Songsterr Tabs
6. Hound Dog – Elvis Presley	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
7. Tutti Frutti – Little Richard	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
8. The Thrill is Gone – B.B. King	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
9. Crossroads – Eric Clapton	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
10. Ball and Biscuit – The White Stripes	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
11. I Got You (I Feel Good) – James Brown	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
12. Rock Around the Clock – Bill Haley & His Comets	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
13.  Something Like Olivia – John Mayer	Chords / Tabs	Songsterr Tabs
14. Bring It On Home (Intro) – Led Zeppelin	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
15. Give Me One Reason – Tracy Chapman	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
16. Red House – Jimi Hendrix	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
17. I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man – Muddy Waters	Chords / Tabs	Songsterr Tabs
18. Crosscut Saw – Albert King	Chords / Tabs	Songsterr Tabs
19. T-Bone Shuffle – T-Bone Walker	N/A	Songsterr Tabs
20. Rock and Roll Music – The Beatles	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
21. Move It On Over – George Thorogood	Chords / Tabs	Songsterr Tabs
22. Ice Cream Man – John Lee Hooker	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
23. Sweet Home Chicago – Robert Johnson	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
24. Viola Lee Blues – The Grateful Dead	Chords / Tabs	N/A
25. Still Haven’t found What I’m Lookin’ For – U2	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
26. Call Me The Breeze – Lynyrd Skynyrd	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
27. The Jack – AC/DC	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
28. Rave On – Buddy Holly	Chords / Tabs	Songsterr Tabs
29.Blues With a Feeling – Little Walter	Chords / Tabs	N/A
30. Dust My Broom – Elmore James	Chords / Tabs	N/A
31. Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
32. Stuck In The Middle With You – Stealers Wheel	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
33. Maybellene – Chuck Berry	Chords / Tabs	Songsterr Tabs
34. Kansas City – Wilbert Harrison	Chords / Tabs	N/A
35. Good Golly Miss Molly – Little Richard	Chords / Tabs	N/A
36. Boom Boom – John Lee Hooker	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
37. Mustang Sally – Buddy Guy	Chords / Tabs	N/A
38. Going Down – Freddie King	Chords / Tabs	N/A
39. Blue and Lonesome – The Rolling Stones	Chords / Tabs	N/A
40. Have You Ever Loved a Woman? – Derek & The Dominos	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
41. Mary Had a Little Lamb – Stevie Ray Vaughan	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
42. Strange Brew – Cream	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
43. Boogie Shoes – KC & The Sunshine Band	Chords / Tabs	N/A
44. I Can’t Quit You, Baby – Led Zeppelin	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
45. Baby What You Want Me To Do – Jimmy Reed	Chords / Tabs	N/A
46. Born Under A Bad Sign – Albert King	Chords / Tabs	Songsterr Tabs
47. Iceman – Albert Collins	Chords / Tabs	N/A
48. Rock Me Baby – Johnny Winter	Chords / Tabs	Songsterr Tabs
49. All Your Love – John Mayall	Chords / Tabs	N/A
50. Killing Floor – Howlin’ Wolf	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs
51. Ten Long Years – B.B. King	Chords / Tabs	GP Tabs

 12 Bar Blues Songs – In Summary

Hopefully, this list has given you a few ideas of 12 bar blues songs you can start learning. Once you play this progression a few times and get the hang of it, you’ll be able to very easily distinguish a 12 bar blues progression in a song. It’s a great chord progression that’s easy to play and has a ton of versatility options.

If you know of any other 12 bar blues songs that you think should have made the list, leave a comment below!

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