Who is the epitome of Blues, in your opinion?

McKinnley Morganfield aka Muddy Waters...2 cool names for the 1 man who epitomizes modern blues

It takes more than one. Blues is a genre, not a game with winners or losers. My favorites are Muddy Waters, Brownie McGhee, Son House, Howlin' Wolf, Willie Dixon, Big Bill Broonzy, Mance Lipscomb, Elmore James, Professor Longhair, Honeyboy Edwards, Josh White, Sunnyland Slim, Meade Lux Lewis, Frank "Sweet" Williams, BB King, Albert Collins and dozens upon dozens of others.

I do not consider SRV to be a bluesman. Death at a young age is always a great career move, as callous as I sound.

Cripes, not that Columbia Records-created myth about Robert Johnson selling his soul again. Has anybody ever LISTENED to the lyrics of "Crossroads"?

Nope- well, Martin Couch has and knows what I'm talking about at least. There's always hope!

1. Muddy Waters

2. BB King

3. Etta

Robert Johnson,Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee

I think of the blues as more of a living thing. That has evolved looong before the USA pimped it. The church tried to shut it down, but the spirit moves. So yeah blues can be studied and licks mapped out. I love the blues because it's familiar yet new every time.

Robert Johnson.

John Lee Hooker

Muddy Waters

Buddy Guy

Sorry I just could not just give 1...really there are a few others that also come to mind..but I will stop.

B B King. He is the one who has both style and substance. More so than anyone else.

While it's almost impossible to choose just one, especially when there are so many that really defined Blues, nobody can deny that, when someone talks about Blues, a few choice people come to everyone's mind. I guess which one someone picks is attuned to their individual tastes, but in my humble opinion, the following are most of the leaders, the "blues household names", (in good reason!) and here's why...

Some might say:

B.B. KING!! He's the Ambassador to the Blues. He's been playing the Blues for 60-someodd years and is a household name. Many people who think of Blues think of B.B. And rightfully so. His unique style of playing is beautiful, and he's very well known for being an incredibly likable guy. Born in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, where blues began, working the fields, playing his guitar, working a long road to his massive popularity. Heck, he's a 15 TIME Grammy award winner. When many people think of Blues they think of B.B.

Others:

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN!! He stood on the shoulders of Blues giants like Blues rockers T-Bone Walker, Albert Collins, Buddy Guy, among others. And even though some argue that he's more rock than Blues, there's no denying he was singularly responsible for a huge resurgence of Blues popularity in the 80s and 90s, and exposed an entire generation to the beauty and wonder of the Blues.

Still others:

BUDDY GUY! He played at the greatest Blues record label that ever existed: Chess Records. He sat in as a young man with the greatest Blues men of all time, (and impressed 'em!) Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, Junior Wells, Otis Rush, and many many others. He was a massive influence on Jimi Hendrix as well as SRV. His shredding, rip roaring, larger-than-life guitar style has won him 5 Grammys, more nominations, and over 20 Blues Music Awards. He is one of the most popular Bluesmen alive, and in good reason. He's every bit that good.

Of course, nobody can dismiss MUDDY WATERS!!

Muddy... IS... Blues. He was the biggest link from the Delta country sound to that huge Chicago Blues sound, both of which made rock what it is today. Ne was a true delta bluesman, running moonshine and working in cotton fields and playing guitar on the front porch of a 1-room shack. Muddy's Blues was "the hardest in the world to play", and his skill is legendary, not to mention is song repertoire. So many bands, especially from England, have gained HUGE popularity with him as their main influence, probably the greatest being The Rolling Stones. He's a household name and when people think Blues, they think Muddy. Because Muddy is blues, through and through.

And finally others, like Eric Clapton, might say:

ROBERT JOHNSON. Hands down. He only recorded 29 different songs, but his legend, not to mention his exquisite playing, make him one of the most influential Bluesmen to have ever lived. He sold his soul to the devil at the crossroads to play guitar better than any man, died mysteriously at 27, and the facts and fiction of his life have made him into a posthumous massive legend. His guitar style and his songs played a hugely influential role to folks like Led Zepplin and Eric Clapton, (whov'e covered some of his songs) not to mention countless Bluesmen. And a few of his songs are 100% Blues staples that nearly any blues player worth his weight knows. He lived the true life of a Bluesman too. Whiskey and girls, aimless traveling with a guitar on his back, making his way through a rough world.

Blind Willie Johnson!

The slide guitar on Dark Was The Night is just mesmerizing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNj2BXW852g