The final bit works around the 9th, another popular dominant extension, before landing on a classic minor 3rd. This lick doesn’t even touch a major 3rd, its minor pentatonic/blues to the core! That slightly unusual for Clapton, who loves to add those major flourishes.

I might be a little biased, but Jimi Hendrix is undoubtedly one of the greatest guitarists to ever live, if not THE greatest. He was immensely influential and is the original guitar god. This lick is lifted straight from one of my favorite blues intros ever, Red House.

If you listen to the original Red House, you’ll be able to catch this lick at 0:24 in the song, right when the band drops back to the root chord (I chord=B chord). This little blues lick has impeccible, unique phrasing and is a hidden gem among the many flashy and wild licks that Jimi was known to play.

Pretty much every guitarist knows about and appreciates Stevie’s work on guitar. He was a genuine guitar god with real soul. His solo in Mary Had a Little Lamb, originally by Buddy guy, shows his wonderful prowess on guitar.

The great thing about SRV was that he used unique, groovy, and sometimes funky flavors in his licks. A lot of blues is composed of single note lines, but this lick features a high E drone and a moving melody line that was just killer. Check out the solo in the actual song to get a feel for the lick.

Here is a classic double stop lick from the original old time blues legend Chuck Berry. The key to this lick is an early hit, just a hair before the 1st and 3rd beat that invokes a “push-shuffle” feel. The first lick is over the Bb7 chord, or I chord in Bb blues and features a full bend. The second double-stop is for the Eb7 chord or IV chord and features a half bend that lands on the major 3rd.

Check out Chuck’s great solo in his live version of Johnny B. Goode, he starts at 1:39 and you can hear the first I chord lick as he duck steps across the stage. You can also hear the IV chord lick as he does some interesting dance moves at around 2:01.

Eric Clapton is a modern but legendary guitarist with a knack for great blues hooks. While he may have gotten his big name fame with the release of his popular solo album Slowhand; true fans will remember him as the guitarist from the likes of The Yardbirds, Cream, and John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers.

This little C blues lick is classic Clapton blues shuffle. I emphasize shuffle because it is definitely the key to this lick. For a good example of this lick in use, check out Clapton’s solo in his Freddie King cover of “I’m Tore Down.”

Today’s lick is one of Otis’ favorite. In fact, I doubt I’ve ever heard one of his tunes that didn’t at some point feature this little dity somewhere in it. It has a unique whip-saw feel to it, and sounds very ragged. Classic Otis.

The lick is in A blues, and works best over the I chord, or root chord. It has a lot of bending in it, and they are located a little bit away from the base of the lick, so if your hand strength isn’t up to snuff, this lick will call you out.