If I wanted to go back earlier than Stones/Beatles/Elvis to their sources and inspirations, which albums/artists should I be listening to?

I’m not thinking so much of Jerry Lee Lewis and the stuff which was commercially successful, but the very original stuff before blues was popularised for the white mass audience.

Robert Johnson seems one place to start… anything else?

Muddy Waters is your man.

Woody Guthrie is awesome too. I got to see Ramblin’ Jack Elliot last year who blew me away.

I’m sure other people will have better suggestions, but
Howlin Wolf? (esp. the song smokestack lightning)
Muddy Waters?

as Lennon said before Elvis there was nothing so unless you want to listen to early blues i would not bother tbh

Before The Beatles and The Stones there was Elvis, and before Elvis there was people like this guy:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAa8BW_sR_c[/video]

And this guy, Arthur Crudup in 1946:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxHQUvCkV20[/video]

as Lennon said before Elvis there was nothing so unless you want to listen to early blues i would not bother tbh

That’s the kind of stuff I’m thinking of

MrNutt will tell you Robert Johnson.

listen to anything then they all sound the same 😉

Howling Wolf and Muddy waters are my choices though

Have you heard eric claptons, Robert Johnson cover album, its great. I prefer it to the originals.

Its called me and mr johnson.

Buddy Holly was apparently a big influence to the next gen.

Your local record shop is a good place to get lots of reasonably priced compilations of early blues and rockabilly

Big Bill Broonzy for blues, and for rockabilly, try googling the juvies – there’s a couple of tracks on YouTube. Very good drummer if I recall correctly 😳

going back to where it started

If you want to go back to where it all started then I think you’re probably going to have to go back to the French slave owners in Louisiana, who for their own delectation taught their slaves how to play (orchestral) musical instruments.

Bo Diddley, Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker.

Buy Keith Richards’ autobiography – it’s a good read and absolutely chock full of really interesting references as the bloke is a heck of an erudite Blues historian..

And not to mention, an astounding substance misuser!

as Lennon said before Elvis there was nothing so unless you want to listen to early blues i would not bother tbh

Well, considering Elvis was influenced a lot by the country swing that was all over the radio, you could do worse than check out people like Hank Williams.
Lennon could, and did, talk utter bollocks, and this statement is a clear example.

Add folk and skiffle to the above cited influences

Hank Williams and Howlin Wolf are great suggestions made already. Jimmy Reed, Ike Turner, Richard Berry and Elmore James are also worth some serious investigation.

Willie Dixon “influenced” led Zeppelin quite a bit.
Lightning Hopkins, blind lemon jefferson, Elmore James also worth listening too.
Son House is pretty good too, though he sounds a bit pissed in this version
[video]http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=QwjGytOVVQA[/video]

and how could I forget
leadbelly
[video]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=a6yCEsDsGx4[/video]

“He was the first person we had heard of from Britain to get to the coveted No. 1 in the charts, and we studied his records avidly. We all bought guitars to be in a skiffle group. He was the man.” — Paul McCartney
“I wanted to be Elvis Presley when I grew up, I knew that. But the man who really made me feel like I could actually go out and do it was a chap by the name of Lonnie Donegan.” — Roger Daltrey

OP may be interested in this:
http://www.juno.co.uk/products/497748-01.htm

Fats Domino – really, why has nobody ^^^^^^ mentioned him yet? – for the birth of rock’n’roll and for general 1940s rockage.

+1 for Big Bill Broonzy, also Sonny Boy Williamson’s ‘Killing me on my feet’

There are the old blues like Robert Johnsone, Muddy and Howling wolf were later [ 60s ] , or theres jazz like Jelly Roll Morton ,Jug bands or you could listen top the people that Elvis copied like Big Joe Turner .
If you go down the blues root Lightning Hopkins is good , or Sleepy John Estes ,Son House or Leadbelly .And no they don’t all sound the same , there’s a rich variety .

Howlin’ Wolf – 6’7″ and a huge chest. Brilliant sound;

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6KauaV1m_U[/video]

then there’s the whole stuff that came out of early Jazz;

Ray Charles;

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Thls_tMuFkc[/video]

Count Basie

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYLbrZAko7E[/video]

Old blues isn’t all misery and sexual euphemisms.

There’s drunken joy and downright filth too 😀

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhfPP-YUEMQ[/video]

“Check all your razors and your guns,
Do the Shim-Sham Shimmy ’til the rising sun.
Give me a reefer and a gang of gin.
Play me cause I’m in my sin.
Blame me cause I’m full of gin.”

You go girl…….

Or if you’re more spiritually inlined, you really need a bit of Sister Rosetta.
Later recording, but you get the idea:
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeaBNAXfHfQ[/video]

Bobby Fuller and the Bobby Fuller 5, namechecked by the mighty Clash

Bessie smith did a pretty filthy song about hot dogs too IIRC….

A jazz/swing player rather than blues, but Django Reinhardt is supposed to have influenced a lot of later rock guitarists.

+ 1 for Django Reinhardt , invented a whole new way of playing after his hand was injured in a caravan fire

Mississippi Fred McDowell
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=64T6ugyWXAA[/video]