Sometimes the line between blues, soul, and R&B is kinda fuzzy, and so it is with Bobby "Blue" Bland. His uptown, big band style helped introduce horns and pop signatures to the blues and was crucial in pointing the way to the 60's soul style dominated by his hometown, Memphis. Bland got his start in the early 50's, but his recordings for Don Robey's Duke label late in the decade and early in the next are revelatory. His Two Steps From The Blues (1961) is a bona fide classic of the genre, a landmark in urban blues history.

That entire album, plus a whole lot more, is included on an historic series of three 2-disc sets on MCA, The Duke Recordings (now deleted), that exhaustively document Bland's career from the early 50's to the late 60's. Those three packages, I Pity The Fool, Turn On Your Love Light, and That Did It are the definitive Bobby "Blue" Bland.

For an even broader overview (and one that doesn't require a second mortgage), pick up Greatest Hits Vol. 1: The Duke Recordings and Greatest Hits Vol. 2: The ABC-Dunhill/MCA Recordings or Universal's nearly identical 2-disc set, The Anthology (my personal choice). Finally, British label Ace's The Voice: Duke Recordings 1959-69 is fine for folks who just want a taste.