Taj Mahal

Taj Mahal has been doing his thing for quite a while now. This song of his, Linda Lu, is just a great, straightforward, to the point, blues song. It's a class example of when less is more. No crazy guitar soloing, not too much on the drums, a tight baseline, and a focus on the vocals. To me, the 'straightforwardness' of this song is unquestionably what makes it so great - even the two guitar solos are essentially a very simple repetition.
Taj Mahal has won two grammy awards - in the category of best contemporary blues album; and his musical genres encompass blues, reggae, Cajun, gospel, bluegrass, Hawaiian, African, and Caribbean. His African herbman cover is another good one… though it doesn't beat Linda lu… here it is:

Linda Lu