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I’ve always been a Ry Cooder fan. His name appears several times in the book Boogie Man – The Adventures of John Lee Hooker in the 20th century” by Charles Shaar Murray and this peaked my interest in blues tunes Ry Cooder may have recorded. Ry was one of a cast of many stars on the John Lee Hooker album Mr. Lucky and a quick search shows many blues tunes in the Ry Cooder MP3s on Amazon.com. Ry’s first two albums would have you believe he was to be a new generation blues artist and truth be told he is frequently recruited for his talents in this area. His first album “Into the Purple Valley” included tracks by Leadbelly and Blind Willie Johnson. Here are some previews of MP3′s available from those first two albums:

You’ll notice some mandolin on those preview and indeed in addition to an accomplished guitar play Ry is also an accomplished mandolin player. Here is a wonderful clip of Ry Cooder blues mandolin that also includes many fascinating facts about Ry Cooder.

RY Cooder also played mandolin in Love in Vain by the Rolling Stones. Ry was recognized by all as an excellent musician recording with many popular artists. His earliest recordings are playing slide guitar with the inovative Captain Beefheart. He played with Little Feat, John Lee Hooker, Taj Mahal, several times with The Rolling Stones and also on Randy Newman’s first album. Ry was also responsible for the Crossroads Movie Soundtrack and appeared in the Buena Vista Social Club sound track. I’m sure this only scratches the surface of Ry’s impact on modern music. Indeed it only addresses one of several genres he has been associated with.

Ry’s musical abilities also impressed some other innovator in the recording industry. I remember, long before my obsession with computers started, being blown away with the sound quality on Ry Cooder’s album Bob Till You Drop. This album was proudly displayed in my collection not only because of its excellent sound quality and unique musical qualities but it also sported a special DDD insignia on the back indicating Digital recording, Digital transfer and Digital final master. I believe Ry Cooders Bop Till You Drop may have been the first DDD recording available and represented state of the art recording quality in its day. So Still my favorite Ry Cooder album is still Bop Till You Drop and I don’t think this pick is just a sentimental favorite. I think most Ry Cooder fans would agree this was Ry Cooder’s finest to date.