“The thought process is, which notes should sting, which notes should moan, and how can I effectively express emotion”: From B.B. King to Eric Clapton and Otis Rush, the blues is the core element of Joe Bonamassa's playing

The foundation of virtually every genre of modern, guitar-driven music is the blues. I’m known as a blues-rock player, and even within the rockier side of my music, I always start and end with the blues.

For example, if I’m playing in the key of F, I will very often rely on melodic single-line figures that originate from my love of and time spent listening to single-note blues guitar improvisation.