Z.Z. Top and Stevie Ray Vaughn are playing music that, although it sounds blues-y, is blues more in label than in purity. Because of a preponderance of white blues artists today, people might assume that it was always that way. That is not the case. Most people want something to just sound blues-y. But regardless of how popular pseudo-blues artists become, there will always be fans that dig for the roots and traditions of the music.
Taste is one thing, but the facts are another.
Living Blues magazine, which is based in Mississippi, has often addressed the issue of the legitimacy of white blues artists. A controversy was recently sparked within the magazine's letters section by readers responding to a cover photo of blues duo Satan and Adam. Adam was the first white artist ever to be featured on the cover of Living Blues, David Nelson, editor of the magazine, said. The photo ran a few months ago. Some readers wrote in complaining that it was about time, after 27 years of the magazine's publication, that a white artist appeared on the cover.