Paul Butterfield Blues Band

The Paul Butterfield Blues Band nailed it right out of the gate with their smoking self-titled 1965 debut, which spotlights the blues-guitar genius of Mike Bloomfield alongside Butterfield's impassioned vocals and wailing harmonica, abetted by a rock-solid supporting cast of Elvin Bishop on rhythm guitar, keyboardist Mark Naftalin and Howlin' Wolf's rhythm section, Jerome Arnold on bass and drummer Sam Lay. The Butterfield Blues Band's first shot was the perfect set-up for the more exotic stylings of 1966's East-West, which finds them adding elements of modern jazz and the music of India, most notably on the landmark title track, which paved the way for much of the musical experimentation of the late '60s.