Further on Up the Road

Bobby Blue Bland recorded Further On Up the Road in Houston in 1957 for Duke, with Joe Scott directing the arrangement and Pat Hare playing the sharp lead guitar fills. Don Robey produced the session and issued the record during Blands breakthrough run on Duke. Released by Duke in 1957, Further On Up the Road became Blands first major hit and reached number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart. Its mixture of gospel-styled vocal phrasing, blues guitar, and polished horn arrangement helped define Blands mature sound. Further On Up the Road became one of Blands signature songs and a major blues and soul standard. Later versions by Eric Clapton, Roy Buchanan, Joe Bonamassa, and many others kept the song prominent in blues-rock and modern blues repertoires.