Looking ahead: Sammy Eubanks, band host jams

Sometimes you just need a little blues infusion.

As musical styles go, the blues are infectious. The music gets in your system and you just need to hear ‘em.

No matter who first exposed you to this All-American genre, it can get in your blood and stay there for a lifetime.

Over the years, the blues influenced such diverse genres as ragtime, jazz, bluegrass, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, hip-hop, country and pop.

As a musician, the chord progressions of the blues are a foundation that opens doors to a myriad of other musical styles.

Bluesman Robert Johnson went down to the crossroads in the 1930s and, the legend says, made a deal with the devil to play anything on his guitar. Through just two recordings – in San Antonio in 1936 and Dallas a year later – he became a primary influence in the lives and music of generations of musicians despite leaving a library of just 29 songs.

Eric Clapton’s musical style was influenced by the blues in general and Johnson in particular. He covered Johnson’s “Crossroads” with his band, Cream, in 1969 and devoted an entire volume to Johnson with his 2004 release, “Me and Mr. Johnson,”

McKinley Morganfield, better known as Muddy Waters, took his Chicago style of the blues, an amplified, hard-rocking sound, to England in 1958 and was an inspiration. The Rolling Stones took their name from his 1950 recording “Rollin’ Stone,” as did the magazine “Rolling Stone.”

Early Rock ‘n’ Roll legends Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry both learned their licks by playing the blues, inspiring Bill Haley and the Comets and Elvis Presley in the process.

Which all means one thing: you probably already know and love “The Blues,” whether you’ve ever sat down and listened to an actual blues musician.

So here’s a great opportunity:

Local bluesman Sammy Eubanks and his band have opened for long list of recording artists, from fellow blues musician Susan Tedeschi to country artists Kenny Chesney, Sawyer Brown, Michelle Wright, Merle Haggard, Patty Loveless, Tracy Bird, LeeRoy Parnell, Elvin Bishop and Diamond Rio.

Sammy and the band host a jam session every Sunday at 8 p.m. at Ripley’s Plantation, 8122 E. Sprague Ave. Musicians are invited to bring their ax and join in the music-making.

Eubanks and Steve Starkey jam together every Monday night at 8 p.m.

Jammin’ the blues is a tradition. Sitting in with the musicians is as much a rite of passage as it is a chance to learn. It’s where the art form started and how it grew.

And it’s a musical treat you just need to indulge on a regular basis.