Perhaps the most renowned style of acoustic country blues, Delta blues spawned from the Mississippi Delta region in the 1920s and is still spreading its influence all over the world. Its most heralded practitioner, Robert Johnson, with his haunting voice and nimble picking style, embodied the image of the lone, tragic troubadour whose only solace was to play the blues. The Depression ended the recording careers of most of the original Delta blues artists, but the blues revival of the '60s brought many of them back and helped them earn even more recognition than they'd originally enjoyed. Rock 'n' roll acts like the Rolling Stones and Cream were heavily influenced by the rhythmic styles of Delta blues.

Notable artists: Son House, Bukka White, Mississippi Fred McDowell