Classic Blues Songs You Can Play on an A Harmonica: Full Guide

Your key of A harp is very useful for blues songs.

A key of A harmonica is one of the most useful tools a blues player can own, because it has a great range of notes and fits for playing one of the most popular keys in the blues. It has been used by early country blues stars like DeFord Bailey and Sonny Terry as well as later blues legends like Muddy Waters and Little Walter. In fact, it has probably been used in blues music more than any other key of harmonica.

This guide focuses specifically on authentic blues songs you can play using an A harp because the original recording used one. The list below is a great resource for finding great blues songs that you can use your A harp to play.

A Quick Note on Positions

Most blues is played in 2nd position (cross harp). On an A harmonica, this means the key of E. I will indicate in the table below when the song is played in a different position.

👉 If you would like more information about positions, check out my Guide to Harmonica Positions.

Classic Blues Songs Using an A Harmonica

Here is a list of more than 120 blues songs by classic blues harmonica players, all of which use a key of A harmonica:

Title	Artist	Notes
A Funny Thing	Carlos del Junco	(12th position)
Ain't It Crazy	James Harman
Alcoholic Blues	DeFord Bailey
All Cried Out	Paul deLay	(3rd position)
Asked Her For Water	Howlin' Wolf
Baby Scratch My Back	Fabulous Thunderbirds
Baby	Little Walter	(3rd position)
Bell Hop	Carey Bell
Blowing the Blues	Sonny Terry
Blue Mood	Little Walter
Blues is Killing Me	William Clarke	(1st position)
Boogie All Night	Kim Wilson
Boom Boom, Out Go the Lights	Little Walter	Free Tabs
Bright Lights, Big City	Jimmy Reed	(1st position)
Bring It On Home	Sonny Boy Williamson II	Free Tabs
Bring It On Home to Me	Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
Can't Hold Out Much Longer	Big Walter Horton
Careless Love	Big Walter Horton
C-Boy Blues	Kim Wilson
Chicago Bound	Jimmy Rogers
Creeper Creeps Again	James Cotton
Cry Before I Go	Jimmy Reed	(1st position)
Davidson County Blues	DeFord Bailey
Diggin’ My Potatoes	William Clarke
Dirty Deal	Mitch Kashmar	(1st position) Free Tabs
Don't Get Around Much Anymore	Big Walter Horton
Don't Treat Me Wrong	William Clarke
Down at the Grocery Store	Jimmy Reed	(1st position)
Dust My Broom	Sonny Boy Williamson II
Ends and Odds	Jimmy Reed
Evans Shuffle	Muddy Waters
Evil	William Clarke
Extra Napkins	James Harman
Fast Life Blues	Charlie Musselwhite
Found Love	Jimmy Reed	(1st position)
Fourteen Dollars in the Bank	The Paul deLay Band	(3rd position)
Fox Chase	DeFord Bailey
Freight Train	Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
Got My Mojo Workin'	Muddy Waters	Free Tabs
Hard Hearted Woman	Big Walter Horton
Hate to See You Go	Billy Branch & The Sons of Blues
Heartaches and Pain	Carey Bell	(1st position)
Heaven's Where You'll Dwell	Carlos del Junco
High Temperature	Little Walter
Honest I Do	Jimmy Reed
Hoochie Coochie Man	Muddy Waters	(1st position)
How It Came to Be	Jason Ricci & New Blood
Hoof & Mouth	Mark Graham
Hootin' Blues	Sonny Terry
How Long	Leadbelly (feat. Sonny Terry)
I Ain’t Got You	Jimmy Reed
I Can't Quit You No	The Paul deLay Band	(3rd position)
I Got a Woman	Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
I Just Keep Loving Her	Little Walter
I Love The Life I Live (I Live The Life I Love)	Muddy Waters
Ice Water Blues	DeFord Bailey	(1st position)
It's Not Easy	Big Walter Horton
Jersey Bounce	Carlos del Junco	(12th position)
John Henry	DeFord Bailey
Juke	Little Walter	Free Tabs
Jump The Boogie	Papa Lightfoot
Just As Well to Kill Me	James Harman
Key To The Highway	Sonny Terry	Free Tabs
La Cucharacha	Big Walter Horton	(1st position) Fine Cuts album
Live The Life I Love	Muddy Waters
Looking to the Future	William Clarke
Lost John	Sonny Terry
Lovin' My Baby	Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell
Luedella	Jimmy Rogers
Mean Mistreater	Big Walter Horton
Mean Old Frisco	Sonny Terry
Moanin' At Midnight	Howlin' Wolf
Mojo	Carlos del Junco & The Blues Mongrels
Muscle Shoal Blues	DeFord Bailey
Mystery Train	The Butterfield Blues Band
Nineteen Years Old	Muddy Waters
Odds and Ends	Jimmy Reed
Oh What A Beautiful City	Sonny Terry
Old Jabo	Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
On the Road Again	Canned Heat	(6 draw tuned up one semitone) Free Tabs
One Monkey Don't Stop the Show	Sonny Terry
One of These Mornings	Little Walter	(3rd position)
Over Money	The Paul deLay Band	(3rd position)
Pan American Blues	DeFord Bailey
Pocket Rocket	Kim Wilson
Punchy	The Paul deLay Band
Reaching the Blues	Sonny Terry
Rock Me	Muddy Waters
Rocker	Little Walter	Free Tabs
Rocket 88	The James Cotton Band
Rockin' My Boogie	Big Walter Horton
Roll and Rhumba	Jimmy Reed
Roller Coaster	Little Walter	Free Tabs
She's My Baby	Kim Wilson	(3rd position)
She's So Sweet	Sonny Terry
She's Tuff	The Fabulous Thunderbirds
Ships on the Ocean	Junior Wells	(3rd position)
Smokestack Lightning	Howlin' Wolf	Free Tabs
Snake Dancer	Little Walter
Snatch It Back and Hold It	Junior Wells	(3rd position)
Somebody is Calling Me Home	William Clarke
South Bound Express	Sonny Terry
Spoonful	Howlin' Wolf
Telephone Blues	George "Harmonica" Smith	(3rd position)
Tell Me Baby	Big Walter Horton
Temperature	Little Walter
Temptation Blues	Big Walter Horton
That's All Right	Jimmy Rogers
That’s All Right	Sugar Blue
The Creeper	James Cotton
The Field	Carlos del Junco & The Blues Mongrels	(12th position)
The Red Cross Store	Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee
Too Late	Bacon Fat
Tryin' So Hard	William Clarke
Up Country Blues	DeFord Bailey
Walter's Boogie	Big Walter Horton	Free Tabs
War is Over	William Clarke
West Helena Blues	George "Harmonica" Smith
Whammer Jammer	The J. Geils Band
When I Get Drunk	Carey Bell
Whoopin' The Blues	Sonny Terry
You're So Fine	Little Walter

I hope this table has helped you to find some great blues harmonica songs to play. Why not check out my articles on other keys next?

Blues Songs for C Harmonica

Blues Songs for D Harmonica

Blues Songs for G Harmonica

Blues Songs for Bb Harmonica

Blues Songs for F (and low F) Harmonica

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