In the early 1900's a new form of blues began to emerge from the oilfields, ranches and lumber camps In Texas later to be called Texas blues.
In the 1920s, Blind Lemon Jefferson innovated the style by using jazz-like improvisation and single string accompaniment on a guitar; Jefferson's influence defined the field and inspired later performers like T-Bone Walker who B.B.King had this to say about Walker, "T Bone Walker really started me to want to play the blues. I can still hear T-Bone in my mind today, from that first record I heard, ‘Stormy Monday.’ He was the first electric guitar player I heard on record. He made me so that I knew I just had to go out and get an electric guitar.

During the Great Depression in the 1930s, many bluesmen moved to cities including Houston the home of Duke/Peacock records and Galveston were a club by the name of The Balinese was later influence to ZZ Top for their song Balinese. . It was from these urban centers that a new wave of popular performers appeared, including slide guitarist and gospel singer Blind Willie Johnson. Future bluesmen, such as, Lightning Hopkins and Lil' Son Jackson were influenced by these developments. Robert Johnson's two recording sessions both took place in Texas, although he was from Mississippi.

 In the late 1960s and early 1970s the Texas electric blues scene began to flourish, influenced by country music and blues rock particularly in the clubs of Austin. The diverse style often featured instruments such as keyboards and horns with emphasis on guitar soloing. The most prominent artists to emerge in this era were the brothers Johnny and Edgar Winter who combined traditional and southern styles. In the 1970s, Jimmy Vaughn formed The Fabulous Thunderbirds
 and in the 1980s his brother Stevie Ray Vaughn broke through to mainstream success with his virtuoso guitar playing, as did ZZ Top with their brand of Southern rock.