Do you believe the old cliche that you have to have lived a hard life in order to sing or play the blues efficiently?

As a guitarist, I just can't help relying on the blues, whenever I get the urge to write a guitar solo (unselfconsciously), it always comes out sounding very bluesly), I guess because for me it just sounds real.

I mean to a certain extent its really hard to say that every great blues singer has lived everything he/she sings bout. I feel that there are alot of sensitive and emotional musicians who havent necessarily been through the war, but still have the capacity to feel things, (all in all it could be the smallest incident, but everything effects people differently.[/b]

-Joseph, :).