Blues & Jazz

Blues Artists And Songs

Jan 26, 2012 blues music
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So You Want To Play The Blues. First Of All, You Need To Choose Your Style   by Jim Bruce

There can’t be many folks who watch a blues man perform a tear jerking riff on the guitar and not ache to make the same sound. There is something really cool about it that transcends the physical movements. It needn’t be super complex or showy – Lightnin’ Hopkins would often play an easy bass line that could make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. The first thing we have to do is choose which style of blues guitar we’d want to learn. This is important – you have a lot of practice ahead of you, and you need to be passionate about your chosen style.

When you say ‘ blues guitar ‘, various ideas will spring to mind for a wide variety of people, depending on their age and character. For many, the blues guitar of BB King and Stevie Ray Vaughan is the goal. Others search for the true authenticity of the original acoustic blues guitar. For the purposes of this discussion, I’ll group all the electric styles together and simply call it ‘ electric ‘ , as I’m really just interested in the foundation of all electric blues, acoustic blues guitar. What are the different styles of acoustic blues and how could we categorize them? We might do this according to technique, sound or location. In fact, where the guitarists where located appears to have had quite an effect on the regional styles, possibley because guitar players swapped ideas from each other. This is how regional musical styles developed.

Blues Guitar From The Delta

It’s supposed that Delta is the place where it all began, although it’s more likely that it originated in several areas at about the same time. Certainly, several mississippi blues men North to play in cities like Chicago or Detroit when it dawned on them that they could get paid playing blues guitar without working 16 hours every in the fields.

The early acoustic songs by Muddy Waters (Walkin’ Blues) is a fine example of this raw mississippi technique Incidentally, Muddy insisted that his version of Walkin pre-dated that of Robert Johnson.

The delta blues sound might be described as relatively simple, often basic and intensely emotional. The slide style of playing guitar was perfect for the area. The weather was often hot with high humidity, which played havoc with a wooden instrument’s tuning. Slide songs played in open tuning were easier to keep in tune, and additionally it was easy to adjust for tuning inaccuracy by adjusting the slide movement.

Pieces from this region picked in standard tuning were predominantly in the Keys of A and E, and used a monotonic bass line. The picking patterns were quite simple but powerful. Artists to research are Robert Johnson, Son House, Muddy Waters and Fred McDowell.

Over To Texas

The oil state has traditionally produced a steady stream of blues guitarists. In the days of the classic blues, some notable blues men originating from Texas formed a distinctive sound. A legendary figure, Lightnin’ Hopkins, played mostly in E and A, with a monotic bass style. However, his right hand thumb could move quickly and he was more inventive than the delta style. Lightnin’ penned many slow blues pieces in the key of E, but could easily up the beat for an audience that wanted to dance a while. In his prime, he easily packed the local halls and recorded often. However, after being ripped off by a recording manager, he forever after insisted that he got his pay before every gig. Check out the music of Mance Lipscomb, another Texas legend.

Carolina Men

It’s strange how certain regions had a large number of impressive blues men, as was the case in South Carolina. A lot of the music seems to be a crossover from Texas blues and complex ragtime styles, but that description is a bit too simple. Some players like Willie Walker and Pink Anderson were confident in playing the true alternating bass pattern normally associated with ragtime guitar, but others, like Floyd Council, could break out of the pattern whenever he wanted to reinforce some musical phrases in his music. It’s clear that these musicians learned from each other, as we can hear similar progressions in the work of Gary Davis, Fuller and Council. All of these blues men moved in the same circles. Scrapper Blackwell penned some fine examples of powerful songs with inventive progressions and inspirational words.

Ragtime Blues Guitar

Perhaps the most complicated style of all, the best exponents are true masters of the technique. Ragtime blues songs generally use chord structures in the keys of G and C, and featuring six or seven chords rather than the three or four associated with Mississippi or Texas songs in E or A. (Of course,there are the exceptions to the rule!) Other features are a distinctive bass pattern alternating between two or three strings, a melody picked at the same time on the treble strings and often lyrics punctuated by single string runs played with thumb and finger. Possibly the 2 grand legends of ragtime blues were Arthur Blake and Reverend Gary Davis. Blind Blake’s bass work was incredibly, often doubling up on the tempo and slipping his picking thumb between two strings, producing a highly rhythmic effect. Gary Davis could really play all styles – blues, gospel and ragtime blues.

Other performers, such as Big Bill Broonzy, employed a monotic bass picking pattern, but was much more inventive than the majority of the Mississippi blues men. He would play Tin Pan Alley type songs, ballads, and often cross over towards Jazz And ragtime in his approach. Broonzy developed a blues niche we could call Chicago swing.

About the Author

Jim Bruce’s acoustic blues guitar lessons are fast becoming the standard to reach for acoustic blues guitar picking.

Main website: http://www.play-blues-guitar.eu/
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Billy D and The Hoodoos – Somethin’s Wrong

’60s: Gold $19.99 Although it has no songs by the Beatles, the Who, Jimi Hendrix, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the Kinks, the Byrds, the Beach Boys, or a number of other artists who helped shape and define pop and rock in the 1960s, this generous two-disc, 40-track compilation does offer a fine sampling of the kinds of hits that dominated AM radio in the mid-’60s (there isn’t much here representing either the earliest or latest ends of the decade), running the gamut from girl group material (“My Boyfriend’s Back” by the Angels), folk-rock (“California Dreamin’” by the Mamas & the Papas), blue-eyed soul (“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers), Motown (“I Heard It Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye), poppy frat rock (“Come on Down to My Boat” by Every Mother’s Son) to psychedelic-tinged pop (“[We Ain't Got] Nothin’ Yet” by the Blues Magoos) and the truly singular (“A Whiter Shade of Pale” by Procol Harum). The end result is a pleasing and nostalgic journey into the heart of mid-’60s AM pop radio, minus some of the biggest guns. Still a lot of fun, though, even without them. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi

…I Listen to the Wind That Obliterates My Traces $55.98 Hardcore fans of 20th century music, be it gospel, blues, old-timey, sermons, folk, country, African, Asian, etc., have always been drawn to the Dust-to-Digital imprint since the label’s first box set, Goodbye, Babylon, issued in 2004; it consists of five CDs containing 135 religious songs recorded between 1902-1960, and another disc of 25 sermons cut between 1926-1940, all packaged in a wooden coffin-like box containing a 200-page book and cotton bolls for packing. Devotees of both the music and its fetishistic packaging have grown exponentially. The label’s latest chapter, however familiar its sonic contents may be, is one of its most mysterious, mercurial offerings yet. …I Listen to the Wind That Obliterates My Traces: Music in Vernacular Photographs 1880-1955 is compiled from the personal collection of interdisciplinary sound and visual artist Steve Roden. It contains a book of photographs of musicians — mostly unknown — and others related to the hearing of music. This beautifully hardbound book also contains two CDs containing 51 songs recorded between approximately 1914-1955, taken from 78s and acetates. The music ranges from the well known — Bradley Kincaid’s 1928 recording of “Froggie Went A-Courtin” and Ukulele Ike’s “(I’m Cryin’ ‘Cause I Know I’m) Losing You” — to virtually unknown sides taken from home recordings. This is all annotated by a lengthy poetic essay by Roden that attempts to create a social and poetic context from the ephemeral, and is underscored by epigraphs from writers from James Agee, Joseph Roth, and William Wordsworth to P? r Lagerqvist and Gerhart Hauptmann. The collection? s photographs offer no sense of context other than ? antique.? By contrast, the music, which is annotated inside the book, is situated inside particularly American frameworks — from folk and blues music to vaudeville and traditional pop. The rub between visual and aural lends the package its uneasy, but nonetheless intoxicating, strangeness. Pourin…

101 Blues Guitar Essentials $34.81 New – One of the last true bluesmen who learned from the old masters, Doug MacLeod is a man who has lived the music, survived the life, and now carries forward the tradition. A prolific recording artist, his songs have been covered by blues artists like Albert Collins and Albert King. On this two-DVD set, Doug shares a wealth of blues guitar secrets. Doug does more than show viewers 101 blues licks; he shows guitarists how to build a song from bottom-end root notes to advanced 8-bar and 12-bar b

101 Blues Guitar Essentials $34.81 New – One of the last true bluesmen who learned from the old masters, Doug MacLeod is a man who has lived the music, survived the life, and now carries forward the tradition. A prolific recording artist, his songs have been covered by blues artists like Albert Collins and Albert King. On this two-DVD set, Doug shares a wealth of blues guitar secrets. Doug does more than show viewers 101 blues licks; he shows guitarists how to build a song from bottom-end root notes to advanced 8-bar and 12-bar b

A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan $9.99 Unlike most tribute albums from the ’90s, A Tribute to Stevie Ray Vaughan isn’t a lifeless collection of piecemeal studio performances — it’s a fiery, living tribute, which is only fitting for a guitarist who shone intensely and brightly during his brief life. Recorded live in Stevie Ray’s hometown of Austin, TX, the album features many of Vaughan’s idols, friends, and admirers ripping through his most famous numbers. Many of these musicians — including his brother Jimmie, Eric Clapton, Robert Cray, and Buddy Guy — played with Stevie the night he died, which makes the record all the more poignant; also on hand are superstars like B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, Dr. John, and Art Neville. Although the memory and occasion remain bittersweet, the music on the album is simply teeming with life — everybody plays their heart out. Best of all are the collective jams at the end and the two new songs, “Six Strings Down” and “SRV Blues,” which were written in Vaughan’s memory. In short, it’s what a tribute should be — a celebration of life, not death. ~ Thom Owens, Rovi

Acoustic Masterclass: Acoustic Blues Solos, Book & CD $16.61 New – Each book in the Acoustic Solo Series contains complete transcriptions from the artists themselves in full standard notation and tablature. Performance notes are also included. The full original recording of each song is featured on the included CD. These 12 songs from Mike Dowling, Al Petteway, and Kenny Sultan provide complete overviews of solo blues guitar from gritty shuffles to rage and uptown swing. Titles are: Bottleneck March * Cascade Rag * If the Shoe Fits * Eureka Hotel * Fishin

Acoustic Masterclass: Acoustic Blues Solos, Book & CD $16.91 Used – Each book in the Acoustic Solo Series contains complete transcriptions from the artists themselves in full standard notation and tablature. Performance notes are also included. The full original recording of each song is featured on the included CD. These 12 songs from Mike Dowling, Al Petteway, and Kenny Sultan provide complete overviews of solo blues guitar from gritty shuffles to rage and uptown swing. Titles are: Bottleneck March * Cascade Rag * If the Shoe Fits * Eureka Hotel * Fishi

Acoustic Masterclass: Acoustic Guitar Solos, Book & CD $58.23 Each book in the Acoustic Solo Series contains complete transcriptions from the artists themselves in full standard notation and tablature. Performance notes are also included. The full original recording of each song is featured on the included CD. Twelve spectacular solo guitar arrangements, all in standard tuning (with a few simple variations), from David Cullen, Mike Dowling, Laurence Juber, Al Petteway, Doug Smith, and Kenny Sultan. The 12 songs provide an amazing overview of styles and techniques for solo guitar. From swing and blues to contemporary instrumental guitar styles, each piece will make a terrific addition to any solo guitarist’s concert repertoire. Titles: The 5:55 • Bahama Beach • Blue Counterpoint • Crest of the Revolution • Go Ahead and Play • Groove Etude • Indigo Blue • Midari • Nitpickin’ • Slippin’ and Drippin’ • Sunday Sonata • The Tempest.

Alan Price Songs: The House of the Rising Sun, I Put a Spell on You, Boom Boom, Is That All There Is?, Goin’ Down Slow $9.43 Purchase includes free access to book updates online and a free trial membership in the publisher’s book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: “The House of the Rising Sun” is a folk song from the United States. Also called “House of the Rising Sun” or occasionally “Rising Sun Blues”, it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans. The most successful version was recorded by the English rock group The Animals in 1964, which was a number one hit in the United Kingdom, United States, Sweden and Canada. Like many classic folk ballads, the authorship of “The House of the Rising Sun” is uncertain. Some musicologists say that it is based on the tradition of broadside ballads such as the “Unfortunate Rake” of the 18th century which were taken to America by early settlers. Many of these had the theme of “if only” and after a period of evolution, they emerge as American songs like “Streets of Laredo”. Alan Price of the Animals has claimed that the song was originally a sixteenth-century English folk song about a Soho brothel, and that English emigrants took the song to America where it was adapted to its later New Orleans setting. The oldest known existing recording is by Appalachian artists Clarence Ashley and Gwen Foster and was made in 1933. Ashley said he had learned it from his grandfather, Enoch Ashley. Alger “Texas” Alexander’s “The Risin’ Sun,” recorded in 1928, is sometimes mentioned as the first recording, but is a completely different song. The song might have been lost to obscurity had it not been collected by folklorist Alan Lomax, who, along with his father, was a curator of the Archive of American Folk Song for the Library of Congress. On an expedition with his wife to eastern Kentucky Lomax set up his recording equipment in Middlesborough, Kentucky in the house of a singer and activist called Tilman Cadle. On September 15, 1937 he recorded a performance by Georgia Turner, the… More:

Alfred’s Teach Yourself to Play Guitar: Blues Songs $54.95 New – Teach Yourself to Play Guitar is the fastest and easiest way to learn your favorite songs. With this exciting and fun format, youll learn all the chords, riffs, and guitar patterns for your favorite hit songs right away. For beginners of all ages, this program features over 100 minutes of high-quality, full-motion video instruction with eight hit blues songs from blockbuster artists. The program is perfect for acoustic and electric guitars and features digital audio-based files, not unreal

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