| Electric blues | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Blues |
| Cultural origins | Late 1930s,United States |
| Derivative forms | |
| Regional scenes | |
Electric blues isblues music distinguished by the use of electricamplification for musical instruments. Theguitar was the first instrument to be popularly amplified and used by early pioneersT-Bone Walker in the late 1930s andJohn Lee Hooker andMuddy Waters in the 1940s. Their styles developed intoWest Coast blues,Detroit blues, and post-World War IIChicago blues, which differed from earlier, predominantly acoustic-style blues. By the early 1950s,Little Walter was a featured soloist onblues harmonica using a small hand-held microphone fed into a guitar amplifier. Although it took a little longer, the electricbass guitar gradually replaced the stand-up bass by the early 1960s. Keyboards, especially electric organs and electric pianos, later became widely used in electric blues.
The blues, likejazz, probably began to be amplified in the late 1930s.[1] The first star of the electric blues is generally recognized as beingT-Bone Walker; born in Texas but moving to Los Angeles in the mid-1930s, he combined blues with elements ofswing music and jazz in a long and prolific career.[1] After World War II, amplified blues music became popular in American cities that had seen widespreadAfrican American migration, such asChicago,[2]Memphis,[3]Detroit,[4][5]St. Louis, and theWest Coast. The initial impulse was to be heard above the noise of livelyrent parties.[6] Playing in small venues, electric blues bands tended to remain modest in size compared with larger jazz bands.[6] In its early stages electric blues typically used amplifiedelectric guitars,double bass (which was progressively replaced bybass guitar), andharmonica played through a microphone and apower amp or aguitar amplifier.[6]
By the late 1940s several Chicago-based blues artists had begun to use amplification, includingJohn Lee Williamson andJohnny Shines. Early recordings in the new style were made in 1947 and 1948 by musicians such asJohnny Young,Floyd Jones, andSnooky Pryor. The format was perfected byMuddy Waters, who utilized various small groups that provided a strong rhythm section and powerful harmonica. His "I Can't Be Satisfied" (1948) was followed by a series of ground-breaking recordings.[7]Chicago blues is influenced to a large extent by theMississippi blues style, because many performers had migrated from theMississippi region.Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters,Willie Dixon andJimmy Reed were all born in Mississippi and moved to Chicago during theGreat Migration. In addition to electric guitar, harmonica, and a rhythm section of bass and drums, some performers such asJ. T. Brown who played inElmore James's bands orJ. B. Lenoir's also used saxophones, largely as a supporting instrument.Little Walter,Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller) andBig Walter Horton were among the best-known harmonica (called "blues harp" by blues musicians) players of the early Chicago blues scene and the sound of electric instruments and harmonica is often seen as characteristic of electric Chicago blues.[8] Muddy Waters and Elmore James were known for their innovative use of slide electric guitar.[9] Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters were for their deep, "gravelly" voices.[10] Bassist and composer Willie Dixon played a major role on the Chicago blues scene. He composed and wrote manystandard blues songs of the period, such as "Hoochie Coochie Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You" (both penned for Muddy Waters) and, "Wang Dang Doodle", "Spoonful" and "Back Door Man" for Howlin' Wolf.[11] Most artists of the Chicago blues style recorded for the Chicago-basedChess Records andChecker Records labels; there were also smaller blues labels in this era includingVee-Jay Records andJ.O.B. Records.[12]
In the late 1950s, theWest Side style blues emerged in Chicago with major figures includingMagic Sam,Jimmy Dawkins,Magic Slim andOtis Rush.[13] West Side clubs were more accessible to white audiences, but performers were mainly black, or part of mixed combos.[14] West Side blues incorporated elements ofblues rock but with a greater emphasis on standards and traditional blues song forms.[15]Albert King,Buddy Guy, andLuther Allison had a West Side style that was dominated by amplified electric lead guitar.[16][17]
Memphis, with its flourishing acoustic blues scene based inBeale Street, also developed an electric blues sound during the early 1950s.Sam Phillips'Sun Records company recorded musicians such as Howlin' Wolf (before he moved to Chicago),Willie Nix,Ike Turner, andB.B. King.[18] Other Memphis blues musicians involved with Sun Records includedJoe Hill Louis,Willie Johnson andPat Hare who introduced electric guitar techniques such asdistorted andpower chords, anticipating elements ofheavy metal music.[19] These players had an influence on early rock and rollers androckabillies, many of whom also recorded for Sun Records. After Phillips discoveredElvis Presley in 1954, the Sun label turned to the rapidly expanding white audience and started recording mostlyrock and roll.[20]Booker T. & the M.G.'s carried the electric blues style into the 1960s.
Detroit-basedJohn Lee Hooker pursued a unique brand of electric blues based on his deep rough voice accompanied by a single electric guitar. Though not directly influenced byboogie-woogie, his "groovy" style is sometimes called "guitar boogie". His first hit, "Boogie Chillen", reached #1 on the R&B charts in 1949.[21] He continued to play and record until his death in 2001.[22]
TheNew Orleans blues musicianGuitar Slim recorded "The Things That I Used to Do" (1953), which featured an electric guitar solo with distorted overtones and became a major R&B hit in 1954.[23] It is regarded as one ofThe Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll,[24] and contributed to the development ofsoul music.[25]
In the 1950s, blues had a huge influence on mainstream American popular music. While popular musicians likeBo Diddley[4] andChuck Berry,[26] both recording for Chess, were influenced by the Chicago blues, their enthusiastic playing styles departed from the melancholy aspects of blues and played a major role in the development of rock and roll.[27] Chicago blues also influencedLouisiana'szydeco music,[28] withClifton Chenier[29] using blues accents. Zydeco musicians used electric solo guitar andcajun arrangements of blues standards.
British blues emerged from theskiffle andfolk club scene of the late 1950s, particularly inLondon, which included the playing of American acoustic blues. Critical was the visit ofMuddy Waters in 1958, who initially shocked British audiences by playing amplified electric blues, but who was soon performing to ecstatic crowds and rave reviews.[30] This inspired guitarist and blues harpistCyril Davies and guitaristAlexis Korner to plug in and they began to play a high-powered electric blues that became the model for the subgenre, forming the bandBlues Incorporated.[30] Blues Incorporated was something of a clearing house for British blues musicians in the later 1950s and early 1960s, with many joining, or sitting in on sessions. These included futureRolling Stones,Mick Jagger,Charlie Watts andBrian Jones;Cream foundersJack Bruce andGinger Baker; andGraham Bond andLong John Baldry.[30] Blues Incorporated were given a residency at theMarquee Club and it was from there that in 1962 they took the name of the first British Blues album,R&B from the Marquee for Decca, but split before its release.[30] The model of British rhythm and blues was emulated by a number of bands includingthe Rolling Stones,the Animals,the Small Faces, andthe Yardbirds.
The other key focus for British blues was aroundJohn Mayall who moved to London in the early 1960s, eventually forming theBluesbreakers, whose members at various times included,Jack Bruce,Aynsley Dunbar, Eric Clapton, Peter Green andMick Taylor.[30] TheBlues Breakers with Eric Clapton (Beano) album (1966) is considered one of the seminal British blues recordings.[31] It was notable for its driving rhythms and Clapton's rapid blues licks with a full distorted sound derived from aGibson Les Paul and aMarshall amp, which became something of a classic combination for British blues (and later rock) guitarists.[32] It also made clear the primacy of the guitar, seen as a distinctive characteristic of the subgenre.[30] Clapton left to formCream with Baker and Bruce and his replacement wasPeter Green, who in turn (with the then Bluesbreaker's rhythm sectionMick Fleetwood andJohn McVie) left in 1967 to form Peter Green'sFleetwood Mac.[33] Incorporating elements of rock led these bands to a hybrid form known as blues rock.
Blues rock combines blues with rock.[30] With some notable exceptions, blues rock has largely been played by white musicians, bringing a rock sensitivity to blues standards and forms and it played a major role in widening the appeal of the blues to white American audiences. In 1963, American guitaristLonnie Mack had developed a blues rock guitar style, releasing several guitar instrumentals, the best-known of which are the hit singles "Memphis" (Billboard #5) and "Wham!" (Billboard #24).[34] ThePaul Butterfield Blues Band andCanned Heat were among the earliest exponents and "attempted to play long, involved improvisations which were commonplace on jazz records".[30] In the UK, blues rock was popularized by bands asFleetwood Mac,Free,Savoy Brown and the groups formed around the three major guitarists that emerged from theYardbirds, Eric Clapton,Jeff Beck andJimmy Page.[30]
After leaving the Yardbirds and his work with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, Eric Clapton formed supergroups Cream,Blind Faith andDerek and the Dominos, followed by a solo career.[30] In the late 1960sJeff Beck added elements heavy rock with his band,the Jeff Beck Group.[30]Jimmy Page formedthe New Yardbirds, which becameLed Zeppelin.[30] Many of the songs on their first two albums and occasionally later in their careers, were expansions on traditional blues songs.[30]
Janis Joplin,Johnny Winter, andThe J. Geils Band later popularized the style in the US.[30] The revolutionary electric guitar playing ofJimi Hendrix with the Experience andBand of Gypsys, influenced blues rockguitarists.[30] Blues rock bands likeAllman Brothers Band,Lynyrd Skynyrd, and eventuallyZZ Top from the American South, incorporated country elements into their style to produceSouthern rock.[35]
By the 1970s, blues rock had become heavier and more riff-based, exemplified by the work of Led Zeppelin andDeep Purple, and the lines between blues rock andhard rock "were barely visible",[36] as bands began recording rock-style albums.[36] The genre was continued in the 1970s by figures such asGeorge Thorogood andPat Travers.[30] Except perhaps for groups such asStatus Quo andFoghat in the UK, who moved towards a form of high energy and repetitiveboogie rock, bands moved towardsheavy metal and blues rock began to slip out of the mainstream.[37] More recently,the White Stripes,[38]the Black Crowes,[39]the Black Keys,[40]Clutch,[41]the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion,[42] andJoe Bonamassa have explored a more roots oriented, but edgier style.[43]
Texas had had a long history of major acoustic blues performers likeBlind Lemon Jefferson andLightnin' Hopkins, but by the 1940s many Texas blues artists had moved elsewhere to further their careers, includingT-Bone Walker who relocated toLos Angeles to record his most influential records in the 1940s.[6] His R&B influenced backing and saxophone imitating lead guitar sound would become an influential part of the electric blues sound.[6]Goree Carter's "Rock Awhile" (1949) featured anover-drivenelectric guitar style and has been cited as a strong contender for the "first rock and roll record" title.[44]
The state R&B recording industry was based inHouston with labels likeDuke/Peacock, which in the 1950s provided a base for artists who would later pursue the electric Texas blues sound, includingJohnny Copeland andAlbert Collins.[6]Freddie King, a major influence on electric blues, was born in Texas, but moved to Chicago as a teenager.[6] His instrumental number "Hide Away" (1961), was emulated by British blues artists including Eric Clapton.[45]
In the late 1960s and early 1970s the Texas electric blues scene began to flourish, influenced bycountry music and blues rock, particularly in the clubs ofAustin. The diverse style often featured instruments like keyboards and horns, but placed particular emphasis on powerful lead guitar breaks.[6] The most prominent artists to emerge in this era were the brothersJohnny andEdgar Winter, who combined traditional and southern styles.[6] In the 1970sJimmie formedthe Fabulous Thunderbirds and in the 1980s his brotherStevie Ray Vaughan broke through to mainstream success with his virtuoso guitar playing, as didZZ Top with their brand of Southern rock.[46]
Since the end of the 1960s, electric blues has declined in mainstream popularity, but retained a strong following in the US, Britain and elsewhere, with many musicians that began their careers as early as the 1950s continuing to record and perform, occasionally producing breakthrough stars.[47] In the 1970s and 1980s, it absorbed a number of different influences, including particularly rock and soul music.[47] Stevie Ray Vaughan was the biggest star influenced by blues rock and opened the way for guitarists includingKenny Wayne Shepherd andJonny Lang.[48] Practitioners of soul-influenced electric blues in the 1970s and 1980s includedJoe Louis Walker and most successfullyRobert Cray, whoseStrong Persuader album (1986), with its fluid guitar sound and an intimate vocal style, produced a major crossover hit.[47] VeteranLinsey Alexander is known for his original Chicago blues influenced bysoul,R&B, andfunk.[49][50]
Since her breakthrough commercial successNick of Time (1989),Bonnie Raitt has been one of the leading artists in acoustic and electric blues, doing much to promote the profile of older blues artists.[51] After the renewed success of John Lee Hooker with his collaborative albumThe Healer (1989),[52] several artists began to return to electric blues, includingGary Moore, beginning withStill Got the Blues (1990)[53] and Eric Clapton withFrom the Cradle (1994).[54]
| Musical form | |
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| Origins | |
| Regional styles | |
| Subgenres | |
| Fusion genres | |
| Lists | |
