| Chicago blues | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | 20th century, Chicago, U.S. |
Chicago blues is a form ofblues music that developed inChicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such asDelta blues, but is performed in anurban style. It developed alongside theGreat Migration of African Americans of the first half of the twentieth century. Key features that distinguish Chicago blues from the earlier traditions, such as Delta blues, are the prominent use of electrified instruments (especially theelectric guitar), and the use of electronic effects, such asdistortion and overdrive.
Muddy Waters, often acknowledged as the “father” of Chicago blues, was a colleague of Delta blues musiciansSon House andRobert Johnson.[1] He migrated to Chicago in 1943, joining the establishedBig Bill Broonzy, where they developed a distinct style of the Chicago blues, which hit its peak around the late 1940s and early 1950s.[2] Joined by artists such asWillie Dixon,Howlin' Wolf, andJohn Lee Hooker, Chicago blues reached an international audience by the late 1950s and early 1960s, directly influencing not only the development of earlyrock and roll musicians such asChuck Berry andBo Diddley, but also reaching across the Atlantic to influence bothBritish blues and earlyhard rock acts such asEric Clapton, theRolling Stones, andLed Zeppelin. Prominent record labels such asVee-Jay Records andChess Records helped promote and spread the style. TheChicago Blues Festival has been held annually since 1984, on the anniversary of Muddy Waters' death, as a means of preserving and promoting Chicago blues.
Chicago blues evolved from rural Delta blues following theGreat Migration, or the Great Northern Drive, which was both forced and voluntary at times, of African Americans from the southern U.S. to the industrial cities of the north, such as Chicago.Big Bill Broonzy andMuddy Waters directly joined that migration, like many others, escaping the harsher southernJim Crow laws and in search of better jobs and a more promising life in the North.Bruce Iglauer, founder ofAlligator Records stated that, "Chicago blues is the music of the industrial city, and has an industrial sense about it." Additionally, recognizing the shift in blues, Chicago blues singer and guitarist Kevin Moore expressed the blues transition stating, "You have to put some new life into it, new blood, new perspectives. You can't keep talking about mules, workin' on the levee."[3]Chicago blues was heavily influenced by Mississippi bluesmen who traveled to Chicago in the early 1940s. Moving from the rural, agrarian South to the urban, industrial North, the country style of Delta blues was no longer suited to the metropolitan culture of Chicago or the modern, working-class African American audiences. Thus, the formation of a new sound in the Chicago blues was a direct product of the Great Migration.[1]
Chicago blues is based on the sound of the solid-body electric guitar and the harmonica, with the harmonica played through aPA system or guitar amplifier, both loudly amplified, often to the point of distortion, and a heavy rhythm section of drums and bass (double bass at first, and later electric bass guitar) with piano depending on the song or performer. The Delta blues was traditionally played in quiet, close-knit settings, either solo or with just one or two other musicians. However, when the music moved to Chicago, these musicians had to adapt to stay relevant. Whether performing in noisy, crowded nightclubs or on bustling street corners, Chicago blues players had to adopt a more aggressive tone, switching from acoustic to electric instruments in order to be heard at these loud venues. Additionally, these performances now included drums, bass, guitars, and vocalists playing as a cohesive ensemble. With this larger, more coordinated band came the need for a standardized structure, leading to the widespread adoption of the standard 12-bar blues progression in Chicago blues.[1]
Urban blues started in Chicago andSt. Louis, as music created by part-time musicians playing asstreet musicians, atrent parties, and other events in the black community. For example,bottleneck guitaristKokomo Arnold was a steelworker and had amoonshine business that was far more profitable than his music.[4]
An early incubator for Chicago blues was the open-air market onMaxwell Street, one of the largest open-air markets in the nation. Residents of the black community would frequent it to buy and sell just about anything. It was a natural location for blues musicians to perform, earn tips, and jam with other musicians. The standard path for blues musicians was to start out as street musicians and at house parties and eventually make their way to blues clubs. The first blues clubs in Chicago were mostly in predominantly black neighborhoods on theSouth Side, with a few in the smaller black neighborhoods on theWest Side. New trends in technology, chaotic streets and bars adding drums to an electric mix, gave birth to a new club culture. One of the most famous was Ruby Lee Gatewood's Tavern, known by patrons as "The Gates". During the 1930s virtually every big-name artist played there.[5]
Born largely out of the rough environment of Chicago’s Black ghettos, the energetic, hard-edged sound of the electric Chicago blues both emerged from and mirrors the conditions in which it developed. As a result, listeners outside this setting often reacted to Chicago blues with confusion or even opposition.[6] Shaped by its environment, the style and performance of the Chicago blues also varied across different parts of the city. Musicians on the West Side developed a smoother style with stronger jazz influences, while those on the South Side tended to play with a rawer, more aggressive tone.[7]
What drove the blues to international influence was the promotion of record companies such asParamount Records,RCA Victor, andColumbia Records.[8] Through such record companies Chicago blues became a commercial enterprise. The new style of music eventually reached Europe and the United Kingdom. In the 1960s, young British musicians were highly influenced by Chicago blues resulting in theBritish blues movement.
According toChristgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Chicago blues saw its best documentation during the 1970s thanks in part to Alligator Records and its owner Bruce Iglauer, described byRobert Christgau as a "folkieLeonard Chess".[9]
Chicago blues was one of the most significant influences on early rock and metal music.Chuck Berry originally signed withChess Records—one of the most significant Chicago blues record labels. Berry met and was influenced by Muddy Waters in Chicago and Waters suggested he audition for Chess.Willie Dixon and other blues musicians played on some of Berry's early records.[10] In the UK in the early 1960s,beat groups,[11] such asthe Yardbirds andthe Animals (dubbed theBritish invasion in the US), were heavily influenced by Chicago blues artists.[12][13][14] The last two served as backing musicians forSonny Boy Williamson II and made their first recordings with him when he toured England in 1963 and 1964.[15] Some British groups regularly performed Chicago blues songs, including Howlin' Wolf's “Smokestack Lightning," which was a staple in their live sets. Moreover, both theRolling Stones andRolling Stone Magazine took their names from one of Muddy Waters’s most popular songs, "Rollin' Stone,” which he released in 1950.[7] American artists, such as thePaul Butterfield Blues Band (who included two members ofHowlin' Wolf's band),[16]John P. Hammond, andCharlie Musselwhite performed in the style of Chicago blues. Later,Cream,Rory Gallagher,[17] andthe Allman Brothers Band also pursued their own interpretations of Chicago blues songs and helped popularizeblues rock.
While attending a nightclub in Chicago in 1955, Berry met his idol Muddy Waters and asked Waters where he might be able to cut a record. Waters directed him to Leonard Chess of Chess Records
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