Artists of the Classic Blues

Guitar Heroes

Albert King

albert king

b. 1923, Indianola MS. He played a right-handed guitar upside-down, which contributed to a a very distinctive guitar sound. Also a great singer. Though he dubbed himself to pick up on the B.B. fad, and though he can be smoothe and smart, he's no B.B. imitator at all, sporting his own great material delivered in an inimitable fashion. My bro Adam and I saw him in the mid-seventies: one of the best gigs I ever attended. born under a bad sign



B.B. King
b. 1925, Indianola, MS. Obviously one the greatest figures in the history of the blues, and perhaps the greatest still living. Much more urbane and smooth than the classic Chicago figures, and I would associate him basically with the city of Memphis. The author and performer of many a classic song, with a great voice and extraordinarily juicy and expressive guitar work: ultra-clean and subtle: the opposite, say, of Elmore James. Fifty beautiful years of the blues: an American genius.



Freddie King

freddie king

b. 1934, Gilmer TX. His biggest hit was "Christmas Tears," and supposedly he died of an ulcer on Christmas eve. His great, great instrumentals of the sixties, such as "San-Ho-Zay," are incredibly cool and beautifully played: reminiscent a bit of the surf masters such as Dick Dale. Actually a strong singer, though he'll always be associated with the masterful instrumentals. side tracked



Magic Sam

magic sam

b. 1937, Grenada MS. A great player associated with Chicago's west side in the 60s, Sam was also a great songwriter and especially, a great singer. love my baby



Otis Rush

otis rush
[photo by Per Ole Hagen]

b. 1934, Philadelphia MS. Been working since the 50s in a great Chicago mode: very strong playing and singing. Remarkably, he is perhaps better right now than ever. Dude: "Homework." homework What we have below is early, middle, late. The last is one of the best blues albums I own.



Mississippi Corridor to Chicago/Electrification, 50s and 60s



Howlin' Wolf

howlin wolf

b. 1910, West Point MS. The greatest, strangest voice the blues has ever produced: huge, haunted, ferociously intense. In his journey from the Delta to Memphis to Chicago he gathered and made great material and great side men, and by the time he was recording for Chess in the fifties, he was second only to Muddy in fame and influence. Actually a pretty good harp player too: basic, but very expressive. evil



DVD and book:



Muddy Waters
b. 1915, Rolling Fork MS. I think he's the greatest blues artist, and I am not alone. A great writer. A great singer. Basic but strong slide. He was a Son House-type player in Mississippi who emigrated to Chicago and was one of the first to really electrify the Mississippi blues and create a hard strong electric sound. Many of the greatest players came through his band, such as Jimmy Rogers and maybe a dozen of the greatest harp players, especially Little Walter, in turn more or less responsible for electrifying that instrument, i.e. playing with a cupped mic. Got My Mojo Workin; Hoochie Coochie Man; I'm a Man; I'm Ready; Walkin Through the Park etc etc: songs with a perfect connection to and a perfect extension of the tradition. The shape of both blues and rock srom 1951 to the present is inconceivable without Muddy. He sounded great always: anything he ever recorded is well worth owning, if you ask me. I had the privilege of seing him shortly before his death, at the Bayou in DC, a high point of my life.



DVD and book:



Sonny Boy Williamson (II: Rice Miller)
rice miller
b. 1899, Glendora MS. First of all, he was a great, great songwriter (perhaps the greatest in the blues, along with Willie Dixon) and bandleader: consider "One Way Out" or "Help Me," both fundamental and innovative. And he was also a great harp player: very expressive and fundamentally "acoustic," (that is, he played in front of a mic rather than cupping). Really he sounds like he eating the harp, and once he has it's a voice. He has a great range of effects and riffs. He probably played with Robert Johnson in Mississipi in the thirties, then played the King Biscuit Time radio show out of Arkansas for decades. He didn't record until relatively late, but ended up recording for Chess in the fifties and early sixties, making perfect, classic sides.



Delta and East Texas, 20's/30's

Son House

A great Delta bluesman. An incredible way of beating the guitar as if it was his wife, with dark, dark lyrics sung strong. Tortured throughout his life by the contest between being a preacher and a bluesman, between sin, redemption, and sin. A fundamental influence on everyone who came after, including R. Johnson. Rediscovered in the sixties, when he made a series of new, excellent, recordings. death letter. white stripes: death letter



Skip James

Critics long ago found the right word: "haunting." It's a strange high falsetto that is at once beautiful and tortured, like the ghost of Marilyn Monroe (or something). An excellent guitar player who was recovered in the sixties, his early recordings are fundamental for an understanding of the Delta blues, and the later stuff documents it in better recording quality. Cream caught it: i'm so glad



Blind Lemon Jefferson

b. 1893 Couchman TX. I can't think of BLJ without recalling a Sanford and Son episode in which Redd Foxx was trying to sell some old blues records by a horrible oldtime bluesman named "Blind Mellow Jelly." Anyway, keep in mind that BLJ's records were made a decade and more before R Johnson's. The sound is tough to hear through. But the music is of amazing suppleness, variety, and sophistication: he was a guitar genius, though not anywhere near the proto-rock aggressiveness of the Delta guys (he hailed from Texas). Leadbelly among others led him around and played with him. If only he'd lived to record in the fifties or sixties; he easily could havem except that a black snake was crawling in his room. matchbox blues



Blind Willie Johnson

b. 1902 Marlin, TX. The rediscovery of this genius has been tied to the breakdown in musicologists' minds between gospel and blues. All of Blind Willie's recordings are religious, and they are so intense, so dark, so perfect. Certainly one of the greatest documents of Afircan-American music of the early twentieth century. the recordings are also unusual in that they feature his various wives on excellent harmony vocals, often.

Robert Johnson
b. 1911 Hazelhurst, MS. It would be hard to say of any transcendent genius that he's overrated. But it happens, because he's the only artist of the place (Delta) and era (20s-30s) that many people have heard. A great songwriter and lyricist; nevertheless fundamentally working within a tradition. Many were earlier, though none was stronger. But others were as strong: Son House, Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, Blind Lemon Jefferson. Johnson deserves a singular place, however, for the way he played guitar, which is fundamental to rock and blues rock. Electrified, it is Elmore James, Clapton, and so on.



Tommy Johnson

b. 1896 Terry MS. Well-known in the twenties and thirties wherever the blues were. Here's a way to live and die for you: addicted to drinking Sterno. But one strong motherfucker: as pointed and powerful as Robert, though without perhaps the great material (as far as we can see from here). His influence has been ubiquitous: you can hear him in Howlin' Wolf, e.g.



Charlie Patton
b. 1887 Edwards, MS. The origuinator: the first hardass Delta bluesman of whom we have recordings, and by all (oral) accounts an original figure and a regional superstar. The stuff is very hard to listen to now, because of recording quality, and also because the vocals are downright primitive: "gruff" is the usual term. Of vast historical import, but you're going to have to be a fanatic to keep putting on the records. However: this is pretty great: spoonful



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