Electric Blues (genre)

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Electric blues refers to any type of blues music that is played with electrical amplification of musical instruments. The guitar was the first instrument that found widespread use among blues musicians in its amplified version. Pioneers include T-Bone Walker in the 1930s, John Lee Hooker, and Muddy Waters in the 1940s. Their playing styles shaped the West Coast Blues , Detroit Blues and Chicago Blues . Little Walter had been a frequently engaged blues harp player since the early 1950s, playing his harmonica through a small microphone and guitar amplifier. Likewise, shortly after its invention, the electric bass replaced the double bass. Electric organs and keyboards are also widely used instruments.

Early regional developments

The blues - like jazz - was probably played with electric amplification as early as the late 1930s. T-Bone Walker is considered the first star of the electric blues. He combined elements from blues, swing and jazz in his long career. After World War II, electrically amplified blues music became popular in American cities that were marked by an influx of African Americans , such as: B. Chicago , Memphis , Detroit , St. Louis and the West Coast . The initial impulse for the genesis of the music genre was the need to be heard at loud rent parties . The bands mostly played in smaller bars, so that electric blues bands were mostly smaller than jazz bands. In the early stages, a blues band typically consisted of electric guitars , a double bass (which was gradually being replaced by the electric bass ) and a harmonica that was played through a microphone with a PA system or a guitar amplifier .

In the late 1940s, several Chicago blues musicians began using electric amplifiers, including John Lee Williamson and Johnny Shines . Early recordings were made in 1947 and 1948 by musicians such as Johnny Young, Floyd Jones and Snooky Pryor . The new style was perfected by Muddy Waters , who played with various small groups that featured a defining rhythm section and a harmonica. His I Can't Be Satisfied (1948) was followed by a number of other groundbreaking recordings. The Chicago blues is largely influenced by the Mississippi blues because many musicians from the Mississippi region migrated to Chicago. Howlin 'Wolf , Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon, and Jimmy Reed were all born in Mississippi and moved to Chicago during the Great Migration . In addition to the electric guitar, a harmonica and a rhythm of bass and drums, and sometimes a saxophone, played an important role. Little Walter , Sonny Boy Williamson (Rice Miller), and Big Walter Horton were the most famous harmonica players ( called blues harp by blues musicians ) in the early Chicago blues scene; the sound of the electric instruments with the harmonica is often considered characteristic of the electric Chicago blues. Muddy Waters and Elmore James became known for their innovative use of the slide guitar . The bassist and composer Willie Dixon played an important role in the Chicago blues scene. He composed and wrote many standard blues songs of the time, including Hoochie Coochie Man , I Just Want to Make Love to You (both interpreted by Muddy Waters) or Wang Dang Doodle , Spoonful and Back Door Man for Howlin 'Wolf. Most Chicago blues musicians recorded with Chess Records and Checker Records ; smaller blues labels during this period were Vee-Jay Records and JOB Records .

John Lee Hooker switched between acoustic and electrical styles several times in his career.

In the late 1950s the West Side style blues emerged, also in Chicago with main representatives such as Magic Sam , Jimmy Dawkins , Magic Slim or Otis Rush . West side clubs were often attended by a white audience, but the artists were mostly black or played in bands with white and black musicians. West side blues integrated elements of blues rock with a greater reliance on standard forms and traditional blues song structures. Albert King , Buddy Guy and Luther Allison shaped the West Side style, which is strongly dominated by an electric lead guitar.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra, ST Erlewine: All music guide to rock: the definitive guide to rock, pop, and soul. Backbeat books, 3rd edition, 2002, pp. 1351-1352.
  2. ^ EM Komara: Encyclopedia of the blues. Routledge, 2006, p. 118.
  3. ^ MA Humphry: Holy Blues: The Gospel Tradition. In: L. Cohn, MK Aldin, B. Bastin: Nothing But the Blues: The Music and the Musicians. Abbeville Press, 1993, p. 179.
  4. ↑ G. Herzhaft: Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press, 1997, p. 53.
  5. ↑ Leroy Pierson: Detroit Ghetto Blues 1948 to 1954. Nighthawk Records No. 104, St. Louis 1976, vinyl backside ( picture )
  6. ^ V. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra, ST Erlewine: All music guide to the blues: the definitive guide to the blues. Backbeat Books, 3rd Edition, 2003, pp. 694-695.
  7. ^ R. Unterberger: Music USA: a coast-to-coast tour of American music: the artists, the venues, the stories, and the essential recordings. Rough Guides, 1999, p. 250.
  8. ↑ G. Herzhaft: Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press, 1997, p. 95.
  9. ↑ G. Herzhaft: Encyclopedia of the Blues. University of Arkansas Press, 1997, p. 56.
  10. ↑ Victor Coelho (Ed.): The Cambridge companion to the guitar. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003, ISBN 0-521-00040-8 , p. 98.
  11. ^ EM Komara: Encyclopedia of the blues. Routledge, 2006, p. 49.
  12. ^ R. Unterberger: Music USA: a coast-to-coast tour of American music: the artists, the venues, the stories, and the essential recordings. Rough Guides, 1999, p. 256.
  13. ^ C. Rotella: Good with Their Hands: Boxers, Bluesmen, and Other Characters from the Rust Belt. University of California Press, Chicago 2004, pp. 68-70.
  14. ↑ Blues. In: Encyclopedia of Chicago. Retrieved August 13, 2008 .
  15. ^ C. Michael Bailey: West Side Chicago Blues. In: All about Jazz. October 4, 2003, accessed August 13, 2008 .