Blues Guitar: How this Type of Playing Influenced Many
The blues go back a long way, all the way back to the late 1800’s. Deep rooted in the south, the blues has been a way of self expression for many people. There have been many artists that have been involved in the blues, but most of the famous ones played guitar. To play blues on the guitar and have a good understanding you really need to listen to the guitarists that paved the way. I’m going to list a few artists that are on every top blues guitarists list of favorites.
Robert Johnson – If you don’t know who Robert Johnson is then you need to go and buy his album. He is widely known as the grandfather of rock and role and is considered by some, including Eric Clapton, as the most important blues musician who ever lived. All his songs can be found on one double album, he died shortly after recording them so there really isn’t a lot out there to hear. But what is out there is pure gold and probably some of the rawest and most expressive music you may ever hear. The man who made selling your soul to the devil a must for any guitarist is at the top of the list of must hear blues musicians. Clapton wasn’t part of the British Invasion but he is held up as a great guitar player
Muddy Waters – This guy is without a doubt a major player in the history of music. In the late 50’s he was touring England and provided the first exposure to what would pave the way for the british invasion. In 1958, during said tour, he gave the British their first exposure to amplified modern blues. The influence is quite obvious as pretty much every group that came out of England during the invasion was emulating his sound and style. If you take any guitarist from that era and ask him who his first real influence on the guitar was, there’s a real good chance they’ll be talking about Muddy.
John Lee Hooker – His guitar playing was very similar to the boogie woogie style often heard on piano. He had a very unique style of playing that wasn’t totally bound by a set rhythm and was accompanied by his almost spoken lyrics. Quite a number of his songs have been covered by some very influential artists and bands including Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, R.L. Burnside, the MC5 and the White Stripes, just to name a few. He has a signature sound that will forever be echoed in the blues.
