The BluesGraphically

Organizing the

Major Styles

Blues Style

Geographic

Location

Instruments Used

(style)

Characteristics/

Interesting Facts

Important Artists

_______________

Artists Influenced

Delta Blues Mississippi River Delta

NW Mississippi

Louisiana

Clarksdale

Almost entirely guitar

Finger-picking with a

possible slide

12-Bar / AAB Lyrics

Harmonica &/or piano

Poor black sharecroppers and

former slaves

Virtually always a solo act

“original” blues format

1st “traditional” artists to be

recorded

Charlie Patton

Robert Johnson

Son House

Bukka White

Tommy Johnson

Influenced

Eric Clapton

Jimi Hendrix

The White Stripes

Rolling Stones

Led Zeppelin

Texas Blues• Texas

– Dallas and southeastward

– Houston

– Galveston

• Unaccompanied guitar

• Considered early “Country” today [with a

Swing Feel –remember Bob Wills]

• Suffered with lull from Great Depression

and lack of popular talent

• Blind Lemon

Jefferson

• Big Mama Thornton

• T-Bone Walker

INFLUENCED

• Johnny Winston

• ZZ Top

• Stevie Ray

Vaughan

“Classic” Blues Deep South

• Traveling music shows

• Medicine Shows

• Tent Shows

Traveling Minstrelsy

Horns

Pianos

Drums

1920s, Dawn of the Recording Industry

Female dominated like the Delta Blues were dominated by males

Created an interest to record more [traditional] blues artists

Mamie Smith

Ma Rainey

Bessie Smith

INFLUENCED

Janis Joplin

Susan Tedeschi

Piedmont Blues• Southeast [Coastal]

– Virginia

– Carolinas

– east Tennessee

• Collectively known as

Appalachia

• Mostly acoustic guitar

• Finger-picking multiple

strings simultaneously

• Alternating thumb-base

string in syncopated fashion

• Upbeat and danceable

• Popular from early 1920s to post-WWII

• Heavily influenced by Ragtime

– Lessened its impact on later electric blues bands

and Rock n Roll

– Directly influenced Rockabilly and Folk Revival

scene [banjo based]

• Rev. Gary Davis

• Blind Boy Fuller

• Blind Blake

• Willie Walker

• Buddy Moss

• Sonny Terry

• Brownie McGhee

• Josh White

Chicago Blues• Chicago

– Southside

– Maxwell St.

– 2120 S. Michigan Ave.

• Home to Chess Records

• Electric guitar [picks]

• Amplified voices

• Bass

• Drums

• Sometimes horns

• Great migration; when thousands of poor

southerners moved north in hopes of finding

better conditions and work.

• Development of Chess Records, one of the

greatest blues labels

– Played major role in ushering in Rock n’ Roll

• Muddy Waters

• Howlin’ Wolf

• Willie Dixon

• Little Walter

INFLUENCED

• Chuck Berry

• Bo Didley

• John Lee Hooker

• Rolling Stones

Soul Blues Memphis

– Less-regionally influenced

Electric guitars

Drums

Bass

Harmonica

Horns

Saxophone

Others…

Late 50s, 60s through 70s

Blues with other infused elements such as jazz and gospel

Heartfelt with soothing sounds

Spiritual music mixed with the urban contemporary

BB King

Ray Charles

Albert King

Bobby Bland

INFLUENCED

Otis Redding

Sam Cooke

Junior Kimbrough’s sons