Guitar | All About Blues Music

Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter)

Lead Belly was an enigma. Nobody could claim to have a wider repertoire; popular songs, dance tunes, blues and folk songs, prison ballads; the man was a human juke-box accompanying himself on guitar, mandolin, accordion and piano. Yet a man so rich in talent lived and died in poverty. In 1889 Huddie Ledbetter was born…

JOE LOUIS WALKER

A Legacy in Blues With a razor-sharp guitar tone and the soulful voice of a Blues legend, Joe Louis Walker was a powerhouse who continuously pushed the boundaries of the Blues genre. From old-school Blues classics to funk-driven dance grooves and gospel-tinged ballads, Walker’s music was as versatile as it was passionate. Leading his band,…

KIM SIMMONDS

Guitarist Kim Simmonds is the leader and founding member of Savoy Brown, the British Blues-rock band who rose to fame in the Blues Boom of the 60s, gathered a big following in The States and are still touring today. Kim has extended his boundaries by going back to acoustic Blues as a solo artist, and…

JJ CALE

JJ Cale took relaxed, long-legged boogie rhythms, combined them with tunes that had roots in the Blues, wrote light, clever lyrics he delivered almost in a whisper, and carefully hand-crafted them into hugely influential records. His subtle, understated guitar style is cited by many renowned players as a model of quiet effectiveness. John Weldon Cale…

LITTLE JIMMY KING

Little Jimmy King took elements of his mentor Albert King’s soulful guitar sound, the flash of Jimi Hendrix and the power-trio oomph of Stevie Ray Vaughan, to make a concoction of modern Blues that deserved wider exposure. Sadly, it was not to be, as he was taken before his time. Manuel Lynn Gales was born…

WC CLARK

Austin, Texas has a vibrant live Blues scene, enriched by the presence of WC Clark, whose solid Blues band and soulful voice have been a mainstay of the club circuit there for decades. As a bass player he has backed many legendary players and as a guitarist his elegant lines recall the laid-back, tasteful style…

KOKOMO ARNOLD

Kokomo Arnold is not well known today, but in Chicago in the mid-30s, he was a big player. The song that gave him his name, ‘Kokomo Blues’ was adapted by Robert Johnson as ‘Sweet Home Chicago’; ‘Dust My Broom’ came from another Kokomo song; and his ‘Milk Cow Blues’ has been covered by many artists.…

STUDEBAKER JOHN

Searing slide-guitar and howling electrified harp are the hallmarks of Chicago Blues, and Studebaker John is a home-town boy who is taking that tradition into the future. Inspired by Hound Dog Taylor and JB Hutto, John can thrash out a boogie while playing a lead-guitar line on top; he has a light but penetrating voice;…

BEN HARPER

Modern Blues players find appreciative audiences all over the world, and Ben Harper has travelled a long way from his local club scene in the last two decades singing his incisive, modern songs. He uses traditional Folk and Blues forms to address contemporary issues in his songwriting, and his guitar work, especially when he plays…

LESLIE WEST

Blues-Rock was one of the musical products of the sixties, when Blues music was at something of a crossroads, going on to form a cornerstone of modern rock music. The tectonically heavy sound of Leslie West’s band Mountain helped to give the genre a solid foundation. With a great vocal style and a trademark guitar…