Vocals | All About Blues Music

T-BONE WALKER

T-Bone Walker has a good claim to be the first guitar hero. He put out the first electric Blues record and his eloquent phrasing and masterful command of this new instrument made him the prototype for millions that followed, even if they had never heard of him! He was a powerful singer and entertainer too:…

LIGHTNIN’ HOPKINS

Sam ‘Lightnin’ Hopkins was a master stylist of Blues guitar, who had an engaging talent for improvising humorous lyrics to his vast repertoire of songs. His complex guitar work had the flavour of early Texas Blues styles, and although his voice was dry and scratchy, his songs and the spontaneous stories he told at his…

STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN

In the early 80’s, the Blues had dropped from popular view again, but nobody did more to pick it up and shove it in people’s faces than Stevie Ray Vaughan. His bold, fiery leadership of power trio Double Trouble invited comparison with Hendrix, but his deep empathy for the Blues made guitar heroes and old-school…

CHUCK BERRY

Chuck Berry is a pioneer of rock and roll, who crossed the colour line and showed that this powerful new blast of youth culture had its roots deep in black music. His distinctive boogie-woogie flavoured double-string guitar riffs, charismatic ‘duckwalking’ stage act and witty lyrics showed young people all over the world that rock and…

SON HOUSE

When Son House was ‘rediscovered’ in 1964, he was a prized example of what the Folk/Blues revival fans had been searching for. The power and conviction of this old man as he slashed down on his battered resonator guitar, rolled back his eyes and gave out a big lungful of his Blues, left no doubt…

HOWLIN’ WOLF

Howlin’ Wolf was a scary man on stage. Six foot three and weighing over three hundred pounds, he would jump around, throw himself on the floor, twitch like he was having an epileptic fit and generally act as if he was in the grip of furious demons. His deep bass voice sounded like sandpaper on…

ELMORE JAMES

Elmore James was a genius of the slide guitar. His influence is heard in the work of almost every post-war bottleneck player, and the source of his inspiration is a classic example of ‘artistic transmission’. The 18-year old Elmore was already an accomplished guitar player gigging around his home area of the southern Delta when…

JOHN LEE HOOKER

The Blues player sits alone, his heavy right shoe stomping out a relentless beat that makes the bottle of Chivas Regal dance on the boards by his feet. He rips out vicious guitar lines full of bitterness and pain, while keeping up a solid, throbbing rhythm. His voice is rich, deep and weatherbeaten, dripping with…

CHARLEY PATTON

Charley Patton liked to put on a show. He could make his guitar sound loud and rough, playing it between his legs and behind his back. He leapt about the stage clowning around, sometimes beating the back of his guitar like a drum. His raw earthy voice reflected his hard living, his heavy drinking and…

FREDDIE KING

Freddie Christian was already an accomplished player when he moved from Texas to Chicago as a teenager in 1950. Son of JT Christian, the young man was taught guitar by his mother Ella Mae King and her brother Leon, and he had an eloquent and dextrous style reminiscent of T-Bone Walker, who was a big…