Texas blues
| Texas blues | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | c.1900s,Texas,U.S. |
| Other topics | |
| Blues rock,Southern rock | |
Texas bluesisbluesmusic fromTexas.As a regional style, its original form was characterized byjazzandswinginfluences. Later examples are often closer toblues rockandSouthern rock.
History
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Texas blues began to appear in the early 1900s among African Americans who worked in oilfields, ranches and lumber camps. In the 1920s,Blind Lemon Jeffersoninnovated the style by using jazz-like improvisation and single string accompaniment on a guitar; Jefferson's influence defined the field and inspired later performers. During theGreat Depressionin the 1930s, many bluesmen moved to cities includingGalveston,San Antonio,HoustonandDallas.It was from these urban centers that a new wave of popular performers appeared, including slide guitarist and gospel singerBlind Willie Johnson.Future bluesmen such asLightnin' Hopkins,Lil' Son Jackson,andT-Bone Walkerwere influenced by these developments.[1]Robert Johnson's two recording sessions both took place in Texas, although he was fromMississippi.
T-Bone Walkerrelocated toLos Angelesto record his most influential work in the 1940s.[1]His swing-influenced backing and lead guitar sound became an influential part of theelectric blues.[1]It was T-Bone Walker, B.B. King once said, who “really started me to want to play the blues. I can still hear T-Bone in my mind today, from that first record I heard, ‘Stormy Monday.’ He was the first electric guitar player I heard on record. He made me so that I knew I just had to go out and get an electric guitar.” He also influencedGoree Carter,whose "Rock Awhile" (1949) featured anover-drivenelectric guitarstyle and has been cited as a strong contender for the "first rock and roll record"title.[2]
The state'sR&Brecording industry was based inHoustonwith labels such asDuke/Peacock,which in the 1950s provided a base for artists who would later pursue the electric Texas blues sound, includingJohnny CopelandandAlbert Collins.[1]Freddie King,a major influence on electric blues, was born in Texas, but moved to Chicago as a teenager.[1]His instrumental number "Hide Away"(1961), was emulated byBritish bluesartists includingEric Clapton.[3]
In the late 1960s and early 1970s the Texas Blues scene began to flourish, influenced bycountry musicandblues rock,particularly in the clubs ofAustin.The diverse style often featured instruments such as keyboards and horns with emphasis on guitar soloing.[1]The most prominent artists to emerge in this era were the brothersJohnnyandEdgar Winter,who combined traditional and southern styles.[1]In the 1970s,Jimmie VaughanformedThe Fabulous Thunderbirdsand in the 1980s his brotherStevie Ray Vaughanbroke through to mainstream success with his virtuoso guitar playing, as didZZ Topwith their brand of Southern rock.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdefgV. Bogdanov, C. Woodstra, S. T. Erlewine,All music guide to the blues: the definitive guide to the blues(Backbeat Books, 3rd edn., 2003), pp. 694–5.
- ^Robert Palmer,Church of the Sonic Guitar,pp. 13–38 in Anthony DeCurtis,Present Tense,Duke University Press,1992, p. 19.ISBN0-8223-1265-4.
- ^M. Roberty and C. Charlesworth,The complete guide to the music of Eric Clapton(Omnibus Press, 1995), p. 11.
- ^E. M. Komara,Encyclopedia of the blues(Routledge, 2006), p. 50.
| Musical form | |
|---|---|
| Origins | |
| Regional styles | |
| Subgenres | |
| Fusion genres | |
| Lists | |
