Texas Blues

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(Vocals, 1926–84) Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton had a big, no-nonsense voice perfect for the blues, yet she was able to manage only one big R&B hit with a song that soon became associated with Elvis Presley, leaving her original version in the dust. Thornton’s recording of ‘Hound Dog’ topped Billboard’s R&B chart for seven weeks in 1953. Thornton would record and perform into the 1970s, but never achieve similar success. Styles ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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Blues guitarist Johnny Winter (b. 1944) was born in Beaumont, Texas. Albino and cross-eyed from birth, Johnny showed a precocious talent for music, taking up the clarinet at the age of five and switching to guitar after a brief flirtation with the ukulele. Inspired by bluesmen like B.B. King, Muddy Waters and Bobby Bland, he formed his first group, Johnny & The Jammers, with brother Edgar. Winter went on to play ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
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(Guitar, vocals, b. 1944) A lengthy 1968 eulogy in Rolling Stone broadened this boss-eyed and albino Texan’s work spectrum and placed an eponymous debut album in the national Top 30. Among famous admirers were The Rolling Stones and John Lennon who each proffered songs for his consideration after he began touring beyond North America, backed by ex-members of The McCoys and his brother Edgar (keyboards, saxophone), who went solo in 1970. ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Guitar, vocals, 1954–90) Born in Dallas, Vaughan distilled Albert King, Jimi Hendrix and Lonnie Mack’s blues and rock stylings on his superb US Top 40 album Texas Flood (1983). Tommy Shannon (bass) and Chris Layton (drums) formed his trusted Double Trouble back-up team. His ferocious but lyrical playing on Couldn’t Stand The Weather (1984) and live showmanship confirmed him as the new king of the blues guitar. After a 1990 show ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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Exploding on to a generally lethargic blues scene in 1983 with his Texas Flood album, Stevie Ray Vaughan (1954–90) administered a high-voltage charge that revitalized the blues with his stunning, ecstatic playing and imagination. He took inspiration from the most stylish of his idols – Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy, Howlin’ Wolf, Albert King – but it was the wild style of Fifties blues rocker Lonnie Mack that gave him his ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
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(Guitar, vocals, 1910–75) Dallas-bred Aaron Walker was soloing on electric guitar as early as 1940, setting a trend that would eventually be the most commonplace image in rock music. B.B. King marvelled at Walker’s ability to play while holding the guitar away from his body. Walker left Texas in the 1930s and alternated between sessions and performances in Los Angeles, Chicago and, later, Europe, as he advanced the instrumental appeal of ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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The first bluesman to record with an electric guitar, T-Bone Walker (1910–75) shaped the course of post-war blues, influencing everyone from B.B. King and Chuck Berry to Jimi Hendrix and beyond. B.B. King acknowledges that the first time he heard Walker, he knew he had to get an electric guitar, and Berry and Hendrix took as much notice of Walker’s showmanship – playing his guitar behind his head and generally thrilling ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
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Although Texas has a rich legacy of acoustic country blues artists, its primary contribution to the blues was electric. An inordinate number of dazzling electric guitarists hailed from the Lone Star state, including T-Bone Walker, Clarence ‘Gatemouth’ Brown, Albert Collins, Freddie King and scores of hotshot six-stringers still on the scene. Often accompanied by flamboyant showmanship, the Texas electric-guitar style has always been overtly aggressive and rhythmically driving. As Billy Gibbons, ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer
867 Words Read More
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