Blues

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Few would deny that the blues has played a more important role in the history of popular culture than any other musical genre. As well as being a complete art form in itself, it is a direct ancestor to the different types of current popular music we know and love today. Without the blues there would have been no Beatles or Jimi Hendrix, no Led Zeppelin or Nirvana, Louis Armstrong ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, general editor Paul Du Noyer
1171 Words Read More

(Founder, Atlantic Records, 1923–2006) Ertegun came to the US as son of the Turkish ambassador in 1934 and stayed, founding Atlantic Records in 1947 with brother Nesuhi. Having won the trust of performers with fair contract and royalty dealings, he actively pursued the crossover market in the 1950s, selling black music by Ray Charles and others to a white audience who previously only bought bland cover versions of it. He developed ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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(Vocals, b. 1946) An American soul and gospel singer, Reverend Al Green (he was ordained a pastor of the Full Gospel Tabernacle in Memphis in 1976) made his recording debut on Back Up Train (1967). His third album Al Green Gets Next To You (1970) was the start of a golden period when he recorded many of the songs for which he is best known – ‘Tired Of Being Alone’, ‘Let’s ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
94 Words Read More

Few blues guitarists had more style and presence than Albert King (1923–92). At 6ft 4in (1.93m) and 250lbs (113kg), he cut an imposing figure onstage. Equally distinctive was his Gibson Flying V guitar, a right-handed instrument that King played left-handed and upside down. This gave him an unusual, tormented sound when he bent the strings on his fretboard. He also used his thumb rather than a pick. The master of the ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
411 Words Read More

(Guitar, vocals, 1928–84) The late ‘Godfather of British blues’ emerged from London’s traditional jazz scene to found Blues Incorporated in 1962. Among those passing through the ranks of this loose if inspirational amalgam were subsequent members of The Rolling Stones, Cream and Led Zeppelin. In the late 1960s, Korner too made the charts as singer with CCS, whose biggest hit, a cover of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ became the theme ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
94 Words Read More

Sometimes called ‘the African John Lee Hooker’, Ali ‘Farka’ Touré (1939–2006) was a Malian singer and guitarist, and one of Africa’s most renowned musicians. Many consider his music to be a bridge between traditional Malian music and its presumed descendant, the blues. The interplay of rhythm and sound in Touré’s music was similar to John Lee Hooker’s hypnotic blues style. Both singers combined a deep-voice delivery with mid-tempo, foot-stomping rhythms, often ...

Source: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
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Blues-rock guitarist Alvin Lee was born Graham Barnes in Nottingham in 1944. Inspired by rock’n’roll guitarists Chuck Berry and Scotty Moore, Lee began to play at the age of 13, and formed his first band, Ivan Jay & The Jaymen, in 1960. Lee became lead vocalist in 1962 when the band changed their name to The Jaybirds and played Hamburg’s Star Club. They moved to London in 1966, eventually settling on ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
418 Words Read More

The bluesman who took the blues into the mainstream, B.B. King (b. 1925) is also its ambassador to the world. His solid, seasoned style is heard internationally. King’s style draws on the Mississippi blues of Elmore James and Muddy Waters, the Chicago blues of Buddy Guy and Magic Sam, and the West-Coast blues of T-Bone Walker and Lowell Fulson, all filtered through his distinctive vibrato and the phrases that flow out ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
430 Words Read More

(Guitar, vocals, b. 1925) Riley B. King, from Indianola, Mississippi, is arguably the last surviving authentic blues artist. Orphaned, he took up guitar aged 15, turning professional after US military service. In 1947, he moved to Memphis and lived with cousin Bukka White. There, he worked on a local radio station, acquiring his B.B. (‘Blues Boy’) epithet, also working with Bobby Bland and Johnny Ace. First recording in 1949, his breakthrough ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
215 Words Read More

(Vocals, 1894–1937) Bessie Smith was the first blues recording star during the form’s initial heyday in the ‘jazz age’ of the 1920s. A protégé of the great Ma Rainey, Smith and her booming, sorrowful voice took the East Coast by storm in stage shows in the 1920s. Signed to Columbia Records, she scored with ‘Downhearted Blues’, ‘Nobody Knows You When You’re Down And Out’ and others. Smith died in a car ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
91 Words Read More

(Guitar, vocals, 1893–1958) A powerful guitarist and prolific composer, Big Bill Broonzy linked the Mississippi delta blues of Robert Johnson with the electrified Chicago sound of Muddy Waters and others. Broonzy was recognized early on by the nascent folk music movement in the 1940s. Underappreciated in America, he gained a wide following in Europe through live performances and made lasting impressions on guitarists like George Harrison and Eric Clapton, who recorded ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
91 Words Read More

(Vocals, 1911–85) Big Joe Turner’s tenure as ‘Boss of the Blues’ is dominated by one song, ‘Shake, Rattle And Roll’, which became an early rock’n’roll anthem as recorded by white artists Bill Haley and Elvis Presley. But Turner’s long career and legacy of R&B hits includes boogies like ‘Roll ‘Em Pete’, the seminal blues of ‘Cherry Red’, and rollicking ribald romps like ‘My Gal’s A Jockey’ and ‘Battle Of The Blues’ ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
91 Words Read More

(Vocals, b. 1938) This smooth-voiced performer from West Virginia broke through with ‘Ain’t No Sunshine’ from the album Just As I Am (1971). His songs have been recorded by countless artists ranging from Grace Jones’s version of ‘Use Me’ to British pop band Mud’s cover of ‘Lean On Me’. ‘Lovely Day’ has been a Top 10 hit twice for Withers in the UK, the second time, in 1988, after its use ...

Source: The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock, general editor Michael Heatley
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Blind Lemon Jefferson (c. 1893–1929) opened up the market for blues records in 1926 when ‘Got The Blues’, backed with ‘Long Lonesome Blues’, became the biggest-selling record by a black male artist. It brought him the trappings of success, including a car and chauffeur, and he released nearly 100 songs over the next four years, before his death. Jefferson played country blues, a style he customized by listening to the flamenco ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
394 Words Read More

A pivotal figure in the transition from blues to rock’n’roll, Bo Diddley was born Elias Bates in McComb, Mississippi in 1928. When he was seven, the family relocated to Chicago, where he took violin lessons before switching to guitar, inspired by John Lee Hooker. He began by playing on street corners, then in the Hipsters. In 1951, he secured a regular gig at the 708 Club in Chicago’s South Side, the ...

Source: Rock Guitar Heroes, consultant editor Rusty Cutchin
390 Words Read More
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An extensive music information resource, bringing together the talents and expertise of a wide range of editors and musicologists, including Stanley Sadie, Charles Wilson, Paul Du Noyer, Tony Byworth, Bob Allen, Howard Mandel, Cliff Douse, William Schafer, John Wilson...

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Classical, Rock, Blues, Jazz, Country and more. Flame Tree has been making encyclopaedias and guides about music for over 20 years. Now Flame Tree Pro brings together a huge canon of carefully curated information on genres, styles, artists and instruments. It's a perfect tool for study, and entertaining too, a great companion to our music books.

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