Key Figures in the Development of the Blues – Part 3
There are literally dozens of blues musicians from the first half of the 20th century who made important contributions to the development of blues as a musical genre. The following list of key figures is far from exhaustive, but it does serve as a starting point for listeners interested in the history of the blues.
Elmore James
One of the premiere slide guitar players of all time, Elmore James began making music at the age of 12 using a single string instrument and by his teens was touring with Robert Johnson throughout the Mississippi Delta. His recording career in 1951 as a sideman for Sonny Boy Williamson II, and he had his first solo hit later that year with a rendition of Johnson’s “Dust My Broom.” His slide guitar playing made use of heavy reverberation from his amplifier, and that unique style became a major influence for other artists such as The Rolling Stones (particularly Brian Jones), Jimi Hendrix and Duane Allman. Although his recording career last barely over a decade, he released a treasure trove of memorable songs including “The Sky Is Crying”, “Shake Your Moneymaker” and “It Hurts Me Too.” James died unexpectedly in 1963 at the age of 45 after suffering a heart attack.
Slim Harpo
Isiah (or James Issac) Moore, better known as “Slim Harpo” was one of the most commercially successful artists of the blues era, popularizing a variant of the blues known as “Swamp Blues”. Born in Louisiana in 1924, he began performing in the Baton Rouge area in the late 1940’s under the name “Harmonica Slim”. In the mid- 1950’s he struck up a partnership with his future brother in-law, Otis “Lightnin’ Slim” Hicks, a relationship that became lifelong. He started his recording career in 1957 but changed his stage name to “Slim Harpo” to avoid confusion with another blues musician called “Harmonica Slim.” His first solo recording was “King Bee” with the B-side “I’ve Got Love If You Want It”. Harpo had his first hit in 1961 with “Rainin’ In My Heart” on Excello Records, but he left that record label briefly over a royalty dispute. He returned to Excello in 1963, and three years later had his biggest chart success with “Baby Scratch My Back” which went to #1 on the R&B charts. Harpo’s biggest influence was probably on up-and-coming rock and roll acts in the 1960’s, as his songs were more readily adapted to popular music of the time than was the music of his contemporaries. Unfortunately, his career ended prematurely in 1970 when he suffered a fatal heart attack at the age of 46.
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was well known for his unique electric guitar driven version of the Delta Blues. Born in Mississippi in the early part of the 20th century, his date of birth is in dispute (ranging anywhere from 1912 through 1920). In 1922, his mother married blues musician William Moore, who Hooker credited with introducing him to the guitar. He left home for Memphis in his teens and played on Beale Street and at other local gatherings. He migrated to Detroit during World War II, and his reputation as a blues player grew as he performed at various clubs on Detroit’s East Side. He first recorded for Modern Records, and his “Boogie Chillen” became the hottest selling race record of 1949. Hooker’s musical style was idiosyncratic as he rarely abided by standard tempos, making it difficult to work with studio musicians. As a consequence, his early recordings consisted of Hooker singing, playing guitar and keeping the beat by stomping on a pallet. By the 1960’s he was able to find studio musicians who could cope with his unusual style, and his stint with Vee-Jay Records during this time produced hits in “Boom Boom” (1962) and “Dimples” (1964). Throughout the 1960’s and 70’s, Hooker collaborated with various rock and roll artists including the Groundhogs, Steve Miller, Canned Heat and Van Morrison. In 1980, he made an appearance in the film The Blues Brothers, where he is seen performing on Maxwell Street in Chicago. In the late 1980’s through the mid-1990’s, he continued his collaborative work with other well-known musicians including Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt, Van Morrison, Los Lobos and Jimmie Vaughan. Hooker died peacefully in his sleep at home in California in June of 2001.
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield, best known as “Muddy Waters” was one of the most influential blues performers of all time. Sometimes referred to as “the father of contemporary Chicago blues”, he is renowned for his “Delta beatitude” style which merged elements of Delta blues, Chicago blues, jazz, folk and rock and roll. Born in 1913 (although some accounts say 1915) near Clarksdale, Mississippi, he grew up playing harmonica in his early teens, but switched to guitar at the age of 17, honing his skills playing country Delta blues. In 1941 he was recorded in Mississippi by field archivists working for the Library of Congress. By 1943, he moved to Chicago to try to become a full-time musician. A year later he had purchased his first electric guitar and formed an electric combo to support his music. In 1946 he made his first professional records, first for Columbia and then Aristocrat Records run by the Chess brothers. By 1948 he had a big hit with “I Can’t Be Satisfied”, and his notoriety began to grow. While he initially worked with session musicians, Waters was able to convince the Chess brothers to use his own band to record, and now that band reads like a virtual “Who’s Who” of classic blues musicians – Little Walter Jacobs on harmonica, Otis Spann on piano, Willie Dixon on bass (also his primary songwriter). His popularity continued throughout the 1950’s, and by the 1960’s he began playing at some of the major music festivals such as the Newport Jazz Festival. It was at this festival in 1960, that he recorded one of the first ever live blues albums, the well-received ÏAt Newport 1960”. He won his first Grammy Award in 1972 for “They Call Me Muddy Waters” and another for his 1975 album “The Muddy Waters Woodstock Album.” In the late 1970’s, he began working with blues guitarist Johnny Winter which resulted in four albums from 1977 until 1981. Also in 1981, he performed with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ron Wood of the Rolling Stones at Buddy Guy’s Checkerboard Lounge, a concert that eventually was released as an album and DVD in 2012. By 1982, Waters’ health had begun to deteriorate, and he stopped performing live. Muddy Waters passed away in April of 1983 from complications of heart failure and cancer.
B.B. King
Riley B. King, better known as B.B. King was a blues guitarist known for his unique style of playing which involved fluid bending, staccato picking and frequent use of vibrato. Born in 1925 in Mississippi, King was a self-taught guitarist who longed to be a radio musician as a youth. In 1948, he performed on Sonny Boy Williamson’s radio program in West Memphis, Arkansas. His appearance on that program eventually led to a steady gig at Memphis, Tennessee radio station WDIA as a singer and disc jockey. It was here that he acquired his stage name. The radio station referred to him as the “Beale Street Blues Boy”, then shortened to “Blues Boy” and finally “B.B.”. During the late 1940’s and early 1950’s, he increasingly became part of the Beale Street blues scene in Memphis. In 1949, he was scouted by Ike Turner who worked at that point for RPM Records out of Los Angeles, and King eventually signed with them. Many of his early recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, who later started Sun Records. King toured extensively during those early years. During one of those concerts, a fight broke out between two men that resulted in a fire, and King was barely able to escape with his precious guitar. He later learned that the fight was over a woman named “Lucille”, and he christened his beloved guitar “Lucille” to remind himself never to fight over women. He had his first number one hit with “3 O’Clock Blues” in 1952, and the hit songs continued to flow from there with records such as “You Know I Love You”, “You Upset Me Baby”, “Sweet Little Angel” and many more. By the late 1960’s his manager started to book him at venues that attracted white audiences, and his musical legacy expanded even further. His successful concerts at the Filmore West in San Francisco and his opening for the Rolling Stones during their 1969 tour only further pushed his popularity. He won a Grammy Award for his 1970 recording “The Thrill Is Gone” which subsequently became one of his signature songs. King also began performing with other artists beginning in the late 1980’s. In 1988 he collaborated with the Irish band U2 on their single “When Love Comes To Town” from their Rattle and Hum album which became a big hit. He also worked with a variety of other artists such as Dr. John, Jimmie Vaughan and Eric Clapton. He teamed up with Clapton in 2000 for the album Riding With The King, which was well-received and won King another Grammy Award. He continued to perform regularly through 2014, but after a show in October of that year, he was advised to stop performing because of complications from high blood pressure and diabetes. King died in his sleep in 2015 at the age of 89.
Blues Beats is powered by Blues Music Fan Radio (BMFR), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, listener-supported station streaming the best in blues 24/7. We’re dedicated to sharing world-class blues — past, present, and future — and supporting the artists who keep the music alive.
