The Emergence of Blues Rock
Rock and roll and the blues have always been intertwined. Many of the early rock pioneers had ties to the blues. Chuck Berry utilized a sped-up version of the 12-bar blues progression as the basis for many of his songs, and Elvis Presley had a massive hit with his cover of Big Mama Thornton’s “Hound Dog” in 1956.
Blues rock, however, is a more refined and delineated sub-genre that borrows the chord sequences and instrumentation of the electric blues and plays it at a faster tempo with a heavier riff-style sound.
Early blues rock was strongly influenced by the electric blues found in Chicago, in particular the music created by Muddy Waters, Jimmy Reed, Howlin’ Wolf and Albert King, although the Memphis blues sound of artists such as Willie Johnson and Pat Hare was also impactful.
Early blues rock artists essentially recreated the electric blues sound with the fierce style found in early rock and roll. The blues rock style typically incorporated a grittier vocal delivery, an emphasis of guitar solos and riffs, a powerful beat, and a heavier tone. In fact, several Chicago blues artists consciously incorporated elements of rock and roll into their blues style, most notably Elmore James and Freddie King.
Fusing Blues With Rock and Roll
Elmore James
Elmore James was the “King of the Slide Guitar” who incorporated techniques like distortion and the use of triplet riffs into his raw, blistering style. Some historical accounts claim that James used electrical amplification of the Delta Blues before Muddy Waters made it part of his signature style. “Dust My Broom” is probably the most influential song in James’ catalog, the guitar riff in the tune being subsequently emulated by many early rock performers.
Freddie King
Freddie King began experimenting with fusion of blues and rock around 1960. The “Texas Cannonball” played his blues licks fast and with great skill, a style that inspired emerging blues enthusiasts such as Eric Clapton and Peter Green. His use of a thumb pick and a finger pick worn on his index finger was highly innovative and allowed for the aggressiveness that characterized his playing. The gritty and yet refined tone in his guitar that was so influential to blues rock can be heard in songs like “Going Down”, “Have You Ever Loved a Woman” and “I’d Rather Be Blind”, all of which have been covered by major blues rock artists.
Early Stateside Blues Rock Stalwarts
Lonnie Mack
Lonnie Mack is sometimes referred to as “the father of blues rock” and was key to creating the bridge between traditional blues and rock and roll. In the early 1960’s, when the focus of popular music was on vocals, Mack brought the lead guitar front and center, using his expressive playing and vibrato tone to create a rich, emotional delivery that would influence more renown guitarists like Jeff Beck, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Duane Allman. His 1962 instrumental hit, “Memphis” sold over 1 million copies and cracked the top five of Billboard magazine’s pop charts.
The song featured his signature guitar sound – ferocious guitar runs and expressive string bends that almost simulated vocals. Mack’s 1964 album The Wham of That Memphis Man, only further solidified his contributions to the birth of blues rock.
Paul Butterfield Blues Band
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band took the sound of Chicago style blues and fused it with rock, jazz and even Indian raga to make it more accessible to mainstream audiences. One of the first racially integrated bands, they rose from their Chicago roots to bring electric blues to white audiences and served as a key influence on later blues rock bands. Led by vocalist/harmonica player Paul Butterfield and guitarist Mike Bloomfield, they demonstrated how the blues could be played by blues rock adherents with passion and not just as a tribute to the seminal blues artists.
Their live performances were so powerful that, after a set at the Newport Folk Festival, it was a key factor in Bob Dylan moving toward an electric sound.
Canned Heat
Canned Heat played a key role in expanding the popularity of blues rock in the late 1960’s. Led by Alan “Blind Owl” Wilson, they are considered one of the most authentic of the blues revivalists, delving directly into Delta and country blues traditions. They created a hypnotic boogie style that relied on a repetitive groove, perhaps best exemplified by their highly influential “Going Up the Country”, which became etched in the counterculture movement of the late 1960’s with their appearance at Woodstock.
Wilson was a blues scholar of sorts, and as the band’s principal songwriter, kept the band deeply rooted in traditional blues. Their harmonica driven, groove-infected style contrasted greatly with some of their contemporary blues rock rivals, who had a heavier guitar-based sound. They openly embraced traditional blues, particularly influences such as Son House and Skip James, and they were instrumental in bringing these influences to the attention of modern audiences. Their later collaboration with blues legend John Lee Hooker, further cemented their status as blues rock pioneers.
Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix is usually characterized as a major catalyst in the emergence of blues rock because he radically changed the music scene by adeptly fusing American blues with psychedelia and introducing innovative guitar tones and effects that would influence future generations of guitarists. He took blues conventions and added twists that no other artists were doing at the time, taking 12 bar blues and extending it with modal and pentatonic improvisations that made his sound unique.
In many ways, he was in the right place at the right time, arriving in London in 1966 just as blues rock was exploding on that music scene. He took the London clubs by storm, attracting all the major musicians to his shows. Famously, Eric Clapton was so awed by Hendrix’s prowess on the guitar that he began to question his own status as a top guitarist. His subsequent appearances at major music festivals like the Monterey Pop Festival (in 1967) and Woodstock (in 1969) served as his breakout into the U.S. market.
His concerts frequently spun off into free form jams, making use of fuzz and wah-wah pedals to create a signature tonal texture. His legacy in blues rock is beyond reproach, as nearly every major rock guitarist acknowledges his influence.
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