blues club KEIGHLEY

This is 'The Blues'

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                                                                                                                                                    'Slowhand'

A Aaron ‘T-Bone’ Walker- The King of West Coast Swing; innovative blues guitarist.

B- Bessie Smith – the ‘Empress of the Blues’; raunchy and regal.

C Chess Records -the Chicago label that defined blues-as-we-know it; Wolf, Waters ‘n’ more. C

D Delta Blues – down home country blues, often featuring acoustic slide guitar.                                              

E Eric Clapton - the epitome of a white blues guitar hero                                                                               

F Freddie Below – possibly the greatest blues drummer ever.

    'Father of British Blues' -an accolade fiercely contested by the supporters of Cyril Davis, Alexis Korner and John Mayall
G Gospel Music -the spiritual sister music to the secular bluesC                                                                                                    'Rory'

    Buddy Guy – longstanding guitar hero idolised by GB bluesmen.

      Rory Gallagher - move over Mr Morrison this was Ireland's greatest-ever bluesman.        

H Howling Wolf – primeval life-force was Muddy’s greatest rival.

I Illinois – Chicago was the ‘promised land’ for black musicians from the southern USA.

   Ike Turner – Tina’s revelation of marital strife have masked his huge contribution to R’n’B music.

J Jimmy Reed - the ‘Big Boss Man’ was a ‘one-trick-pony’ but an extremely popular one in the 1960s.

K King; BB, Freddie & Albert – three influential electric blues guitar namesakes

   Keb Mo – Grammy-winning popular contemporary singer/songwriter bluesman C

L ‘Lemon Jefferson’ – this blind Texan wrote the blueprint for acoustic bluesmen. Hugely influential.

M Memphis Slim – urbane piano bluesman.                                                                                      'Muddy'

     Muddy Waters - from sharecropping to King of Chicago, the original Hoochie Coochie Man.C    

N Nu Blues – modern UK blues-rock-sample hybrid. It’s new but is it blues?

O Otis Rush - baritone-voiced bluesman with blistering guitar talent did his best work with 'Cobra' in the 50s

      Otis Redding ; not a bluesman? Listen to the self-penned ‘Hawg for You’

P Paul Jones – from pop singer to UK blues guru; to appear on his show is to have ‘arrived’ in the UK

Q ‘Queen of Soul’ – Aretha Franklin’s blues tracks, such as 'Dr. Feelgood', are a revelation.

R Ray Charles – much feted singer/ pianist credited with the invention of soul-music.C

     Robert Johnson – the most covered Delta bluesman artist ever?

S Soul Music - what urban blues became in the 1960s

    Sonny Boy Willamson II – ‘Rice Millar’ was a harp player extremely influential on the ‘British Blues Boom’.

T Twelve Bars - that's all a classic blues verse needs!

U Underground sound – Blues/ R’n’B was the hip music for the 60’s in crowd.                                                                                  'Willie'

V Victoria Spivey – top singer-songwriter-pianist of the St Louis jazz-blues era.

W Willie Dixon – Chicago bass-man and songwriter without equal

X Crossover Hit - to have a hit record in the ‘White Chart’ was a crock of gold for artistes on the ‘chitling circuit’.

Y  'Yancy Stomp' – Early hit for Chicago-born blues pianist, Jimmy, in the first decade of 20^th C.

Z Z Z Top – 12 bar blues-rock with beards. Blues for rednecks?

  C = beginners start here!

 This book gives a real insight into Muddy's life and influences                                        

This link will let you access lots of information about dozens of 'blues greats'

http://members.home.nl/zowieso/blues/bluesindex.htm

If you enjoy your nights at Spectrum Blues Club you might like to check-out other Blues Venues in Yorkshire -

Ripley Blues Club - www.ripleyblues.com

The Blues Bar, Harrogate -  www.bluesbar.org.uk

..and one in Lancashire!

Colne Rhythm & Blues Festival-  www.bluesfestival.co.uk
 

Some links to Blues / R'n'B magazines -

Blues in Britain - www.bluesinbritain.org  -still the most authoritative voice of British Blues.

In the Basement - www.basement-group.co.uk - emphasis on classic soul but blues festivals from Europe & USA reviewed, too.

Blues & Rhythm - www.bluesandrhythm.co.uk  -for serious blues fans and students of black music history.  

Whether you're a fan of Eric or not this Q/Mojo special was a good read for all blues fans.

Wherever two blues fans are gathered together controversy reigns....and this site is no different! 

There is no agreement amongst us as to where the blues started, how it started, when it started or even what it is!

So what do you think of the Q 'top ten' of all-time blues albums? (there are numbers 11-75 in the mag!)

1. King of the Delta Blues Singers - Robert Johnson

2.  Best of Howling Wolf - Howling Wolf

3. The Anthology (1947-72) - Muddy Waters

4.  His Definitive Greatest Hits - BB King

5. The Best of Blind Lemon Jefferson -Blind Lemon Jefferson

6.The Legendary Modern Recordings - John Lee Hooker

7. The Essential Cobra Recordings - Otis Rush

8. The Rolling Stones -The Rolling Stones

9.King of the Blues Guitar -Albert King

10. Territory- Alvin Youngblood Hart

(Eric, himself, sneaks in at No.51 with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.)

Now for 6 Facts that blues fans DO agree on.....well, nearly!

1. Blues music originated amongst the 'Afro-American' communities of the segregated southern states of the USA in the early 20th century.                                                                                 'Bo'

2.It developed in those communities whilst absorbing influences from outside such as church music, country music and European folk music.

3. It spread from those segregationalist states (sometimes called, in music terms, 'the Delta',) to big cities and other areas of the USA offering opportunities to black people. Different styles of blues music then developed -Chicago Blues, St Louis Blues, West Coast Swing....

4.Big cities were noisier, had bigger crowds and had electricity. Hence the need and the opportunity for electrified blues.

5. Blues was known as 'Race Music' and not only had artists specific to that style but had separate record labels, record outlets, radio stations, charts, cinemas. Most white Americans were completely unaware of blues music.

6. The 'British Blues Invasion' of the 1960s brought blues music to the attention, in the USA, of white (particularly young) record-buyers for the first time. Groups like the Animals, Manfred Mann, the Rolling Stones, Them and, of course, the Beatles brought back the black music they had absorbed and presented it to a primarily white audience . American blues/r'n'b names such as Muddy Waters, Arthur Alexander, Bo Diddley, John Lee Hooker and Howling Wolf emerged from the 'musical ghetto' to influence generations of 'white bluesmen' such as Stevie Ray Vaughan.

This fascinating book argues that the 1960s was the pivotal period for blues music changing from a style which was mainly vocal and danced to by black women to a style which is mainly instrumental and listened to by white men. It's a controversial view but well argued...

The Full Spectrum of the Blues