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Chapter 12: The Birth and Growth of Classic Electric Blues
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Track 86
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Figure 12-9:
A lick in the
infectious,
melodic
style of
Freddie
King.
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Children of the Post-War Blues Revival
The next generation of blues artists was born after World War II in the 1950s.
If you were a student of the blues growing up in an ever-growing media-savvy
society, you could hitch your wagon to any style or personality and immerse
yourself in study. A Californian could play Delta blues just as well as someone
from Mississippi, because chances are, he’d be drawing from the same
sources: many available records and tapes.
In the rock world, the guitarists who seemed to be capitalizing most successfully
on the early electric blues weren’t even American, they were British.
(See Chapter 13 for the influence of British guitarists on blues rock.) But it
meant that the blues was undergoing a democratization. You could be from
anywhere, with any background, and learn to play the blues.
Son Seals, Chicago’s favorite son
Born in 1942, in Osceola, Arkansas, Son Seals grew up watching established
performers Robert Nighthawk and Albert King from backstage at his father’s
club when he was a little kid. At age 13, Seals was playing drums professionally,
even backing up Nighthawk. In the 1960s, having switched to guitar and
then moving to Chicago, Seals played guitar with Earl Hooker and drums with
Albert King. He was hanging with the real deal.
TEAM LinG