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Chapter 17
Ten Blues Guitar Giants
In This Chapter
Chronicling the great blues guitarists
Understanding the blues style of past blues masters
To narrow a list of all the blues greats to ten was a hard choice, but I think
you’d be hard pressed to dispute the ones I’ve come up with. Each guitarist
occupies a permanent and revered place in the history of the blues.
Robert Johnson (1911–38)
Robert Johnson was one of the last blues players on the Delta scene, but for
many blues enthusiasts, he’s the most important. Johnson died at the young
age of 27 and only recorded 29 songs, but he’s immortalized for his haunting
acoustic-guitar picking and singing, as well as for the songs he wrote. He rightly
wears the mantle of “king of the Delta blues.” Some of his songs include
“Hell Hound on My Trail”
“Cross Road Blues” (covered by Cream with Eric Clapton)
“Love in Vain Blues” (covered by the Rolling Stones)
“Come on in My Kitchen”
“I Believe I’ll Dust My Broom”
“Sweet Home Chicago”
“Me and the Devil Blues” (helped start the “devil” legend)
Johnson was a mythic figure, who allegedly sold his soul to the devil in
exchange for his talent, and who may have been poisoned by a jealous husband
in a juke joint. But one thing is certain: His genius with the guitar is evident
in the small body of recorded work.
Flip back to Chapter 11 for the nitty-gritty on Johnson and his blues style.
TEAM LinG