When most people hear "the blues", the first image that probably pops into their mind is a middle aged African American man plucking away at his acoustic guitar on a porch somewhere in Louisiana. While many of the genre's forefathers may have fit that mold, it is a restrictive and inaccurate view of a diverse and rich form of music that is the root for almost all modern music. Those that maintain this stereotypical view of the blues and assume it is "grandpa music" are missing out on a lot.

Since the electrification of the guitar shot it to the forefront of three and four piece bands, music entered an evolutionary time warp not unlike that the quantum leaps in science and technology occurring at the same time.

Some of the pioneers during the 50's were B.B. King, Albert King, Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson. Chuck Berry was among the first to take the blues and kick it up a notch, speeding up the tempo and creating many rock riffs and techniques that are standard vocabulary today.

By the 60's and 70's, the blues had traveled across the pond to Britain. Bands like Cream, the Who, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin all traced their roots back to the blues forefathers. Even Angus Young of AC/DC, considered metal by many(the band always maintains that they are a rock band, not metal) has a very bluesy style of playing.

By the 80's, "Blues-Rock" had become indistinguishable from "Hard Rock". It wasn't until artists like Stevie Ray Vaughan came along and took blues back to it's roots.

Some modern bands that have bluesy overtones include the Black Keys and the White Stripes.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Classic Blues Guitars 1 - The Gibson ES 335

So aren't all electric guitars the same? No they are not. Each guitar is a unique amalgamation of steel and wood, every aspect of its manufacture contributing to its. tone. There are a few guitars that are most identified with the blues, and the first that we will look at is the Gibson ES 335.

First of Gibson is one of THE premier guitar manufacturers. While there are many fine and talented luthiers in the world, Gibson is the most prevalent and associated with craftsmanship and quality.

Gibson originally made hollowbody guitars, but electrified versions were prone to feedback. The solid body Les Paul had been introduced, but it lacked the warmer, darker tones of the hollowbodies.

The ES 335 was a middle ground in that the center span of the guitar is solid, but the wings are hollow with violin style "f holes" in the sides.

Players of this guitar include Billy Gibbons, Chuck Berry, Peter Green and Keith Richards. By far the most famous guitarist to use is B.B. King, whose trademark "Lucille" has its own custom reproduction model in the Gibson catalog.
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