History of British Blues
Articles and Essays
'Blues Revival' - from 'Survey
of American Popular Music' by Frank Hoffmann
The
blues revival, which spanned the decade of the 1960s, attempted to
resurrect indigenous African American music styles within a modern
context; i.e., employing rock instrumentation, performing dynamics,
and studio technology. The movement encompassed two different
approaches, those centered in the United States and Great Britain,
respectively.
In
the U.S., folkies took a leadership role in the exploration of blues
roots. They worshipped "authenticity," which was taken to mean an
aged black man playing an acoustic instrument. Living electric
interpreters such as B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King, and Magic
Sam were largely overlooked. Contemporary white performers were
acknowledged only if their work focused on pre-World War II forms.
Electric blues practitioners finally began to receive recognition
when white rock musicians discovered the genre in the mid-1960s. The
most influential of the white artists was the Paul Butterfield Blues
Band. Butterfield was an accomplished harmonica players who'd
learned the craft from blues masters based in the South Side
district of Chicago. The band--which also featured guitarists
Michael Bloomfield (according to The Rolling Stone Illustrated
History of Rock & Roll, the most influential performer on that
instrument until the arrival of Eric Clapton) and Elvin
Bishop--opened the door to mainstream acceptance for an entire
generation of blues revivalists from the Allman Brothers Band to
albino guitar slinger Johnny Winter.
In
the United Kingdom, black American blues became available in
appreciable numbers after World War II through (1) records left
behind by American G.I.s and sold in secondhand stores, (2) product
mail ordered by young enthusiasts, and (3) pressings leased by
English jazz labels. The "trad" jazz fad of the 1950s represented a
pale, but enthusiastic, attempt to recreate the Chicago and New
Orleans styles popular in the 1920s (best known as "dixieland" in
the United States). The best known exponent of this genre was Chris
Barber; two of his sidemen, Alexis Korner and Cyril Davies, formed
an r & b unit within the main band. This aggregate, Blues
Incorporated, recruited another young Barber recruit, future Rolling
Stones co-founder Brian Jones, and struck out on its own in 1962.
The
Stones, formed in 1963, went on to become the British blues revival
band both to achieve broad-based popularity and advance the genre
beyond the mere imitation of old models. The Yardbirds are widely
considered to have been the most accomplished of the bands to have
followed in the wake of the Stones' success. Featuring the talents,
in successive order, of three of the most influential rock
guitarists of the rock era (Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page,
whose later instalment of the band metamorphosed into Led Zeppelin),
the Yardbirds attempted a balancing act between straight blues live
and progressive studio explorations (e.g., Indian raga phrasings in
"Shapes of Things," electric violin in "Over Under Sideways Down,"
twin guitar feedback leads in "Happenings Ten Years Time Ago").
Top Artists and Their Recordings
U.S. Artists
Mike Bloomfield/Al Kooper/Steve Stills -- Super Session (1968)
The Blues Project -- Live at the Cafe Au Go Go (1966);
Projections (1966); The Blues Project Live at Town Hall (1967)
The Paul Butterfield Blues Band -- The Paul Butterfield Blues
Band (1965); East-West (1966); The Resurrection of Pigboy Crabshaw
(1968); In My Own Dream (1968); The Butterfield Blues Band/Live
(1971); Sometimes I Just Feel Like Smilin' (1971)
Canned Heat -- Canned Heat (1967); Boogie With Canned Heat
(1968); Living the Blues (1969); Hallelujah (1969); Future Blues
(1970); Hooker 'N Heat (w/John Lee Hooker) (1971); Canned Heat
Concert (1971)
The Fabulous Thunderbirds — Tuff Enuff (1984)
J. Geils Band -- The J. Geils Band (1970); The Morning After
(1971); Live - Full House (1972); Bloodshot (1973); Ladies Invited
(1973); Nightmares...and other tales from the vinyl jungle (1974);
Hotline (1975); Live - Blow Your Face Out (1976); Monkey Island
(1977); Sanctuary (1978); Love Stinks (1980); Freeze-Frame (1981);
Showtime! (1982); You're Gettin' Even While I'm Gettin' Odd (1984)
Charley Musselwhite -- Ace of Harps (1970)
Vaughan, Stevie Ray — Texas Flood (1983); Couldn’t Stand the
Weather (1984); Soul To Soul (1985)
Johnny Winter -- The Progressive Blues Experiment (1969); Johnny
Winter (1969); The Johnny Winter Story (1969); Second Winter (1969);
Johnny Winter And (1970); Live/Johnny Winter And (1971); Still Alive
and Well (1973); Saints & Sinners (1974); John Dawson Winter III
(1974); Captured Live! (1976); Together (w/Edgar Winter) (1976)
U.K. Artists
Chicken Shack -- Imagination Lady (1972)
Climax Blues Band -- The Climax Chicago Blues Band Plays On
(1970); A Lot of Bottle (1971); Tightly Knit (1972); Rich Man
(1973); FM/Live (1973); Sense of Direction (1974); Stamp Album
(1975); "Couldn't Get It Right" (1977); "Makin' Love" (1978); "Gotta
Have More Love" (1980); "I Love You" (1981)
Cream -- Fresh Cream (1967); Disraeli Gears (1968); "Sunshine of
Your Love"; Wheels of Fire (1968); "White Room" (1968); Goodbye
(1969)
Fleetwood Mac -- English Rose (1968); Then Play On (1969); Kiln
House (1970)
Savoy Brown -- Getting to the Point (1967); Blue Matter (1968);
A Step Further (1969); Looking In (1970); Street Corner Talking
(1971); Hellbound Train (1972); Lion's Share (1972); Jack the Toad
(1973); Boogie Brothers (1974); Wire Fire (1975)
Taste -- Taste (1969)
Ten Years After -- Undead (1968); Stonedhenge (1969); Ssssh
(1969); Cricklewood Green (1970); Watt (1970); A Space in Time
(1971); Rock & Roll Music to the World (1972); Recorded Live (1973);
Positive Vibrations (1974)
The Yardbirds -- For Your Love (1965); Having a Rave Up with the
Yardbirds (1965); Over Under Sideways Down (1966); Little Games
(1970)
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Notes
Source:
'Survey of American Popular Music' by
Frank Hoffmann,
http://www.shsu.edu/lis_fwh/book/hybrid_children_of_rock/Blues%20Revival2.htm
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