Hound Dog Taylor
- Thread starter Phil B.
- Start date
analoggal
Woman of the Country
Delta Blues
I know this question will elicit a bunch of "there's-a-thread-for-that" responses, and hopefully Vehicle's suggested documentary will explain it, but - could you give a brief definition of what constitutes 'Delta' blues??
I know this question will elicit a bunch of "there's-a-thread-for-that" responses, and hopefully Vehicle's suggested documentary will explain it, but - could you give a brief definition of what constitutes 'Delta' blues??
I am sure there are threads out there like you said that discuss this in detail.
This is one of those "genre sub-label" quandaries. Much like in metal, people will argue 'til the cows come home over these things.
Generally speaking, Delta blues is as much about style as it is region. The "Delta" that is mentioned is the Mississippi delta. (Mississippi Delta Wiki link)
The musical style is usually distinguished by an emphasis on rhythm, bottleneck slide guitar, and harmonica. Other blues styles grew out of this like "Chicago" and "Detroit" styles, that in my opinion tend to be a bit more refined.
These are all loose labels though in my opinion. Guys like Elmore James and Skip James are often considered Delta blues players, but were not from the Delta.
As with other genres of music, when we try to start pigeon holing these guys into categories, things can get confusing.
I will list a few of my fave (not inclusive) "Delta" performers anyways..
Elmore James
Muddy Waters
Sonny Boy Williamson
Pinetop Perkins
Mississippi John Hurt
R.L. Burnside
John Lee Hooker
Howlin Wolf
Robert Johnson
Son House
Skip James
Junior Kimbrough
I like my blues more raw and gritty, some prefer their's refined and technically superior.
I think the main thing to remember is that "blues is blues". Hope all of that didn't confuse you further.
This is one of those "genre sub-label" quandaries. Much like in metal, people will argue 'til the cows come home over these things.
Generally speaking, Delta blues is as much about style as it is region. The "Delta" that is mentioned is the Mississippi delta. (Mississippi Delta Wiki link)
The musical style is usually distinguished by an emphasis on rhythm, bottleneck slide guitar, and harmonica. Other blues styles grew out of this like "Chicago" and "Detroit" styles, that in my opinion tend to be a bit more refined.
These are all loose labels though in my opinion. Guys like Elmore James and Skip James are often considered Delta blues players, but were not from the Delta.
As with other genres of music, when we try to start pigeon holing these guys into categories, things can get confusing.
I will list a few of my fave (not inclusive) "Delta" performers anyways..
Elmore James
Muddy Waters
Sonny Boy Williamson
Pinetop Perkins
Mississippi John Hurt
R.L. Burnside
John Lee Hooker
Howlin Wolf
Robert Johnson
Son House
Skip James
Junior Kimbrough
I like my blues more raw and gritty, some prefer their's refined and technically superior.
I think the main thing to remember is that "blues is blues". Hope all of that didn't confuse you further.
analoggal
Woman of the Country
Thank you Phil for your explanation - you've been very helpful. I'm afraid that I've been over analyzing the various blues styles in my quest to "understand" the blues. Additionally, there's a lot of blues styles bantered about - which may or may not be regional terminology - that further confuses me. Guess it's time to relax and just enjoy the music! I've become acquainted with a number of the bluesmen you listed (R.L. Burnside's music is particularly alluring to me), but obviously there's a lot of exciting music to be discovered yet. Again, thanks for your assistance - it's greatly appreciated!
You are most welcome Ma'am. I think you will enjoy the tunes much more if you forget about labeling them. I'm pretty confident these guys didn't give a ---- how they were labeled. They just wanted to belt out the blues.
joker1961
Skaven Swear Runner
wow awesome wow wee wow
