ELMORE JAMES

King of the blues slide guitar

You might know songs like Thesky Iscrying, Shakeyourmoneymaker, Dustmyblues and Bleedingheart by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall and Jimi Hendrix. But all these and many more were written and originally performed by this fabulous singer and slide guitarist. Elmore’s version of Ithurtsmetoo is perhaps the definitive slow 12-bar blues, with its plaintive slide guitar motif and high, moaning vocal. James is also responsible for popularising the ‘diddly-diddly-diddlydiddly-dee-dum’ slide intro as heard on Dustmybroom and many others. It became Elmore’s signature, but he was about much more than that. He was one of the biggest influences on the 60s blues revival in both America and the UK, and songs performed by James were relished by bands on both sides of the Atlantic. Guitarists including Jimi Hendrix,

Brian Jones (The Rolling Stones), John Mayall, Jeremy Spencer (Fleetwood Mac) and even Frank Zappa mentioned him as an influence. As with so many blues greats it was never all about the guitar with Elmore; instrument and voice played vital roles in delivering his music, and James connected to his audience with both in equal measure. One of the greatest unsung bluesmen ever? We think so.

HOWLIN’ WOLF

The big bad sound of Chicago blues

Howlin’ Wolf was born Chester Arthur Burnett on 10 June 1910 in White Station, Mississippi. His parents named him after the 21st president of the United States, Chester Alan Arthur, who had campaigned for the rights of slaves in New York City.

The young Wolf found a mentor in legendary Delta bluesman Charley Patton, before making a name for himself on the Mississippi scene. Although Wolf never matched Patton in terms of his intricate playing prowess – opting for a chunkier, more simplistic style – he became a wild, larger than life on stage presence, literally. Wolf stood at six feet, three inches tall and weighed almost 300 pounds, and he would often encourage female fans to ‘ride’ him around on stage, among other antics.

In 1951, his first single Moanin’at Midnight became a hit and Wolf headed north to Chicago at the invitation of record label boss, Leonard Chess. Here, alongside Muddy Waters (with whom Wolf sustained a long and heated rivalry), he helped transform the rugged acoustic Delta Blues style into an electrified and wholly modern, urban listening experience with releases such as Killingfloor and Spoonful. Wolf reached a whole new audience in the 1960s when The Rolling Stones championed his influence upon their sound.