Blues is a genre of music that originated in the Deep South in the mid to late 1800s, evolving from African-American spirituals, prison work songs, ring shouts, field hollers, and traditional African music. The earliest forms of blues were performed acoustically; however, after World War II, the genre started transitioning from acoustic to electric instrumentation. Postwar electric blues also marked the point where the genre began to gain a wider audience, morphing from a niche African-American tradition into a respected form of music enjoyed by listeners of all races and backgrounds.
Musically, blues compositions contain call-and-response patterns, the blues scale (a minor pentatonic scale with a flat fifth), and specific chord progressions, most prominently the 12-bar blues (based on the I, IV, and V chords of a key). The flat fifth in the blues scale is referred to as a “blue note” — an off-key note that is performed slightly off pitch for expressive purposes. Blues also frequently employs shuffle rhythms and walking bass lines that reinforce the groove of the song.
There are many subgenres of blues largely based on their regions of origin. In this article, we’ll explore four blues subgenres and outline how you can cop their respective guitar tones.
Delta Blues: Otherworldly Tones from the Crossroads
One of the earliest forms of blues, Delta blues is a regional variant of country blues that sprung forth from the plantations of the Mississippi Delta in the early 1900s. This style of blues is centered around acoustic guitar and harmonica. Slide guitar is a hallmark of this subgenre, as well, as are fiery, impassioned vocals.
The first Delta blues recordings were created in the late 1920s by blues pioneers like Freddie Spruell, Charley Patton, Son House, and Tommy Johnson. Other prominent Delta blues practitioners include Willie Brown, Robert Petway, Louise Johnson, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, Mississippi John Hurt, Mississippi Fred McDowell, and essentially every other blues musician with “Mississippi” in their name.
Most modern music fans are probably familiar with legendary Delta blues musician Robert Johnson, who made what are arguably the genre’s most cherished recordings between 1936 and 1937. According to folklore, Mr. Johnson took his guitar to the crossroads at midnight. There he met the Devil himself, who snatched Johnson’s guitar, tuned it, and handed it back to him. Then, in exchange for his immortal soul, Robert Johnson was transformed into a bluesman of unparalleled musical prowess. It’s impossible to verify this story, but one listen to Mr. Johnson’s unmatched musical compositions, along with his emotive vocal delivery and complex guitar work, certainly makes one wonder how a single musician could house such near-supernatural talent.
If you want to nail a Delta blues vibe, then you’ll need a parlor-size blues box like a Gibson L-00 Studio and a blues-ready set of harmonicas like the Hohner Rocket Pro Pack. For wicked, raspy slide work, you’ll want a rugged brass slide like The Rock Slide Aged Brass Slide.
Memphis Blues: From the Plantations to Beale Street
Memphis blues is another subgenre of blues that originated in Memphis, Tennessee, in the 1910s and 1920s as musicians like Gus Cannon, Robert Wilkins, Furry Lewis, Jim Jackson, and Memphis Minnie traveled from nearby Mississippi and congregated around the now-legendary Beale Street. There were plenty of homegrown Tennessean blues musicians, as well, such as Frank Stokes and Sleepy John Estes. The subgenre was first popularized by W. C. Handy, who was influenced by the music of the Mississippi Delta and began incorporating blues motifs into his compositions, most obviously in the song “The Memphis Blues.”
Although technically a form of country blues, Memphis blues features an eclectic mix of rural and urban musical traditions. Some artists were influenced by jug bands. Other musicians performed jazz-like music that utilized a wide range of instruments including washboards, kazoos, fiddles, and mandolins. That said, at its core, it was still blues.
After World War II, things really started to heat up on the Memphis blues scene as more African Americans migrated to the region from impoverished southern areas. It was during this transitional time that musicians first plugged in, thereby giving birth to the electric blues. Postwar electric Memphis blues consisted of overdriven guitars, thunderous rhythm sections, and roaring vocals. Popular later-era Memphis blues musicians include Howlin’ Wolf, Willie Nix, and the undisputed King of the Blues, B.B. King.
Memphis blues is a diverse subgenre, but most people would argue that B.B. King epitomizes its guitar tone. Mr. King’s guitar of choice is a semi-hollowbody electric dubbed “Lucille.” The Gibson B.B. King Lucille Legacy is about as close as you’re going to get to owning one of these for yourself. Mr. King played through a Lab Series L5 2×12-inch solid-state amplifier for a good chunk of his career. These amps are nearly impossible to find, but we’ve found that the Fender Tone Master Twin Reverb mirrors the L5’s sound quite nicely, especially when paired with an MXR Script Dyna Comp to replicate the L5’s built-in compressor.
Chicago Blues: The Great Migration
Chicago blues was created in tandem with the Second Great Migration that occurred in the 1930s and 1940s. During this time, African Americans sought to flee the poor economic conditions and racial segregation of the South. Many blues musicians from Memphis and other rural areas found a new home in Chicago, which spawned a whole urban blues movement. Muddy Waters and Big Bill Broonzy, from Memphis and Mississippi* respectively, are two prominent examples.
Early Chicago blues artists frequented the Maxwell Street open-air market, where they would busk and jam with other musicians. As Chicago blues gained popularity, blues clubs began popping up in Black-populated parts of the Windy City, mostly on the South Side and the West Side. Among the most popular Chicago blues clubs of that time was Ruby Lee Gatewood’s Tavern — a.k.a. “The Gates” — which hosted every local blues musician worth their salt.
Chicago blues takes Delta blues, electrifies it, and then deploys it in a small-band context with drums, double bass or electric bass guitar, piano, and sometimes horns to augment the typical Delta blues guitar-and-harmonica arrangement, which are often amplified to the point of distortion. This configuration essentially standardized what we’d now consider a contemporary blues band.
A list of well-known Chicago blues musicians would include Otis Rush, Willie Dixon, Sonny Boy Williamson II, and the incredibly influential Buddy Guy.
If you’re aiming to replicate the classic Chicago blues sound, then Buddy Guy is the guy to emulate — Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Keith Richards, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, John Mayer, and a whole host of famous rock and blues guitarists cite Mr. Guy as one of their primary inspirations.
Buddy Guy was best known for playing a Strat; therefore, the Fender Buddy Guy Standard Stratocaster is a great starting point for yielding a Buddy Guy–esque tone. While Mr. Guy played many different amplifiers throughout his incredible career, his main amp was a 1959 Fender Bassman up until Butler Custom Sound crafted his signature amp (which was also based on a 1959 Bassman). To harness this sound for yourself, plug your Strat into a Fender ’59 Bassman LTD — it definitely delivers. Mr. Guy was also a frequent wah-wah user, so you’ll want a Dunlop Buddy Guy Signature Cry Baby to tackle those wah-soaked solos.
*The date and location of Big Bill Broonzy’s birth are disputed. Some sources claim he was actually from Arkansas.
Texas Blues: Southern-fried Swing
Blues has been a part of Texas culture since the early 1900s as many African Americans worked on the state’s ranches, lumberyards, and oil fields. Early Texas blues pioneers, such as the celebrated bluesman Blind Lemon Jefferson, crafted a unique sound that incorporated jazz-like improvisation, a swinging rhythm section, and prominent guitar soloing. This is the sound that formed the basis of what we now call Texas blues.
During the 1930s, many blues musicians, including slide-guitar master Blind Willie Johnson, moved to Galveston, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, and other urban centers throughout Texas. The 1940s birthed such legends as Lightnin’ Hopkins, Lil’ Son Jackson, and T-Bone Walker, the latter of which inspired an entire generation of rock ‘n’ roll and blues players including Chuck Berry, B.B. King, and Goree Carter. The 1950s brought us Johnny Copeland, Albert Collins, and Freddie King.
By the 1960s, Texas blues had incorporated a range of outside influences, particularly country and southern rock; and, throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the scene exploded, giving rise to a slew of famous musicians including Johnny and Edgar Winter, the Fabulous Thunderbirds, ZZ Top, and probably the most-popular Texas blues guitarist of all time, Stevie Ray Vaughan, whose virtuosic playing earned him considerable mainstream success and ignited a decades-long blues revival.
As such, Stevie Ray Vaughan — with little room for argument — embodies the contemporary Texas blues guitar sound. To harness an SRV-like tone for yourself, you’ll find the Fender Stevie Ray Vaughan Stratocaster to be the perfect tool for the job. Plug the Strat into an Ibanez TS9 Tube Screamer with the Drive turned low, the Tone set somewhere around the middle, and the Level turned high and then into a Fender ’65 Super Reverb. It’s essential to crank the amp — low volumes simply won’t cut it. A Vox wah is another important ingredient in the Tex-Mex tonal recipe.
Find Your Own Voice
Blues is a multifaceted musical genre with a rich, layered history that involves countless musicians who weren’t called out in this article — there are too many to name them all! What’s more, no two blues musicians, even within the same subgenre, sound the same. Keeping that in mind, use our guidelines as a starting point for finding your own voice.
If you have any questions about guitars or gear, then give your Sweetwater Sales Engineer a call at (800) 222-4700.