Chicago blues
The electrified urban blues style that developed in Chicago, with amplified guitar, harmonica and a full rhythm section.
Chicago blues is what happened when Delta musicians moved to the city and plugged in: the acoustic slide guitar became an amplified electric, the rhythm section became a full band, and the guitar took on both a rhythmic role and a cutting lead voice. The style produced the vocabulary of riffs, turnarounds and stop-time breaks that later rock bands copied wholesale. Its guitar sound, a semi-hollow or solid body pushed into a small valve amplifier, is still the reference point for electric blues tone.
Example: A small combo with amplified guitar, harmonica and drums playing a shuffle in a minor key is playing Chicago blues.
See also
Related
- PageBlues
- PageElectric guitar
- PageDistortion
- PageAmericana
- PageBebop
- PageBluegrass
- PageAaron Dessner
- PageAce Frehley