Tampa Red's influential later recordings for RCA Victor (1945-53) have never been officially reissued on CD and rarely on LP, yet are a crucial element in the post-war blues canon. Many of his songs were covered by B. B. King, Muddy Waters and other top bluesmen. They feature the majestic piano of latter-day Elmore James sideman, Johnny Jones and include the harmonica of Big Walter 'Shakey' Horton and Sonny Boy Williamson II. There are four previously unissued tracks but none are available on authorised CD, not even on OOC releases.
From the very start, blues guitarists forged an irresistible partnership with the slide, the sound of which epitomizes the very essence of the genre. This Rough Guide highlights the revolutionary players who pioneered this most captivating of styles during the early recorded heyday of the blues.
Most of us remember exactly where we were and what we were doing when significant events in our life occurred. W.C. Handy’s transmogrification from formally trained musician and educator to ‘Father of the Blues’ was triggered in a single moment on a Tutwiler, Mississippi train track back in 1903.
Slide guitar blues is produced when a player uses some kind of tubular finger covering (usually made of metal or glass, like a bottleneck) to depress the strings of a guitar over the frets so that the strings are stretched and bent, producing a wavering tone. Traditionally slide guitar blues was played on resonator guitars, but a variety of acoustic and electric guitars have also been used. Blues slide guitar originated in the Mississippi Delta region where it was popularized by a number of blues players, including Robert Johnson. Electric slide guitar blues developed along with other electric blues styles with the migration of African-Americans north to Chicago in the 1940s.