Blues-rock

Blues Rock or Blues-rock is a fusion genre of music that combines elements of the blues with rock and roll. It is a particular style developed in the mid-1960s, a good example being The Rolling Stones who experimented with music from the old Bluesmen like Elmore James, Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Champion Jack Dupree. (The Rolling Stones later abandoned the style and went on to more classical Chuck Berry style rock.)

Related Topics:
Blues - Rock and roll - 1960s - The Rolling Stones - Elmore James - Howlin' Wolf - Muddy Waters - Champion Jack Dupree - Chuck Berry

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Blues rock's best-known artist is probably Eric Clapton, whose work in the mid sixties, with The Yardbirds, with 60s supergroup Cream, and later with Derek and the Dominos, and extensive solo career have all been seminal in the bringing of blues and rock into the mainstream.

Related Topics:
Eric Clapton - The Yardbirds - Cream - Derek and the Dominos - Mainstream

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In the late 60s Jeff Beck, also a former member of The Yardbirds, revolutionised the blues rock into a sort of Heavy Rock, taking the UK and the USA by storm with his band, The Jeff Beck Group with among the members a young Rod Stewart on vocals and an even younger Ronnie Wood on bass.

Related Topics:
Jeff Beck - UK - USA - The Jeff Beck Group - Rod Stewart - Ronnie Wood

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Blues rock has since been a smouldering fire that still has its influence; see, for example, The Black Crowes.

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While rock and blues have always been historically closely linked, blues-rock as a distinct genre did not arise until the late 1960s. The genre was originally British, with artists like Alexis Korner and John Mayall forming groups that acted as a training ground for the future stars of the genre, while American bands like Canned Heat and the Paul Butterfield Blues Band were also pioneers. Blues-rock was characterized by bluesy improvisation and long jams.

Related Topics:
1960s - Alexis Korner - John Mayall - Canned Heat - Paul Butterfield Blues Band

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Beginning in the early 1970s, American blues-rock grew to include Southern rock and hard rock bands like the Allman Brothers Band, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Fabulous Thunderbirds and ZZ Top, while the British scene became focused on heavy metal innovation. Blues-rock had a re-birth in the early 1990s and continues today, with many artists such as Tracy Conover, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Jonny Lang, Tommy Castro, Anthony Gomes, The Black Crowes, The Black Keys, The White Stripes and Joe Bonamassa performing and releasing album to enthusiastic fans.

Related Topics:
1970s - Southern rock - Hard rock - Allman Brothers Band - Stevie Ray Vaughan - Fabulous Thunderbirds - ZZ Top - Heavy metal - 1990s - Tracy Conover - Kenny Wayne Shepherd - Jonny Lang - Tommy Castro - Anthony Gomes - The Black Crowes - The Black Keys - The White Stripes - Joe Bonamassa

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A classic example of blues-rock is Cream's "Crossroads", adapted from Robert Johnson's "Cross Road Blues"; it fuses some of the lyrical and musical styles of blues with rock-styled tempo and guitar solos. Less heard but great examples nonetheless are almost all Clapton played with The Yardbirds particularly "Smokestack Lightnin'"

Related Topics:
Robert Johnson - Guitar solo

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