Beginning With A Trickle Then A Flood - The Arrival Of The Blues In England

Chris Barber's Jazz Band using the beautiful Otillie Patterson on vocals brought the sound of New Orleans to British traditional Jazz buffs during the late fifties and early sixties. This was just the start of a wave of new sounds that culminated in what came to be referred to as the British Blues Boom!

On Banjo was the excellent Lonnie Donegan who was crowned the Godfather of Skiffle a year or two later. All the early musical melting pots are springboards for the next generation of music artists and within a few years the music scene was to change forever.

My initial exposure to the Blues was on Barber's terrific LP New Orleans Joys. I forget all of the titles now, but the haunting melodies stirred up surprising sensations and led me a few years later to a lifelong passion for the Blues as I'm positive it did with many young children at the time.

The group that I think was the turning point at that point was certainly the Yardbirds, whose incredible energy and commitment had been absolutely unmatched on stage.

My initial encounter this Juggernaut happened to be on a Monday morning in class. Some friends told me about this incredible band that they had watched at the Marquee that had a guitarist that was basically unbelievable.

That year was 1963, the person in question (well he was just eighteen years old!) was Eric Clapton.

The legend was underway at this stage and I believe Eric was accountable for the massive interest brewing in the Blues in Britain as the Yardbirds grew to become big names on the R & B circuit.

A lot of guitars had been sold at that point as Young Bloods attempted to emulate Clapton, some with success and several without.

Probably one reason for the increase in guitar bands as opposed to wishy-washy pop music of the time was the invention of the practically forgotten Gibson Les Paul which generated the sound closest to the Chicago Blues many years earlier.

Eric's use of this instrument took the Blues to a new elevation and no-one could avoid the flood that was on the way.

With the Yardbirds, there was a mix of Gibson and Fender guitars being used. Eric at first played a Fender Telecaster along with rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja working with the Gibson 335, but the favorite in many years to come particularly in '65 and '66 was the Les Paul.

There's a rock band music list of artists that use this marvelous instrument. To listen to their free rock music, explore: rock music new.

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