I saw this statement by Cosmicdust in the 'Top TEn ROCK lead guitar solos of all time??' thread and found it quite interesting.

IMHO, it's impossible to seperate blues from rock. Johnny Winter, Clapton, Hendrix, Trower, Allman, yada, yada, yada are a mix and where does the blues end and the rock begin?

I would comfortably say that w/o blues and a mix of country, there wouldn't be any rock. Period. Fats Domino, Presley, Bill Haley, Cash, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, etc, were all affected by blues and country and their music reflects it. Many of the all time great rock songs began their journey as blues songs - especially Presleys early work.

Every great rock guitarist is a fan of the blues whether or not they know it. Call it "Six degrees of seperation from the Blues".

Here, here, you said a mouthful. You made some excellent points. Like the old song says, blues had a baby and named it rock and roll.

Zepplin. Animals. Yardbirds. Yada yada. Heck even headbamgers like Sabbath played massive blues.

Pete

I would comfortably say that w/o blues and a mix of country, there wouldn't be any rock. Period. Fats Domino, Presley, Bill Haley, Cash, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, etc, were all affected by blues and country and their music reflects it. Many of the all time great rock songs began their journey as blues songs - especially Presleys early work.

Every great rock guitarist is a fan of the blues whether or not they know it. Call it "Six degrees of seperation from the Blues".

Thats it in a nutshell man. The real birth of "Rock And Roll" as we know and love it is all about what Datsunmike wrote. Really you have to throw some good ol southern Gospel in the mix to get the taste just right. Maybe a little Jerry Lee Lewis for a "Whole Lotta Shakin"

I left out a few like Chuck, Jerry Lee but my memory suffers at times. And as Tubejunke said, gospel must be included, which is from where Little Richard, among a great many others, got his inspiration.

Hiya Datsun Mike,

I just stumbled upon this thread!

Yes, you are right. Blues is basically 12 bars. Rock n' Roll is 12 bars. Rock is a louder 12 bars. Country has almost the same chording too from a guitarist's view-point.

Angus Young almost always goes on a Blues/Rock streak. Mark Knopfler, for his guitar's trade-mark wails and cries; could be a Blues man. Its hard to say where Eric Clapton fits for his playing has changed tremendously since The Yardbirds. Ritchie Blackmore has a remarkable blues streak. Duanne Allman combines many patterns. I wish I knew where Santana fits; he is just amazing. Jimmy Page has all of the basic roots somewhere in his guitaring.

Its a grand combination actually. Thank you for the opportunity to think about this!

Cheerio :-)
cosmicdust

Cosmicdust mentioned Angus Young, and that brought Chuck Berry to mind... To me he's the real bridge between blues and rock. Angus (and thousands of others) "steal" a whole lot from him. Muddy Waters might have well brought electricity to the blues, but he was still playing straight ahead blues licks. Chuck Berry introduced new licks, new combinations to the way he played, and then broke the lather-rinse-repeat blues way of singing. Rock N Roll owes a lot to Chuck...

Hallo Fotno :-)

da hast du mich drangekriegt! Ich liebe Chuckie! ein Name, der Wunder wirkt
: Chuck Berry :-)

Danke ....
cosmicdust

Rock N Roll owes a lot to Chuck...

Don't forget BB King either; he's been acknowledged by many as a major influence on their careers and playing :yes:

And don't forget Albert King who influenced a lot of geetar players particularly Stevie Ray Vaughn.

And Freddie King?

Of course, those old guys like Robert Johnson were also influenced by those that came before them. Remember that blues never would have existed but for the older styles they were created from.

I saw this statement by Cosmicdust in the 'Top TEn ROCK lead guitar solos of all time??' thread and found it quite interesting.

IMHO, it's impossible to seperate blues from rock. Johnny Winter, Clapton, Hendrix, Trower, Allman, yada, yada, yada are a mix and where does the blues end and the rock begin?

I would comfortably say that w/o blues and a mix of country, there wouldn't be any rock. Period. Fats Domino, Presley, Bill Haley, Cash, Little Richard, Buddy Holly, etc, were all affected by blues and country and their music reflects it. Many of the all time great rock songs began their journey as blues songs - especially Presleys early work.

Every great rock guitarist is a fan of the blues whether or not they know it. Call it "Six degrees of seperation from the Blues".

:beerchug:
Excellent analogy, my friend. I like to look at Eric Clapton, who went has went through so many "phases" in his career. At times emulating Freddy King, Robert Johnson, JJ Cale, Robert Johnson, Bob Marley & even Don Williams.

Peter Green hasn't been mentioned and is one of our favorites. :music:

Terry

Peter Green hasn't been mentioned and is one of our favorites. :music:

Terry
Great call :yes: All one needs to do is follow the paths of former "Bluesbreakers" guitar players and their places in rock & roll history. John Mayall can really pick em' when it comes to guitar players.