Stevie Ray Vaughan’s Life by the Drop Tab and Lesson
Life by the Drop is a mean sounding blues, especially on the 12-string. Try this one using the chord shapes instead of just the two-note chords in the video. This is a pretty easy one, but sounds really good.
Down load the tab here.
Simply the Best Fingerpicking Manual for Country Blues Guitar
Categories: Guitar Tabs, Lessons Tags:
Blind Lemon Jefferson: The Harbinger of Rock and Roll
There’s nothing subtle about Blind Lemon Jefferson’s music. He just brings it and lets the chips fall; nothing but straight ahead hard-driving gutbucket blues.
He came from Wortham, Texas, where he is buried. Jefferson played on street corners for change and managed to use that foundation to build a successful recording career. No less a personage than T-Bone Walker claims to have led Blind Lemon on the streets. Both Lightnin’ Hopkins and Muddy Waters claim to have been taught by him.
He recorded for Paramount, where he felt he was cheated out of money and probably was. Contemporaries say he was weak for women and wine. The only extant picture of him may not even be him.
He died in Chicago in 1929. Some say he was poisoned by a jealous husband. Some say he froze to death. No one knows.
His music is echoed by Doc Watson, B. B. King, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Carl Perkins, the Beatles, and every kid who ever picked up a guitar and dreamed of playing the blues.
His grave was unmarked until 1967, until someone thought to put a Texas historical marker where his grave might have been. Today, he has a granite stone and a committee to see that his grave is kept clean in what is now named Blind Lemon Memorial Cemetery.
His contribution to American music is immeasurable.
There’s nothing subtle about Blind Lemon Jefferson’s music. He just brings it and lets the chips fall; nothing but straight ahead hard-driving gutbucket blues.
He came from Wortham, Texas, where he is buried. Jefferson played on street corners for change and managed to use that foundation to build a successful recording career. No less a personage than T-Bone Walker claims to have led Blind Lemon on the streets. Both Lightnin’ Hopkins and Muddy Waters claim to have been taught by him.
He recorded for Paramount, where he felt he was cheated out of money and probably was. Contemporaries say he was weak for women and wine. The only extant picture of him may not even be him.
He died in Chicago in 1929. Some say he was poisoned by a jealous husband. Some say he froze to death. No one knows.
His music is echoed by Doc Watson, B. B. King, Johnny Winter, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Carl Perkins, the Beatles, and every kid who ever picked up a guitar and dreamed of playing the blues.
His grave was unmarked until 1967, until someone thought to put a Texas historical marker where his grave might have been. Today, he has a granite stone and a committee to see that his grave is kept clean in what is now named Blind Lemon Memorial Cemetery.
His contribution to American music is immeasurable.
Download tab to Matchbox Blues.
Categories: Artists, Guitar Tabs Tags:
Deep River Blues Guitar Lesson and Tab
Highly Recommended
Deep River Blues was first done by the Delmore Brothers, though I suspect that the song may be even older. It’s a bright, jumpy blues that has a nice laid back, I don’t much give a damn feel.
It sounds harder than it is.
Here’s part 1 of a first class lesson by Brian Curran.
..and here’s part 2.
Here’s the Maestro playing it:
Here’s the tab.
Here’s some lessons in Doc Watson’s style.
Enjoy.
Categories: Guitar Tabs, Lessons Tags: Doc Watson
Make Me a Pallet on the Floor Tab
Everybody’s done this great old tune, but no one has done it better than Mississippi John Hurt. So listen to Mr. Hurt, download the tab, and make the song your own.
See Mississippi John Hurt Article.
Categories: Guitar Tabs Tags: Misissippi John Hurt
Blind Blake: Raggin’ the Blues
The only thing we really know about Blind Blake is that he was a hellish good guitarist. His bass notes are like a rock, steady as a metronome. His melody and grace notes are imaginative, jazzy, and impeccable.
Blake approaches the guitar like a ragtime piano, syncopated, and innovative. If you listen closely, you can hear how he influenced artists as diversified as Hank Williams, Gary Davis, and Keb Mo.
Marked by musical sophistication, a sly sense of humor, and an earthy outlook, Blake’s music echoes vaudeville, minstrel shows, and cakewalks. All we have of him is one picture, and the 79 sides he recorded for Paramount.
Compare Police Dog Blues to Blind Willie McTell’s Statesboro Blues.
The Reverend Gary Davis summed it up best, “Blind Blake was a sportin‘ guitar player.
Yes, he was.
Download Police Dog Blues Tab.
Categories: Artists, Guitar Tabs Tags: Blind Blake, Gary Davis
