Page 40 - Blues Festival Guide Magazine 2022

Deep in Chicago Blues

By Wayne Baker Brooks – and this sub-genre and its sound hit the mainstream. It was
When asked what is the most popular style in the blues embraced by the world like never before in an extremely new
genre, I immediately think of Chicago blues. Some of my rock ‘n roll era.
Every guitar player wanted Muddy’s sound. Every
friends from down South may think I’m a little biased, being
that I was born and raised in Chicago in the thick of this sub- harmonica wanted to sound big and bold like Little Walter.
genre, but when I think of performing over the years in more Every songwriter wanted to write like Willie Dixon, and play
than 45 countries at the festivals, concert series and clubs bass like him too. We can fast forward to the 1960s and see
we were blessed enough to perform in, I know for a fact that Chicago blues thriving through musicians like Junior Wells,
Chicago blues is the most popular. It is loved worldwide in Luther Allison, Koko Taylor, Magic Sam, Otis Rush and Lonnie
different countries and heard by most audiences who do not Brooks. We can see the sub-genre stretch its influence, like
even speak English, but who know every word to the songs. when Buddy Guy and his explosive Fender Strat sparked a
Chicago blues resonates universally. deep love for the Chicago blues guitar sound in young English
Chicago blues catapulted the genre of blues into the rock stars including Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck,
mainstream in 1948 when Muddy Waters changed up the Eric Clapton and The Rolling Stones, who named their band
game by electrifying “I Can’t Be Satisfied” on Aristocrat after Muddy Water’s song “Rolling Stone.” The rich history
Records. Muddy plugged a guitar cord into this new device of Chicago blues paved the road for thousands of musicians,
called an amplifier. It amplified his sound and that sound artists and superstars worldwide.
became a lot more urban blues sounding than when he lived We all know – or should know – how Muddy, Wolf, Walter,
on Stovall Plantation in Mississippi, playing Delta blues or Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Etta James and others changed
country blues with just an acoustic guitar. By the 1950s, music in the 1950s and ‘60s. They made it appealing to
Chicago blues music had advanced to the sound we know mainstream radio and got great exposure. But the foundation
and love still to this day. of this new edgier “Chicago blues” sound – characterized by
Little Walter wanted to expand his sound, so he teamed Muddy’s electric guitar and Little Walter’s wailing harmonica
up with Muddy, plugged into an amp too and recorded hits – was built from the 1920s through the ‘50s by established
with Chess Records. The label wholeheartedly embraced this artists like Big Bill Broonzy, Memphis Minnie, Tampa Red
unique sound from Muddy and Little Walter, but also enhanced and Sonny Boy Williamson I. Let’s dig deeper into these four
it with a special reverb chamber built within the studio. Add predecessors… who all had one common denominator. We’ll
the most prolific writer in any genre of music – Willie Dixon pick up on their journeys in Chicago…

38 Blues Festival Guide 2022