Like every musical style, there are those who become famous and those who do not. And how well they can play is usually not a big deal when it comes to fame. Some famous people play great, some don’t, some ‘common’ people play great and some don’t.
I have combined for you some of my favorite obscure artists. What are yours?
. Skip James – His unique and brilliantly developed finger picking style, his slow and penetrating songs. He influenced masters, lots of Robert Johnson songs are based on his. High pitched voice, also played piano. A truly great bluesman.
. Sonny Boy Williamson I – Ok, Sonny Boy Williamson II got quite famous for a blues man, but the first and great? Today, people don’t even put the one or two at the end, because nobody quite remembers this true master of the harmonica. Although he is gone, his music remained. He is responsible for a huge advance in blues harmonica. And he deserves mention.
. Howlin’ Wolf – A classic Chicago Blues player, you can see in his songs where many others got it from. With a nickname like that, you can probably guess what he sings like. He is not famous like he deserved, but he does have an annual memory festival.
. Elmore James – King of the Slide Guitar, exciting playing, but at the same time, blues. He died before the 60’s blues boom, so very little is known about his life. No live records and few pictures, but his different, strange slide sound will live on. A huge and one of the only electric guitar slide players.
. Memphis Jug Band – A varying style band featuring many instruments, even a violin. Were popular at their time, but over the years falled into obscurity. They played very early city blues, with more of a ‘ballad’ than classic blues records. They really defined what would become of blues in the 50’s and 60’s, and so, the biggest and most famous part of blues.
