Electric Blues Rock
tagStarted mid-1960sPeak 1965–1973Last big hit still active
Electric blues rock pushes closer to electric-blues vocabulary than generic blues-rock does: the riffs are still rooted in postwar blues, but the amps are louder and the drums hit like rock records. It favors taut guitar-led arrangements, high-energy solos, and a sharper edge than traditional electric blues bands.
History
This style sits exactly on the bridge from Chicago-style electric blues to late-1960s rock. The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Cream, Jeff Beck Group, Johnny Winter, Rory Gallagher, and Lonnie Mack all translated amplified blues into rock-stage voltage without entirely abandoning blues song shapes or lead phrasing.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- The Blues Foundation on rock-blues
- Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on blues as a root of rock and on Clapton
- Britannica on Stevie Ray Vaughan.