Electric Blues Soul
tagStarted 1957Peak 1961-1972Last big hit still active
Located in 1 route
Amplified postwar blues sung with soul intensity: stinging, sustain-heavy single-string guitar leads answering the vocal, walking bass, shuffle and slow-blues grooves, and a singer who growls, pleads and bends pitch like the guitar does. Memphis and West Side Chicago tones dominate, often dressed with brassy horn punches and Hammond organ.
History
When Chicago and Memphis blues went electric in the 1950s, players like Otis Rush and Magic Sam fused stinging guitar with gospel-charged vocals on the West Side. Albert King's Stax sessions and Bobby Bland's slow-burning ballads pushed the style toward full soul arrangements in the 1960s, cementing a guitar-and-voice dialogue that shaped rock and blues alike for decades after.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_blues
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otis_Rush
- https://craftrecordings.com/blogs/permanent-record/albert-king-born-under-a-bad-sign