Groove Blues
Located in 2 routes
Groove Blues puts the pocket ahead of the lyric, solo, or chord progression: repeated guitar riffs, bass-and-drum locks, handclap or foot rhythm, and vocals treated as another rhythmic layer. It can be hill-country, funk-blues, or juke-joint electric, but it always values bodily momentum over harmonic complication.
History
Groove Blues grew from juke joints, dance picnics, fife-and-drum rhythm, John Lee Hooker-style boogie, and North Mississippi hill-country vamps, then broadened into blues-funk and modern roots bands. R. L. Burnside, Junior Kimbrough, Jessie Mae Hemphill, Mississippi Fred McDowell, T-Model Ford, North Mississippi Allstars, and Cedric Burnside made groove the unmistakable center of their blues. The style influenced blues-funk, jam bands, indie blues, garage blues, and contemporary festival sets where a repeated riff can carry ten minutes without apology.
Defining artists
Essential listening
- Goin' Down South — R. L. BurnsideSpotifyYouTube
- All Night Long — Junior KimbroughSpotifyYouTube
- Standing in My Doorway Crying — Jessie Mae HemphillSpotifyYouTube
- Shake 'Em on Down — Mississippi Fred McDowellSpotifyYouTube
- Take a Ride with Me — T-Model FordSpotifyYouTube
- Shake 'Em on Down — North Mississippi AllstarsSpotifyYouTube
Sources
- Alan Lomax, The Land Where the Blues Began
- Robert Palmer, Deep Blues
- AllMusic
- Living Blues