Resonator Blues

History

Resonator guitars appeared in the late 1920s as louder acoustic instruments before amplification became common, quickly entering blues through traveling, street, and recording musicians. Tampa Red’s polished slide, Bukka White’s percussive National tone, Son House’s revival-era resonator performances, Blind Boy Fuller’s ragtime-blues bite, Bo Carter’s double-entendre records, and later Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ kept resonator blues visible across prewar, folk-revival, and modern roots eras. Resonator Blues influenced bluegrass dobro, country blues revival, slide-guitar culture, and Americana recording aesthetics.

Defining artists

• Tampa RedSpotifyYouTube
• Bukka WhiteSpotifyYouTube
• Son HouseSpotifyYouTube
• Blind Boy FullerSpotifyYouTube
• Bo CarterSpotifyYouTube
• Taj MahalSpotifyYouTube

Essential listening

• It Hurts Me Too — Tampa RedSpotifyYouTube
• Fixin' to Die Blues — Bukka WhiteSpotifyYouTube
• Death Letter — Son HouseSpotifyYouTube
• Rag, Mama, Rag — Blind Boy FullerSpotifyYouTube
• Corrine Corrina — Bo CarterSpotifyYouTube
• She Caught the Katy — Taj MahalSpotifyYouTube

Sources

• Bob Brozman, The History and Artistry of National Resonator Instruments
• Jas Obrecht, Early Blues
• Samuel Charters, The Country Blues
• AllMusic