Slide Guitar Rock-Blues
tagStarted late 1960sPeak 1970s–2000sLast big hit still active
Slide Guitar Rock-Blues brings bottleneck phrasing into electric rock arrangements. The slide adds vocalized glissando, open-tuning resonance, and a crying attack that cuts through drums and bass without needing many notes.
History
Blues slide had deep prewar roots, but rock-blues made it louder and more central to lead-guitar identity. Duane Allman, Johnny Winter, Sonny Landreth, Derek Trucks, George Thorogood, and Bonnie Raitt each proved that slide could range from greasy bar-band riffing to virtuosic melodic lead work without losing its blues accent.
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.