             |
He took Chicago by
storm in the late '40s when he played it on the "modern" innovation, the
electric guitar, with a small band. Using a small amplifier turned up to
where
the notes would distort in vocal-like ways, sometimes smooth, sometimes
raucous, Muddy's slide guitar provided solid rhythm, answered his
singing, and
took slashing powerful solos.
In the '50s, Muddy began to play his guitar
more
often in conventional tuning, but continued to play slide, much in the
guitar
styles of Tampa Red and Robert Nighthawk. As with his voice, Muddy would
slide
up and down to notes, and use a range of wide or narrow vibrato, to make
his
slide notes sing. The trademark electric slide solo that he played on
many of
his slow blues songs was guaranteed to drive his audiences crazy. You
could
spend the rest of your life digging the subtleties and emotion and rhythm
and
surprises in Muddy Waters' slide guitar playing, and you'd never get to
the
bottom. Bob Margolin spent many years in Muddy's touring band and has become a
successful solo artist and journalist.
For more information on Bob Margolin contact:
Bonnie Tallman, BC Productions (570) 584 4480 or Alligator Records
www.alligator.com |
"Mannish Boy" from Hard Again Acoustic Slide Electric Slide
|
Muddy Waters is not more widely credited with being a great slide guitar player only because his singing, his legendary position in the Blues
World,
and his charisma are pretty distracting. But his slide guitar playing was
so
powerful that he could never be upstaged, even by other guitar players
whom we
consider to be great. Muddy's early Delta Blues mostly open-tuning slide
guitar was influenced by Son House and Robert Johnson.
