Re: [Harp-L] Blues and country and gospel

["Tom Muck" <tommuck@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Now, there's an interesting point that Johnny Shines once made to me
> in conversation. He said, If you sing, my baby's pretty, she got
> (whatever attributes you think are fine), that ain't the blues. Blue
> for Johnny Shines was the unburdening of trouble in lyrics.

> So for him, one of the great storytellers of the blues, blues was not
> defined by form or scale but by lyrics. For him, a huge chunk of what
> gets called blues he would consider not to be blues.

The one thing that hasn't been mentioned in the various blues threads is 
that harmonica plays a more central role in blues than in other forms of 
music. In "Love Me Do" and other rock songs, it just appears as an intro. In 
the blues, it is an important part of the story being told -- the call and 
response of vocals with the harp. The harp becomes the second voice in the 
song, and at the very least is a lead instrument. That's one reason they 
call it the Mississippi saxophone.

Stevie Wonder may have sold more records than any blues harmonica player, 
but I've known about Stevie for 35 years, seen him play on tv dozens of 
times, and never knew he played harmonica until I got on this list. . . or 
if I did, it's not something I remember or associate with him. Growing up, 
people like Dylan and Neil Young made me hate the harmonica. The blues guys 
made me love it.

Tom