Blues Styles

 Boogie-Woogie is a piano style that evolved from the “stride piano” of the early 1900s; it became a national craze during the war years and beyond. Boogie-Woogie artists include Clarence "Pine Top" Smith, Pinetop Perkins, Big Joe Turner. 

 Chicago Blues has been described as delta blues amplified. The west side of Chicago produced a soul blues style using high energy guitar work. Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, Magic Sam, and Otis Rush are considered the prototype players.  

 Country Blues is a hybrid category that includes elements of R&B, Louisiana swamp boogie, Piedmont, gospel, and country.  It is interesting to note that early delta blues players might be classified as country blues by today’s standards.  Taj Mahal , Keb'Mo, John Hammond, Jorma Kaukonen are examples

 Delta Blues is one of the earliest styles of blues music.  It originated in the Mississippi Delta, and guitar and harmonica are the dominant instruments used.  Sonny Boy Williamson, James Cotton, R.L. Burnside are noted Delta Blues player 

 Jump Blues is an up-tempo style popular in the 1940s.  Kansas City produced a swing style of blues that combined honking saxes with “blues shouter” vocals in a rowdy, uptempo style.  Notable artists include Cab Calloway, Smiley Lewis, and Sam Taylor. 

Louisiana Blues is a style that includes many different types of rhythms, including Latin rhumba and the almost country-like zydeco beat. New Orleans was the melting pot of most musical influences in America, so the music of Louisiana combines Cajun, Creole, Zydeco Latin, marches, swing, and others.

 Notable artists include James Booker, Fats Domino, Guitar Slim, Smiley Lewis, Little Richard, and Steamboat Willie.