Chicago blues is a type of blues music that began in Chicago, Illinois. It was influenced by earlier blues styles, like Delta blues, but was played in an urban setting. It grew during the Great Migration, when many African Americans moved to cities in the early 20th century. Chicago blues is different from older styles because it uses electric instruments, especially the electric guitar, and special sound effects like distortion and overdrive.
Muddy Waters, often called the “father” of Chicago blues, worked with Delta blues musicians Son House and Robert Johnson. He moved to Chicago in 1943 and joined Big Bill Broonzy, helping create a unique style of Chicago blues that became popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Musicians like Willie Dixon, Howlin' Wolf, and John Lee Hooker joined him, and by the late 1950s and early 1960s, Chicago blues became known worldwide. It influenced early rock and roll artists such as Chuck Berry and Bo Diddley, as well as British blues and hard rock musicians like Eric Clapton, the Rolling Stones, and Led Zeppelin. Record companies like Vee-Jay Records and Chess Records helped spread the music. The Chicago Blues Festival has been held every year since 1984, on the anniversary of Muddy Waters’ death, to honor and share the tradition of Chicago blues.
History
Chicago blues came from Delta blues. This happened during the Great Migration, when African Americans moved from the southern United States to northern cities like Chicago. Some people moved because they were forced to, and others moved to find better jobs and escape unfair laws in the South. Musicians like Big Bill Broonzy and Muddy Waters joined this migration. Bruce Iglauer, who started Alligator Records, said, "Chicago blues is the music of the industrial city, and has an industrial sense about it." Kevin Moore, a Chicago blues singer and guitarist, said, "You have to put some new life into it, new blood, new perspectives. You can't keep talking about mules, workin' on the levee." Chicago blues was influenced by Mississippi blues musicians who moved to Chicago in the 1940s. As African Americans moved from rural areas to cities, the quiet, simple style of Delta blues no longer fit the busy, noisy culture of Chicago. This change led to the creation of a new sound in Chicago blues.
Chicago blues uses the sound of electric guitars and harmonicas. The harmonica is played through loudspeakers or amplifiers, often making a distorted sound. The music also includes drums, bass, and piano. In the past, Delta blues was played in quiet places with just a few musicians. But in Chicago, musicians had to play louder to be heard in crowded clubs or on busy streets. They switched from acoustic to electric instruments and added drums and bass to create a bigger, more powerful sound. This led to the use of a standard 12-bar blues structure in Chicago blues.
Urban blues began in Chicago and St. Louis. It was played by part-time musicians who performed on the street, at rent parties, and other events in African American communities. For example, Kokomo Arnold was a steelworker and had a business selling moonshine, which was more profitable than his music.
An early place for Chicago blues musicians to perform was the Maxwell Street market, one of the largest open-air markets in the United States. People from the black community visited it to buy and sell items. Musicians often played there to earn money and practice with others. Many blues musicians started by playing on the street or at house parties before moving to blues clubs. The first blues clubs in Chicago were mostly in black neighborhoods on the South Side, with a few on the West Side. New technology and the addition of drums to electric music helped create a new club culture. One famous club was Ruby Lee Gatewood's Tavern, known as "The Gates." In the 1930s, many famous musicians played there.
Chicago blues developed in the tough conditions of the city’s Black neighborhoods. The loud, energetic sound of electric Chicago blues showed the challenges of these areas. People outside these communities sometimes found Chicago blues confusing or disagreed with it. The style of Chicago blues also changed depending on where musicians lived. Those on the West Side played a smoother style with more jazz influences, while those on the South Side played a rougher, more intense sound.
Record companies like Paramount Records, RCA Victor, and Columbia Records helped spread Chicago blues worldwide. These companies made Chicago blues a popular business. The music reached Europe and the United Kingdom. In the 1960s, young British musicians were greatly influenced by Chicago blues, leading to the British blues movement.
According to Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981), Chicago blues was best recorded in the 1970s, in part because of Alligator Records and its owner, Bruce Iglauer. Robert Christgau called Iglauer a "folkie Leonard Chess."
Influence
Chicago blues had a major impact on the development of early rock and metal music. Chuck Berry first signed with Chess Records, one of the most important Chicago blues record companies. Berry met Muddy Waters in Chicago, and Waters encouraged him to try out for Chess Records. Willie Dixon and other blues musicians helped record some of Berry's earliest songs. In the early 1960s, British rock bands like the Yardbirds and the Animals (called the British Invasion in the United States) were strongly influenced by Chicago blues artists. These bands worked as supporting musicians for Sonny Boy Williamson II and made their first recordings with him during his tours in England in 1963 and 1964. Some British groups often performed Chicago blues songs, such as Howlin' Wolf's “Smokestack Lightning,” which was a common choice for their live shows. Additionally, both the Rolling Stones and Rolling Stone Magazine were named after one of Muddy Waters’s most famous songs, “Rollin’ Stone,” which he released in 1950. American musicians, including the Paul Butterfield Blues Band (which included members from Howlin' Wolf’s band), John P. Hammond, and Charlie Musselwhite, played music in the style of Chicago blues. Later, bands like Cream, Rory Gallagher, and the Allman Brothers Band also performed their own versions of Chicago blues songs and helped make blues rock more popular.