Chapter 12: Gospel, Blues and R&B
Buddy Guy
American blues singer and guitarist Buddy Guy (b. 1936) spent his early years in Louisiana, where he began playing guitar and was part of the younger generation of Black musicians who performed alongside Lightnin’ Slim (Otis Hicks, 1913–74). After relocating to Chicago, Guy was influenced by Otis Rush, a leading figure in the Chicago blues scene, and claimed to have once won a blues contest against him. Guy’s guitar style is marked by lyrical phrasing and precise execution, often allowing notes to sustain and fade naturally, a technique enhanced by the use of amplified instruments.
Guy became a regular guitarist for Chess Records, recording notable tracks such as “First Time I Met the Blues” (1960), which features his expressive guitar work and a high, intense vocal delivery. He also provided skilled accompaniment for artists like Sonny Boy Williamson II on “Trying to Get Back on My Feet” (1963, Checker) and demonstrated sensitivity as a collaborator with Junior Wells on the slow blues “Ships on the Ocean” (1965, Delmark). His partnership with Wells was especially successful, combining musical skill with strong stage presence that made them popular on concert circuits and international tours.
Throughout the 1970s, Guy recorded some of his best work on tour, including Ten Years Ago (Red Lightnin’, recorded in Montreux, 1974), a new take on a song originally recorded in 1961, and High Heel Sneakers (1975, Bourbon), captured during a tour in Japan. In 1991, Guy released the well-received album Damn Right I’ve Got the Blues (Silverstone), reaffirming his status as a leading figure in Chicago blues. Guy remained a prominent performer and, in the 1990s, founded the Blues Legends Club in Chicago, further cementing his legacy in the city’s rich blues tradition.
Big Mama Thornton
Big Mama Thornton (1926-1984), born Willie Mae Thornton in 1926 in Alabama, was a blues singer and songwriter whose deep voice and assertive performance style helped shape postwar rhythm and blues. Influenced by gospel and blues traditions she encountered growing up in the South, Thornton developed a raw and emotionally expressive vocal delivery. She began her musical career performing in Southern clubs and with traveling tent shows, eventually gaining wider recognition during the 1950s.
Thornton is perhaps best known for her original recording of “Hound Dog” in 1952, a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Her version featured a gritty vocal delivery and a driving, rhythmic backing that captured the energy of postwar urban blues. Though Elvis Presley’s later cover of “Hound Dog” brought the song mainstream success, Thornton’s rendition remains a landmark in blues history, exemplifying her ability to convey toughness and vulnerability simultaneously.
Thornton’s musical style blended traditional blues with rhythm and blues and early rock and roll. Her performances emphasized powerful vocals, rhythmic phrasing, and a physical stage presence that challenged conventional expectations for women in the industry. Her work also included songs like “Ball and Chain,” which Janis Joplin later brought to broader audiences, although Thornton’s original conveyed a different kind of emotional gravity.
Thornton remained active through the 1960s and 1970s, performing in festivals and clubs in the United States and Europe. Despite limited mainstream recognition during her lifetime, her recordings and live performances contributed significantly to the development of electric blues and influenced a wide range of artists across genres.
Sister Rosetta Tharpe
Sister Rosetta Tharpe (1915–1973), born Rosetta Nubin in 1915 in Arkansas, was a pioneering guitarist and singer whose innovative fusion of gospel music with rhythmic drive and electric guitar helped lay the groundwork for both modern gospel and early rock and roll. Raised in a religious family, Tharpe began performing in church at a young age, quickly gaining recognition for her energetic style and distinctive voice. She combined spiritual lyrics with a powerful, rhythmic guitar technique that was unlike anything heard in traditional church music at the time.
Tharpe’s guitar playing featured strong rhythmic strumming, fingerpicking, and early use of electric amplification, producing a sound that was both melodic and driving. Her ability to blend sacred themes with popular musical elements attracted both religious and secular audiences, breaking down boundaries between genres. She was known for songs like “Strange Things Happening Every Day” and “This Train,” which showcased her spirited vocals and innovative guitar work.
Her performances were dynamic and charismatic, often including showmanship such as playing guitar behind her head or with her teeth, influencing later rock and roll performers. Tharpe’s music had a significant impact on artists such as Chuck Berry, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley, who cited her as a key influence in shaping their sound and style.
Alongside artists like Big Mama Thornton, her contributions are often underrepresented in mainstream music histories, in part due to the gender norms of the era and the male-dominated nature of the blues and rock canon. Both performers challenged expectations not only through their musical innovation but also by occupying spaces of authority and visibility in genres that rarely centered women. Their work laid important groundwork for later developments in gospel, blues, and rock music, even as their recognition came more fully in retrospect.