'Can Blue Men Sing the Whites...

...or are they hypocrites?' to quote an old Bonzo Dog Doodah Band song. Back in the 1960's British Blues Boom, there was a lot of criticism in the music press of whether white boys from the U.K (and the U.S) were entitled to sing the blues as they hadn't paid their dues by suffering the trials and tribulations of the Afro Americans. When a black musician such as B B King, Muddy Waters or John Lee Hooker performs, the guitar is subordinant to the vocals, that is, used as call and response or to finish a vocal line or just as an accompaniment. The opposite is true of white blues artistes such as Stevie Ray Vaughan or Joe Bonamassa. In these cases the guitar plays the dominant role with histrionic and often extended solos whereas the vocal comes in second place. There you have it then, the choice is either soulful black vocals, telling a story, or flashy instrumentals featuring a vocal refrain. I know which I prefer

What's In a Name?

It is a peculiar thing, but something that seems to be more common to blues singers than any other type of musician, that a large number of them have 'nick names'. For example, Howlin' Wolf, MuddyWaters, Magic Sam, Lightnin' Hopkins, Guitar Slim, and, more recently, Seasick Steve, the list seems to be endless. It may be that these names make the music and the musicians seem more exotic and unusual........Ramblin Robbo