Blind Blake

Blind Blake (1893-1933) was, in the opinion of many, the greatest of all the pre-war fingerpicking blues guitarists. He was simply amazing! Blake's song list includes many different styles of music that were performed during the 1920s and 1930s. Blake recorded blues, ragtime, and a variety of popular tunes of the day. Unfortunately, little is known about the man who disappeared mysteriously in 1933. There is only one known photo of him - shown on this page.

What Blake DID leave behind were a series of incredible recordings that display his solid singing and remarkable guitar style. Like many of the other guitarists featured on this site, Blake employed an alternating bass -- but Blake's distinctive thumb rolls and lightning-fast runs make his playing a level or two above most others.

Many of Blake's best tunes are played in the key of C, but he played in G, D, Open D, and Dropped D tuning as well!

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