Blind Lemon Jefferson

Blind Lemon Jefferson (1893-1929) - I first heard of Blind Lemon Jefferson while watching the epic 1970s' TV show "Baretta." Robert Blake, as the title character, often expressed his preference for the records of Blind Lemon Jefferson -especially Black Snake Moan. I never really got into his music until recently. It was my loss! Blind Lemon Jefferson is as much as anyone the "father" of blues guitar playing. With his great creativity, Jefferson created the basic vocabulary of blues guitar riffs and runs.

Jefferson's playing is incredibly varied. He used both monotonic and alternating bass patterns as well as others that don't fit into either category! On tunes like Hot Dogs, he seems to change chords when he feels like it! One aspect of his playing that I like is the way he sometimes alternates the bass from the 6th string to the 3rd string - instead of to the 4th string. Bo Carter did this too. Listen to tunes like One Dime Blues and you'll see what I mean.

Wikipedia Biography