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Description of Harmonica Blues

 
Pioneered by the likes of Sonny Boy Williamson II, Lazy Lester and Jimmy Reed -- then carried into the later part of the century by Little Walter and Junior Wells -- Harmonica Blues centers around the blues "harp," or harmonica. Little Walter developed the style's electric sound in Chicago, while Slim Harpo played a neck harp in Louisiana at the same time. In later years, artists like Paul Butterfield and Bob Dylan incorporated harmonica into folk, rock, and blues revival.
 

Harmonica Blues Key Tracks

 
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1. Gambling for My Bread William Clarke
2. Have A Good Time Big Walter "Shakey" Horton
3. Superharp James Cotton
4. High Compression James Cotton
 

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Harmonica Blues Key Artists

 
Big Walter "Shakey" Horton

Finessed and soulful harp
player Big Walter has been
churning out classic
Harmonica Blues since the
1940s.

Charlie Musselwhite

One of the first white
bluesmen to make a name
for himself thanks to his
passionate, direct skills on
the harmonica.

Lazy Lester

Swampy harmonica blues
for when you been
drankin' bourbon for who
knows how many days and
that damn woman is gawn...

Little Walter

Little Walter (born Marion
Walter Jacobs in 1930) is
generally considered the
most influential harp player
in all of blues. He quit sch...

Paul Butterfield

Butterfield's ferocious harp
work made him one of the
first white players who
could sit in with early-'60s
Chicago Blues-men. Unde...

Sonny Boy Williamson

Influential harmonica player
Sonny Boy Williamson was a
hilarious and heartbreaking
beacon of blues until his
death in 1965.

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