Talk:Blind Blake
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Blind Blake is probably the finest guitarist of his era.Too bad he is not the most famous.Just for fun try playing in is style.It's very difficult to master.Thats all the proof you should need.Cheers .....James Anthony
I'd go further. I think he was the greatest guitarist of any genre, of any era. The only one who comes close is Rev. Gary Davis. Blake was unbelievable--and he did it blind.--Susan Nunes 19 March 2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by 207.228.62.224 (talk) 22:12, 19 March 2008 (UTC)
Wanting to play Diddie Wah Diddie made me approach the guitar seriously for the first time in years, and also made me do without a pick (after being too lazy to learn to play with right hand fingers). And you're right it IS fun. Blake afficionado Woody Mann has an excellent DVD which takes you through some of BB's songs. (Nick Sweeney)
Was Blind Blake visually blind? if he was, say he was, in additon say "hence the name Blind" --SuperDude 01:27, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)
- Yep. -- Infrogmation 04:38, 19 Jun 2005 (UTC)
Blind Blake's playing is truly spectacular. Listen to "West Coast Blues", "Seaboard Stomp", or "Southern Rag" and you'll hear what I mean. Nobody has ever come close to his level of virtuosity, particularly his rolling bass patterns and tricky chord substitutions. He makes it sound so easy, and his rhythmic sense is just incredible - rock solid. Blake has, in my opinion, been undervalued. There has been so much attention focused on delta blues artists that people like Blake have fallen between the cracks. He recorded during the first wave of male blues singers, but was really more of a jazz guitarist. Check out "Hot Potatoes" and "Southbound Rag" with legendary clarinetist Johnny Dodds to get an idea of how well Blake's playing anchors a great jazz soloist. He certainly would have held his own with the likes of Louis Armstrong, and in fact most of his recordings are closer in style to the hot jazz of the time than to blues. The word "ragtime" is somewhat misleading in reference to Blake, as there is much more of a stride piano (Blake also played piano- see "Let Your Love Come Down") feel to his sound. People tend to use the word "ragtime" rather than "jazz", forgetting that the jazz of the mid-late 20s was very different than what would later evolve. Would early Armstrong be labeled "ragtime"? Of course not. Neither should Blake. CDavlin 03:30, 16 February 2006 (UTC)
