Tampa Red
Out of the dozens of fine slide guitarists who recorded blues, only a handful -- Elmore James, Muddy Waters, and Robert Johnson, for example -- left a clear imprint on tradition by creating a recognizable and widely imitated instrumental style. Tampa Red was another influential musical model. During his heyday in the '20s and '30s, he was billed as "The Guitar Wizard," and his stunning slide work on electric or National steel guitar shows why he earned the title. His 30-year recording career produced hundreds of sides: hokum, pop, and jive, but mostly blues (including classic compositions "Anna Lou Blues," "Black Angel Blues," "Crying Won't Help You," "It Hurts Me Too," and "Love Her with a Feeling"). Early in Red's career, he teamed up with pianist, songwriter, and latter-day gospel composer Georgia Tom Dorsey, collaborating on double-entendre classics like "Tight Like That."
Listeners who only know Tampa Red's hokum material are missing the deeper side of one of the mainstays of Chicago blues. His peers included Big Bill Broonzy, with whom he shared a special friendship. Members of Lester Melrose's musical mafia and drinking buddies, they once managed to sleep through both games of a Chicago White Sox doubleheader. Eventually alcohol caught up with Red, and he blamed his latter-day health problems on an inability to refuse a drink.
During Red's prime, his musical venues ran the gamut of blues institutions: down-home jukes, the streets, the vaudeville theater circuit, and the Chicago club scene. Due to his polish and theater experience, he is often described as a city musician or urban artist in contrast to many of his more limited musical contemporaries. Furthermore, his house served as the blues community's rehearsal hall and an informal booking agency. According to the testimony of Broonzy and Big Joe Williams, Red cared for other musicians by offering them a meal and a place to stay and generally easing their transition from country to city life.
Today's listener will enjoy Tampa Red's expressive vocals and perhaps be taken aback by his kazoo solos. His songwriting has stood the test of time, and any serious slide guitar student had better be familiar with Red's guitar wizardry.
© Barry Lee Pearson /TiVo
-
Bottleneck Guitar 1928-1937
Blues - Pubblicato da Yazoo il 1 gen 1974
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tampa Red The Guitar Wizard
Blues - Pubblicato da Legacy - Columbia il 1 ott 1975
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Presenting Tampa Red
Blues - Pubblicato da Universal Digital Enterprises il 3 dic 1928
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Song Collection
Blues - Pubblicato da Jazz Experience il 26 set 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Slide Guitar Wizard, Chicago - 1931-1946
Blues - Pubblicato da Fremeaux Heritage il 14 apr 1961
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Bluebird Recordings 1934-1936
Blues - Pubblicato da RCA Bluebird il 28 ott 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tampa Red Vol. 5 (1931 - 1934)
Blues - Pubblicato da Document Records il 1 mag 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tampa Red Vol. 2 (1929)
Blues - Pubblicato da Document Records il 1 feb 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greatest Blues Licks 1931-1946
Blues - Pubblicato da Master Classics Records il 1 ott 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Wizard - Tampa Red
Jazz - Pubblicato da Bela Records il 25 gen 2009
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tampa Red Vol. 3 (1929 - 1930)
Blues - Pubblicato da Document Records il 4 mar 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tampa Red Vol. 12 1941-1945
Blues - Pubblicato da Document Records il 10 apr 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tampa Red Vol. 11 1939-1940
Blues - Pubblicato da Document Records il 10 mar 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tampa Red Vol. 15 1951-1953
Blues - Pubblicato da Document Records il 10 set 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Tampa Red Vol. 9 1937-1938
Blues - Pubblicato da Document Records il 10 ott 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
The best of the guitar wizard (1928-1940)
Jazz - Pubblicato da EPM il 29 ott 1996
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tampa Red Vol. 13 1945-1947
Blues - Pubblicato da Document Records il 10 mag 1994
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Tampa Red Vol. 6 1934-1935
Blues - Pubblicato da Document Records il 10 mag 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo