The Piedmont Blues tradition has both rural african-american and urban roots. The corridor includes Atlanta, Greenville, SC, Durham, NC and all the small towns that sprung up along the fall line, a geographical line paralleling the East Coast where the rising topography created waterfalls that powered early industry. Artists from Florida, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are sometimes included in the Piedmont tradition.
Musicians from this area, immersed in a wide variety of musical styles and cultures, took the rhythms and chord changes of Ragtime from the piano to the guitar to develop a finger picking Blues style that has come to characterize the Piedmont sound. As populations concentrated, the style hit it's stride in the 1920's and '30's.
Favorite artists of this time include:
- Skip James
Listen: Cypress Grove Blues
Listen: I'm So Glad - Blind Willie McTell
Listen: Statesboro Blues
Listen: Travelin' Blues - Blind Boy Fuller
Listen: Rag, Mama, Rag
Listen: Homesick and Lonesome Blues - Blind Blake
Listen: Early Morning Blues
Listen: Come on Boys Let's Do That Messin' Around - Etta Baker
Listen: Cripple Creek
Listen: Railroad Bill - Barbecue Bob
Listen: Barbecue Blues
Listen: I'm on My Way Down Home - Carolina Slim
Listen: Mama's Boogie
Listen: Jivin' Woman - Peg Leg Howell
Listen: Turtle Dove Blues
Listen: Broke and Hungry Blues - Buddy Moss
Listen: Buddy Moss
Listen: Red River Blues - Tampa Red
Listen: Turpentine Blues
Listen: Mean Mistreater Blues - Pink Anderson
Listen: I Got Mine
Listen: In the Jailhouse Now - Reverend Gary Davis
Listen: Walkin' Dog Blues
Listen: Twelve Gates to the City - Josh White
Listen: Evil Hearted Man
Listen: I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town - Bumble Bee Slim
Listen: Chain Gang Bound
Listen: Baby So Long
