Piedmont Blues Pioneers

Robert Hicks, a/k/a Barbecue Bob, is one of the unsung heroes of the Piedmont blues style. With the records that he made during the 1920s, Hicks played a twelve-string guitar like the big city boys, bringing the instrument's richness of sound to his traditional country-blues style. Although Hicks helped define the "Atlanta blues" sound that would become incorporated into the more expansive Piedmont blues style, he has seldom received the respect proffered followers like Curley Weaver, Buddy Moss, and Blind Willie McTell.

Blind Blake is one of the most mysterious figures in blues music, and little about the artist is known for sure outside of the amazing performances that he recorded during a relatively brief period of time. Blake's unique finger-picked guitar technique was intricate and difficult to duplicate, and he is credited with developing a way to replicate ragtime piano style on the guitar fretboard. Blake's music influenced a generation of Piedmont bluesmen to follow, as well as contemporary musicians like Ry Cooder and Jorma Kaukonen.

During his short but prolific recording career, circa 1935-1941, Piedmont bluesman Blind Boy Fuller was one of the most popular performers in the Southeast United States. His records sold in the thousands…impressive numbers during the late-1930s…and his ability to perform in traditional blues, ragtime, hokum, and pop styles allowed him to reach the broadest audience possible. Possessing a bold, expressive voice and an impressive finger-picking style typical of Piedmont blues, Fuller and his steel National resonator guitar remained extremely popular both on record and in person until his death in 1941.

One of the most accomplished of early-era Southern bluesmen, Blind Willie McTell was an engaging vocalist with a refined style. He was also a phenomenal guitarist who played the twelve-string guitar in a unique style, finger-picking and playing slide instead of using the instrument to play mere rhythms, making his guitar sound like two different instruments. McTell also performed in a wide variety of blues forms, from traditional Piedmont blues and ragtime to hillbilly music and spiritual numbers. McTell recorded prolifically across four decades, and his work would influence a generation of country bluesmen, as well as white folk singers and even blues-rock bands.

Brownie McGhee is one of the most famous of the blues artists that worked in the acoustic, folk-oriented Piedmont blues style common in the Southeast United States. Known for his solo recordings as well as for his long-lasting relationship with blind harpist Sonny Terry, McGhee was one of the last ambassadors of a style that evolved from the string-band tradition of the early 1900s. McGhee's musical influence would extend beyond the folk artists of the '60s to include contemporary blues artists like Cephas & Wiggins or rocker Ben Harper.

Sonny Terry was one of the most beloved of Piedmont bluesmen. The blind harp player is best-known for his long partnership with guitarist Brownie McGhee, but he also enjoyed a lengthy career as a solo performer, and as an in-demand session player, playing on recordings by artists like Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie. Terry's musical influence would extend beyond the folk artists of the '60s to include contemporary blues artists like Cephas & Wiggins and harpist Norton Buffalo.