Blues influence on rock and roll?

Question

What are some aspectas of early frock and roll that came from the blues, and what are some rock groups and specific pieces of music that were influenced greatly by the blues?

Mainly focusing on the aspects of the blues that influenced rock and roll. What characteristics of rock and roll came directly from the blues? The AABA example was a good one! Thanks for that.....any others?

Answer 1

Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. What do they have in common? They both took their style of playing from listening to the old blues greats. Like I have always said, in order to keep things from going the way of disco you have to go back to the well of roots music and bring some of that old but sweet water back to what you are playing now. Listening to the early days of rock you can hear exactly what I am talking about. Cream, Zeppelin, Sabbath, even the Stones took their early music seriously enough to call it blues. Some of the most influential blues guitarists of all time are still influencing people's playing today. Freddie King, Albert King, BB King, even Robert Johnson are listed among many bands' influences. Freddie King inspired Eric Clapton who later inspired Eddie Van Halen who has been immitated and emulated for years. This is one example of an indirect influence. The use of electric guitars through tube amps is a signature sound of many blues and rock musicians alike. Of course blues guitarists got them first. The main thing I see a difference in blues and rock is the use of tone in blues. Rock musicians seem to want the loudest noise they can get and play as fast as they possibly can, no matter what it sounds like whereas a true blues musician will get the best sound out of an amp and pour his or her heart into the music. As for other influences on rock, blues drummers brought a different and distinct sound to the stage. Drummers like John Bonnam and Ginger Baker have influenced literally thousands if not millions of drummers around the world. The bass guitar also found a new sound. No longer used in the acoustic form the electric bass guitar is another signature sound of the blues/rock days. One of the most notable bass players of this day was Jack Bruce. If you want to understand the simple yet profound influence of the blues on early rock and roll simply look at Cream. With Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, and Eric Clapton's screaming guitar it is no wonder the blues made such an impact on not only early rock, but today's music as well.

Answer 2

Rock and roll evolved directly from the blues. A lot of the early rock has the same pattern - AABA: a phrase is played, repeated, changed, and then repeted again. It's really interesting that the bands that come to miond when I think about a blues influence are mostly British, and the blues is an American art form. Eric Clapton, Rod Stewart, and John Mayall all started their careers as blues musicians. You can hear a lot of blues influence in The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, the Allman Brothers, LYnyrd Skynyrd, and many many others.

Answer 3

Chuck Berry definately was influenced. Every early rock n'roll icon I can think of was. The name change was the big thing. Some early rock bands were blues but added some jazz and folk to their music. Billy Haley and the Comets started to use the word rock and also there is much debate on if certain songs reallly were rock n roll or not. Many artists were playing rock before the term was even used. Some of the best rock ever is the blues. Early Led Zeppelin,the Yardbirds,Jeff Beck,Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix were like pumped up tribute bands who played the blues like it was before but just harder. The thing is you have bands influenced by blues and rock bands who are the blues. It is funny how much Led Zeppelin and many other 60s bands stayed true to the blues. If you listen to the covers they did they are not much different other than a few distorted guitar noises and psychedelic sounds in between. Artists of the blues now borrow from both. Blues is still the greatest music around. Rock is horrible today is is all punk garbage with no talent. No blues influence on todays rock that I can think of.

Answer 4

If you take what is called the classic rock format on FM and satelite radio more than 90 percent of those acts have blues
and/or early R&B roots and influences. It could be Led Zep mining Willie Dixon for Whole Lotta Love or Robert Johnson
lyrically for The Lemon Song (the line "Squeeze my lemon til the juice runs down my leg" is not a R.Plant original) It could be The Rolling Stones mining Muddy Waters where they even got their name from. It could be George Thoroughgood and the Destroyers lifting Bo Diddley's I'm a Man for their big
hit Bad To The Bone.There are thosands of examples and it's something that still occurs to this day. You think the harmonica on the Beatles Love Me Do didn't come straight
from the blues? Even in the way American musical culture was presented in the 70's, the sucessful tv show Midnite Special was hosted by a Wolfman Jack who vocally imitated
blues musician Howling Wolf. And back to The Stones who took a lot from a wide swath of blues and R&B they made quite a bit of money with I Miss You and Fool To Cry mimicking Leroy Sugar Bonner of The Ohio Players. If you want to list all of the influences on rock and roll (even the name is from a slang expression for sex) you better have a lot
of paper!

Answer 5

Heres some rock bands that were influenced by the blues:
Allman Brothers Band
Eric Clapton
Cream
ZZ Top
John Mayer
Robin Trower
Rolling Stones
Carlos Santana (Listen to the guitar solos.)
Led Zeppelin
(early) Yardbirds
Jeff Beck Group
Jimi Hendrix

Answer 6

Most of the early rock and roll used the 12 bar blues stanza and the same chord structure that the blues use. The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin used many blues songs in their repertoire. So did Cream (and Eric Clapton in his solo career), the Allman Brothers and the Yardbirds..

Answer 7

If you want to know about this subject, go learn for yourself. It will take a massive amount of time and effort, but it will be very satisfying in knowing how the American art form called Rock and Roll was born. The Blues had a BABY, and they named it Rock and Roll! (Mckinley Morganfield aka Muddy Water). Rock and Roll utilizes or other wise absconds with, the essence of The Blues...it borrows the form, the percussive manner of performance, the Tropes ( the subject matter of the lyrics), the call and response, the improvisation in performance. We must be beware of the consumerist aspect of the "music industry". In order to sell something, it must be labeled. Popular music is now divided into ever expanding "GENRES" (JON-RAHS) which are actually labels and not genres at all. The bottom line is, if you really want to know about this subject, go listen and learn. Read as much as you can on the subject. Read books written and researched by serious musicologists, not shopkeepers. Read biographies of the greats of Rock and Roll. Read all you can on the subject. Listen to Library of Congress recordings. Seek. You will find.

Answer 8

muddy waters had a song called the blues had a baby and they named it rock n roll dont get no simpler than that they say led zeplin was one of the greatest groups ever but a big part of there playing came from blues song writer willie dixon and blues star muddy waters you can hear it in the lyrics also little richard once said the rock n roll is nothing but the blues pumping through those loud amps with the volume up eric clapton owes his whole career to robert johnson and he will admit that listen to the 1st zepplin album that is the blues rock style

Answer 9

Robert Johnson. It is very interesting when I listen to him because you can hear elements of the White Stripes. The music seems totally different but it is exactly the same, just with an electric guitar and amp crackling at the mercy of a Big Muff stomp box and a Digitech Octave pedal.

Answer 10

Eric Burden and the Animals and The Rolling Stones